Newcastle United star Alan Shearer has joined in on the St James’ Park controversy.
Newcastle United star Alan Shearer has emphasized the need of keeping St James’ Park in the city center, whether by expanding its current capacity or creating a new stadium ‘next door’.
Last year, the Magpies initiated a feasibility study to find methods to boost the 52,000-seat capacity of the facility, which is now limited by the Grade II listed building behind the East Stand.
United did, however, re-purchase the leasehold land at Strawberry Place 12 months ago in order to reignite hopes of expanding the Gallowgate End, although there are no urgent plans to do so, as a fan zone will be there for the next three years.
If the development of St James’ Park is not feasible, CEO Darren Eales has pledged to consult with supporters about possible next moves. When asked about the matter, Shearer told the Rest is Football podcast: “I believe one of the best things about St James’ Park is its location, since it’s so close to the city centre.
“Extend it? Fine, but if they are going to build a new one, I believe it should be right next door or very close because that is why we create such a beautiful vibe. It’s so iconic and in the heart of the city, so if there’s going to be a new stadium, it has to be right next to it, or not far away.” Speaking in January, Eales stated that the club “should be hearing in the next few months” on the feasibility study. Eales wants to stay at St James’ Park, but he also wants to increase attendance and matchday revenue.
“St James’ Park is fantastic in terms of location,” Eales added. “We’ve all talked about it on the record. It’s part of what makes Newcastle United unique. We are the Cathedral on the Hill. This is why we are doing stadium feasibility studies to determine what is possible.
“Truly, if we have the ability to stay in this location, drive revenue, drive capacity, and provide what we’d like to, which is to allow more fans to watch Newcastle United, that’s what we’d like to do.”
“That is why we are conducting the feasibility study. It’s not to second-guess the procedure. We need to see what we can do, and once we have that, we will be able to talk with fans and say, okay, here are the alternatives we have, is this something we can all agree on and makes sense, and the hope is to stay at St James’ Park, if that is feasible.
“We have to be cognisant, we need to drive revenues and increase capacity and is that possible is the question we have put to the experts.”
St James’ Park is the seventh largest stadium in the Premier League, after Manchester United, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool. Newcastle match tickets have become like gold dust with the ownership shift in October 2021.
