Inside Newcastle’s plans for stunning new stadium near city centre as club eye ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity

NEWCASTLE are making plans for a stunning new stadium near the city centre.

Toon are “seriously” eyeing the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity, according to COO Brad Miller.

And it could see Newcastle depart St James’ Park after 132 years at the iconic arena.

Toon have been playing at their home stadium since 1892, with the 52,000-seater located at the heart of town.

But with Newcastle’s success on the pitch following their Saudi takeover in 2021, plans are now in the works to build a new state-of-the-art stadium close by.

COO Miller revealed at a fan event on Wednesday that the club are nearing a decision after investigating relocation options last year.

One option is for Newcastle to expand St James’ Park, which would be a lengthy and expensive operation.

But another could see them move to a new stadium close by, with Leazes Park under consideration.

Miller admits the decision will play a pivotal part in Newcastle’s future, describing it as a “once in a lifetime” rebuild.

And should it prove to be the right one, Toon could soon be rolling in cash and trophies.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

He told fans: “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do we invest and transform St James’ as we see it today on the site where we are?

“Or do we take that bold move and think about moving? We want to make sure it’s a very robust process.

“So regardless of the outcome, I want to stand up in front of everybody throughout the process and say, ‘This is why it is a logical decision, with long-term competitiveness in mind’.

“Because as you have heard a lot, it is all about revenue and PSR. We have to work hard to make sure we give as much as money to Paul Mitchell and the football side in order to remain competitive on the field.

“In terms of the next steps, we are coming towards the end of the next stage, the briefing stage. There are lot of risks and opportunities at St James’ Park.

“We have to take time to dig into those and make sure we’ve got the devil in the detail — in terms of the programme, how long it will take and what it will do for us in terms of revenue.

“We have also taken the opportunity to look at what a new stadium will look like. It’s not comparing apples with apples, they are not like for like. It’s comparing apples with pears.

“The brilliant thing about St James’ is it is in an iconic location, the atmosphere and competitive edge it gives the team on the pitch, and it has 52,000 seats already.

“But a new stadium doesn’t have that and we’d have to pay for all those seats again. A new stadium has the potential to earn a lot more, both on matchdays and non-matchdays, a bit like STACK (fan zone).

“It is giving us an indication we can actually contribute even more to the football club and football side if we had a new stadium.”