Amanda Staveley has revealed that Newcastle United are speaking to architects about what the club can do at St James' Park because the club's owners 'desperately need to invest' in the stadium.
Newcastle agreed a deal with Reditum Capital back in February to repurchase the long-term lease on land at Strawberry Place, which was sold by former owner Mike Ashley to developers back in 2019. This major breakthrough could enable Newcastle to build a fan zone on site and even aid the potential expansion of the Gallowgate End in the long run.
Although increasing the capacity would be complicated - even with the advancements in technology - the Gallowgate still appears the stand most ripe for expansion. Indeed, it was Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd's ownership who first bought the lease at Strawberry Place from Nexus a quarter of a century ago with stadium expansion very much in mind rather than revisiting a move away.
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The club's current owners, similarly, remain committed to exhausting every avenue to expand St James' and Staveley knows the stadium needs improving.
"We love St James' Park," the part-owner said at MIPIM, the world's largest real estate conference. "We luckily bought Strawberry Place and we have been talking to architects about what we can actually do.
"We desperately need to invest in the stadium. It's just the most incredible place, but it needs to be fit for purpose.
"We create so much magic in that stadium every day and every time there is a game on, Sky love coming. The broadcasters love it because they get real content. There's that sense of excitement that we have to build and deliver because a lot of people can't visit St James'.
"On the other side, there needs to be significant investment in food and beverage. Food and beverage offerings need work. We have got to get the ticketing system right. There was a historical 10-year season ticket deal. Literally every part of the business needs to be shaken up."
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