Newcastle are planning to extend the capacity of St James’ Park to 65,000 with extensions to the Gallowgate and East stand, according to The Telegraph.
Although the work is still at an ‘early stage’, Luke Edwards reveals that we’ve begun a ‘feasibility study’ on how both stands can be extended to the height of the Leazes and Milburn.
The added 13,000 seats would make St James’ Park the second largest stadium in the Premier League, just behind Man United with 74,000.
We are currently waiting to hear back from specialist architects to work out the structural design and cost, and nothing is to be decided until we have those reports.
With the listed buildings directly behind it, the East stand may prove the most problematic, but there have been suggestions to lift the stand using glass so inhabitants may still have natural light.
We just purchased the land behind the Gallowgate, but plans have already been made to develop a fan zone there, so the short-term goal is to begin with the East stand.
Newcastle plan to expand St James' Park capacity up to 65,000
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— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) October 6, 2023
On the idea of increasing the capacity, manager Eddie Howe said: “I’d love to see it expanded. If it can be done, I’m sure the club will do it at some point.
“That’s very much the club’s philosophy. If we can push things forward and improve things for the supporters, for everybody, the club will do it. But it’s not simple, it’s not a simple process but we would love to get more supporters inside the stadium.”