Why Newcastle United are exploring stadium options

Newcastle's fans have made it clear they want the club to grow - could moving to a new stadium help?

To move or not to move? It is a debate that will always split opinion among a football club's fanbase.

A number of Premier League clubs have already made the decision in recent years to find a new home in order to grow on and off the pitch, but supporters are often left with the emotional wrench of leaving a historic stadium behind.

As talk about a potential stadium move for Newcastle United intensifies, BBC Sport looks at why the Magpies are weighing up the options.

Could Newcastle build a new stadium?

Newcastle have been hamstrung by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) since the Saudi-led takeover in 2021, but the stadium is one area where the ambitious ownership can spend big without it impacting the club's future financial capabilities.

Feasibility studies are ongoing, with concrete progress expected in the new year, while in October, following a meeting with the Fan Advisory Board (FAB), the club's chief operations officer Brad Miller said expanding the stadium came with "risks" but called the decision a "once-in-a-lifetime investment".

The topic of increasing the capacity at St James' Park has long been discussed both in and out of the club, predating the takeover. In 1995, capacity reached 36,000 after Sir John Hall bought the club three years earlier, before rising to the current 52,000 in 2000.

Going any bigger than that is problematic because the Leazes Terrace housing block that sits behind the East Stand are listed buildings, protected against structural alterations.

Building on the Gallowgate Stand is possible after the surrounding land, originally sold off by previous owner Mike Ashley in 2019, was bought back in 2023. The Telegraph reported that if Newcastle ultimately decide to stay at St James' Park, it is this stand that will become the focal point of any revamp.

Miller, along with chief executive Darren Eales, chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone and sporting director Paul Mitchell, met fans at an informal event last month and the topic of a new stadium was again discussed. Miller said any move would look to stay as close to the current location as possible and that a new stadium could more than double the revenue of their current home.

There have been suggestions of potentially building a new stadium on Leazes Park, located just behind the existing structure, while the Town Moor, a stretch of land just outside the city centre, has also been mooted as a possibility.

When contacted by BBC Sport, Newcastle City Council said no formal conversations with the club had taken place about relocating but they were open to having them in future, while Newcastle made no further comment but pointed us to the earlier story about the FAB meeting.

St James' Park as it is now. The listed buildings of the Leazes Terrace are in the foreground, with the possible new location of Leazes Park in the top right.

Why would Newcastle want to leave St James' Park?

As Miller stated, revenue and growth are the driving force in any decision. In the financial year ending June 2023, the Magpies generated revenue of £250m, a near 40% increase on the previous season, but Tottenham Hotspur recorded revenue of £549m over the same period.

Spurs opened their new 62,000-seater stadium in 2019, which is also purpose built to host NFL games, and cost £1bn. Arsenal and West Ham have both moved to bigger homes in the past 20 years, while Everton will move into theirs next season. Manchester City and Liverpool have expanded their stadiums, and Manchester United are currently exploring their options.

When St James' Park surpassed 50,000 capacity, only Old Trafford was a bigger domestic football stadium. Now Newcastle's home is the seventh-biggest in the Premier League, with some supporters feeling increasingly unable to get tickets for matches.

Former Newcastle United defender Warren Barton was at Newcastle the last time St James' Park increased capacity, and says it gave the club more stature.

"The atmosphere went to another level when the last redevelopment happened," he tells BBC Sport.

"If possible, I'd love for them to stay at St James' Park, but you've got to generate the revenue, that's the bottom line. You have to keep evolving. If you stand still, you get swallowed up."

A new stadium could also host more sporting events and concerts, increasing revenue and job opportunities in the region, while giving the club greater opportunities for external income.

"It is 25 years since the last expansion and that's a long time for any stadium, never mind an updated one," says Jon Lane of the True Faith podcast.

"The concourses are quite crammed, and certain parts of the stadium are tight and congested. I love the character of the place but it isn't just about putting an extra 10,000 seats in, it's about updating the ground itself.

"You can spend money updating or you can build something to earn more and compete more."

What do the fans think?

It is an emotive subject and one that splits opinion; there are many arguments for and against a move from a stadium that has been Newcastle's home since 1892.

"St James' Park is part of the fabric of the club," says Olly Scholes of the Strawberry Corner podcast, who has been going to games for about 40 years and would prefer to stay.

"When I'm there, I don't think about what else is going on in my life - that's the association I've always had with it.

"Expanding the ground to 65,000, that's as much as we will ever need. I can see why people want to move and if we do, I'll be there and excited about it. But it wouldn't be home."

Lane, who attended the fan meeting with the board, believes moving is necessary to achieve the club's ultimate goal of competing with the elite.

"There's a big opportunity to build something and get it right," he says. "The issue with St James' Park is you're restricted with what you can do to grow. There are so many people who can't get in at the moment.

"The club can do so much if they build a new stadium - it is a blank canvas with so many possibilities. If the club wants to be what it wants to be, a new stadium is the only option."

Barton believes maintaining the club's position at the heart of the city is vital.

"As long as the stadium is central, it can be a positive," he says.

"The club is the beating heart of the city. If you put it 15 miles out of Newcastle, you might lose the unique feel of the club. People walk to the stadium, it is tradition."

The debate may be emotionally charged, but Newcastle will take a business decision. Whatever happens next will define the club's future.