Newcastle are 'drawing close to once in a generation stadium project'

Newcastle's chief operating officer Brad Miller has given an update on the club's ongoing plans to overhaul their St James' Park home almost a year after their 'formal process' was announced. 

Chief executive Darren Eales revealed in November 2023 that the club were starting tolook seriously at expanding the 52,305-seat stadium in the heart of the city, and that they had drafted in a 'world-leading agency' to aid their preparations. 

The club later distributed an eyebrow-raising survey to fans as to whether they wanted to stay and expand the iconic ground or if they were comfortable with moving to a new footprint. 

Due to a number of space and engineering challenges, increasing the size of St James' Park represents the less straightforward option, but Miller was keen to stress that the club has not yet made a final decision. 

What the COO - who was appointed in May 2024 - did state was the club's commitment to the idea of large-scale investment, and hinted at the 'really big cheque' the club's hierarchy are prepared to write to realise their goal. 

'Darren (Eales) has has gone on record previously to say "Look it's imminent" but it really, truly is in terms of next steps (and) what direction we're going to be taking,' Miller told the i newspaper. 

'It'd be remiss of me to go early and cut across that but what I will say is that (STACK, the newly launched St James' Park fanzone) is just an indication of the ambition and the commitment and the dedication that the ownership and everybody within the club has got, not just to Newcastle United, but to the region as well.

'We hope it's representative and a little bit of a hint to what we're hoping to achieve into the future. The stadium investment is genuinely a once-in-a-generation opportunity and we want to make sure that we get that right.'

The football executive added that the board are in the process of 'working through the last couple of questions we've got' and confirmed the completion of a study into the different options - most pertinently, whether the club stays or leaves St James' Park.

'Now, when we get on with it, it is going to be a really big cheque that's going to be written,' Miller said of the importance to come to a decision after thorough planning, 'so they want to make sure that we are doing it correctly and that it's doing the right things, whether that be supporting the football, doing the right thing by the fans.

'Have we got the ability to uplift the capacity? Is it going to actually make a return so we can continue to invest in the club?,' he added. 

One of the stumbling blocks faced by the Newcastle hierarchy is St James' Park's position in the city, where the stadium is surrounded by listed buildings.  

As well as investing in the stadium, Miller is also tasked with overseeing the club's other potential infrastructure projects, such as a revamp of the training facilities.

A partial overhaul of the Benson training complex was one of the first priorities of the incoming Saudi Arabian ownership after their purchase of the club in 2021, and in May of last year, Newcastlerevealed how the facilities had been upgraded. 

Necessary additions included new hydrotherapy and plunge pools, improved changing rooms, an updated presentation room, a modern players' lounge and a new, bigger, dining area. 

But with grand infrastructure plans ahead, the ground could be subject to even more renovations in the future.  

By contrast, St James' Park was last expanded back in 2000 when it had previously held an attendance of around 36,000.