Not many people own a property next door to a Champions League club. Yet developer Kash Mumtaz knows the sights, sounds and smells of St James' Park better than most. For good reason.
To say his Grade II listed building at St James' Terrace is in the shadow of the cathedral on the hill would be an understatement. Who needs a season ticket when the East Stand is, quite literally, on your doorstep?
This is a noisy neighbour with a difference come match day, but you suspect Mumtaz and his tenants would not have it any other way. In fact, the Newcastle United fan is 'very supportive' of the club's wish to one day make the stadium even bigger.
"For the city it could really have a transformational effect," the St James' Partners director told ChronicleLive. "It could be a catalyst."
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So will that day come? Well, ChronicleLive understands all aspects of the club have been reviewed and will continue to be looked at, including, obviously, the stadium, and the owners remain committed to exhausting every possible avenue to increase capacity at a time when thousands of supporters have been effectively locked out and unable to get tickets.
Newcastle have already bought back the land at Strawberry Place, which was originally purchased by Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd's ownership with the expansion of the Gallowgate End very much in mind. In the short-term, however, this looks ripe for a fan zone area and Newcastle have exchanged ideas with events company Sela, who are the club's new front of shirt sponsors.
It remains to be seen if the land at Strawberry Place, which has its own complications, with the road and the nearby St James' Metro station, will even be needed for expansion because of modern engineering breakthroughs. Regardless, the club have commissioned a feasibility study to look into every possibility - and not even the East Stand is off the table.
The stand was built more than 50 years ago and is surrounded by Grade I listed buildings at Leazes Terrace and the Grade II listed buildings at St James' Terrace and St James' Street, where Mumtaz also owns property. Clearly, this would be a complex and delicate operation.
"If you look at the road right outside the East Stand, it's rarely used," Mumtaz said. "There's not really a lot of traffic that flows through. Towards the top end, it's no entry anyway. The East Stand could quite easily take up half of the road.
"If they used modern architecture and created a glass façade and looked at new types of materials where light would pass through...because the main objection would be the right to light. The East Stand is just one big concrete block so it's not great for light, especially when the clocks change and the days start getting shorter.
"The stadium basically overshadows the buildings. If that stadium was see through, with a glass façade, it would be a massive change. We would have so much light coming through."
It sounds ambitious, but the club's owners have spoken to architects - even if it is important to stress it is still very early days. Newcastle City Council, for instance, would only be involved as the planning authority at a later date - not otherwise - while Historic England have not yet been approached to offer advice on the possibility of expanding the stadium. If a proposal was taken forward, though, in the coming years, Historic England would be consulted given the proximity of various listed buildings.
Those buildings include Mumtaz's terraced properties at St James' Terrace and St James' Street, which he bought in 2016. Mumtaz, who has also appeared on Tyneside Life, went through the planning process, himself, to convert the buildings for residential use and worked with the council and English Heritage to preserve a number of features, including ceiling roses, architraves, fireplaces and the original sash windows
Although Mumtaz 'fell in love' with the buildings, the Newcastle fan can see both sides of the expansion argument 'provided it's done in partnership'. A number of other developers in the area 'share' his view.
"Those buildings, especially Leazes Terrace, carry a lot of historical significance," the 49-year-old added. "From one aspect, we have got to preserve our heritage, but, on the other, we have got to look at the wider economic benefits, too. If this can bring in much-needed investment, create jobs, support our hospitality sector as well as increasing the profile of the club and the city, that's all got to be taken into consideration.
"If we eventually were to work in partnership with the club, the council and English Heritage, I'm sure there are lots of options and solutions that we could look into. I don't think anyone would object to more investment coming into the city. You only have to look at the former brewery site to see what kind of effect it has had on the city and all the jobs it has created."
