The UK and Ireland's Euro 2028 bid could be worth close to £100m for the city of Newcastle if it is successful after St James' Park was chosen as one of the host stadiums.
St James' was one of 10 stadia to make the final cut - which could lead to huge benefits for the city if the overall bid is picked by UEFA later this year. As well as the honour of having games at St James', ChronicleLive understands UK Sport's specially produced socio-economic modelling tool has estimated that being a host could be worth £98.7m to the city of Newcastle.
Given what is at stake, then, perhaps, it was not a surprise that Newcastle United and Newcastle City Council's joint-submission was a year in the making as the city bids to host European Championship matches for the first time since 1996. The FA first held a workshop event last April, where the association outlined the requirements, and a whopping 23 stadiums declared an interest in hosting during what was an extremely competitive process.
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The bid team assessed, among other criteria, operational excellence; a track record of hosting big games and major events; the ability to sell tickets locally; a passionate football fanbase; and the capacity to meet UEFA standards. The Newcastle bid scored well in each category and organisers noted how St James' had already hosted the first fixture of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which was the best attended opening game in the competition's history, as well as the European Cup rugby finals in 2019, Rugby World Cup fixtures in 2015 and Olympic football matches in 2012.
While St James' standing was crucial, the organisers also wanted to reach as many fans and communities as possible. Therefore, this was as much about the selection of Newcastle - a city that proudly hosts the world's biggest half marathon, the Great North Run, every year - as it was the stadium itself.
The city had to provide evidence it could provide a fan zone with capacity for a minimum of 15,000 people, for example, and UEFA and UK Sport wanted three locations suggested. This is where St James' position in the heart of the city came into its own. ChronicleLive understands city representatives literally walked UEFA and UK Sport officials from their preferred fan zone location, at the Town Moor, to St James' during a site visit to demonstrate just how close the stadium was. This remarkably short walk would have been an unimaginable prospect in other cities.
On that point, the Newcastle bid team had to provide a series of timings as part of their submission so, for instance, how long it would take to drive from the train station to St James'. Rather than writing down a figure, officials simply advised to make the journey from Central Station on foot because of how close it is and that certainly did not go unnoticed given the FA's vow to make sustainability a top priority for the bid.
Just as Newcastle United had to demonstrate St James' could accommodate UEFA's entourage, international press and media, hospitality and VIPs, the city also had to show that there was the appropriate training grounds and hotels for visiting teams as well as suitable accommodation for supporters. The bid team were satisfied on all accounts.
What also worked in Newcastle's favour was that organisers of the UK and Ireland bid were keen to ensure there was a good geographical spread and stadiums from the North East, London, the North West, the Midlands, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were all selected. The preliminary Euro 2028 bid even featured the Stadium of Light along with St James' in the 14 chosen stadia. However, it was St James' which made the final cut last week as effectively the stadium of the north with the Etihad the nearest arena on the list a whopping 143 miles away.
Organisers also know that if the bid is successful, St James' could be even better by the time the Euros come around in five years' time. Amanda Staveley recently revealed that the club had been speaking to architects 'about what we can actually do' after buying back the long-term lease to land at Strawberry Place and the part-owner also acknowledged that there needed to be 'significant investment' in food and drink offerings.
"We desperately need to invest in the stadium," she said at MIPM, the world's largest real estate conference. "It's just the most incredible place, but it needs to be fit for purpose."
The UK and Ireland will go up against Turkey to host Euro 2028 and the chosen bid will be announced by UEFA in September.
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