The clearest sign yet Newcastle will build a new stadium close to St James' Park?
Newcastle United's chief operating officer Brad Miller has been talking up the opportunities available should the club build a brand new stadium close to St James' Park, admitting this has the potential to DOUBLE revenue.
Speaking last night at the “We Are United” fan event at the club's STACK fan zone, Miller was on stage alongside Darren Eales (CEO), Paul Mitchell (sporting director), Peter Silverstone (chief commercial officer) and Simon Capper (chief financial officer) and confirmed that the club are “seriously” considering building a new stadium “that wouldn’t be far away” from our current home.
Discussing the tough decisions ahead, such as the potential to expand at St James' Park or build a completely new stadium nearby, Miller highlighted the pros and cons:
“We have also taken the opportunity to look at what will a new stadium look like," Miller said. "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 the 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. It is giving us an indication that we can actually contribute even more to the football club and football side if we had a new stadium.”
“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?
Miller then stressed that the final decision will be with the club's 'long-term competitiveness in mind, but also one that consults supporters as we approach the briefing stage of the process:
“We want to make sure it is 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 (the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules). We have to work hard to make sure we give as much money as possible to Paul (Mitchell) and the football side in order to remain competitive on the field.
“In terms of next steps, we are coming towards the end of the next stage, the briefing stage. There are a lot of risks and opportunities at St James’. 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.”
