Major update on St James' Park revamp vs new stadium as likely capacities go public

We have new insight into the future of Newcastle United’s stadium plans, courtesy of an exclusive report from The Mail's Craig Hope.

As we know, Newcastle are deciding between expanding the current St James' Park site or building a completely new stadium elsewhere; hopefully within the city centre.

Additionally, the club looks to be in discussions with the leading architecture firm behind the recent upgrade of Anfield, as well as world-renowned stadiums in both France and Qatar.

Capacity could reach 70,000

In his weekly Newcastle Confidential Column, Craig Hope says that there are currently two proposed capacities on the table, depending on whether Newcastle choose to stay at St James’ Park or build a new ground elsewhere.

Should the club remain at St James', this would see capacity upgraded to 60,300 seats. Hope writes that, though 'some parts of the stadium would not change dramatically in terms of looks' the Gallowgate End would be redeveloped to accommodate the increase in seat numbers.

And should the Magpies build another stadium to call home, initial plans hint at a capacity of 70,000, which would make it the second largest stadium in the Premier League behind Old Trafford, and third biggest football stadium in the country when you include Wembley.

Anfield architects approached over stadium plans

London-based firm KSS, alongside Tyneside’s Ryder firm, have met with the club to map out stadium plans.

KSS have attracted widespread acclaim for their work on Anfield’s new Main Stand, as well as the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar (widely used during the 2022 World Cup), Brighton’s AMEX Stadium, and the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge back in 1991.

Their pioneering work also saw them design the Stade Oceane in Le Havre, France, which was declared the first “energy positive” stadium in Europe.

Whatever the plan is for Newcastle’s future home, fans may rest easy knowing a firm with KSS’ reputation look to be handling it: promoting both pioneering work whilst also respecting tradition and standards, as was done during the Anfield works.

New stadium would rival Europe’s elite - but what else?

As highlighted above, a 70,000 capacity stadium would rival the likes of the Metroploitano Stadium in Madrid, the San Siro in Milan and the Allianz Arena in Munich.

But for such a venue, should the club be looking towards both the London and Tottenham Hotspur Stadiums for inspiration on developing a truly world-class multi-purpose venue?

Bonus revenue streams for events like concerts could go a long way into relieving PSR and FFP concerns: one would only have to look at Real Madrid’s recent record-breaking revenue generated by the Santiago Bernabeu to see how exciting a prospect that could be.