Newcastle United's chief operating officer Brad Miller has revealed to fans that the club are "seriously" considering a move to a new stadium, which could potentially rake in double the revenue of St James' Park and accommodate more supporters.
At the 'We Are United' event held at the club's STACK fan zone, Miller, alongside CEO Darren Eales, sporting director Paul Mitchell, and commercial head Peter Silverstone, engaged with a large audience to share their insights.
The hot topic for discussion was the future of St James' Park, a matter of great interest to all fans. The executives emphasised that fan input would be sought at every stage, ensuring their voices are heard regarding various decisions.
With the venue brimming with 3,000 attendees, the crowd was polled on whether to relocate the stadium, resulting in an overwhelming majority favouring a move. The shift would not only boost the club's financial standing but also allow for increased seating capacity.
Addressing the enthusiastic crowd at STACK, Miller said: "It is an absolute privilege to be able to be involved in such a massive project that means so much to so many people. I feel the weight of that responsibility of that, but I am not hindered by it.
"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. So everything we are doing, do we invest and transform St James' as we see it today on site where we are? Or do we take that bold move and think about moving?
"We want to make sure it is a very robust process. So regardless of the outcome, I want to stand up in front of everybody through the process and say: 'This is why it is a logical decision'.
"With the long-term competitiveness in mind because as you have heard a lot it is all about revenue and PSR. We have to work hard to make sure everybody contributes to that to make sure we give as much money as possible to Paul (Mitchell) and the football side in order to remain competitive on the field.
"And so in terms of next steps. We are coming towards the end of the next stage, the briefing stage. There are a lot of risks and opportunities at St James'. We have take time to dig into those and make sure we've got the devil in the detail. In terms of the programme, how long it will take and what will it do for us in terms of revenue."
The suggestion from Miller was that Newcastle have looked closely into staying at St James' Park and 'transforming it' or moving to a bigger venue that would not be too far away from the current ground.
He added: "We have also taken the opportunity to look at what will a new stadium look like. It's not comparing apples with apples, they are not like for like. It's comparing apples with pears.
"The brilliant thing about St James' is it is an iconic location, the atmosphere and the competitive edge it gives the team on the pitch - and it has 52,000 seats already.
"But a new stadium doesn't have that and we'd have to pay for all those seats again. A new stadium has the potential to earn a lot more, both on match days, and non-match days, a bit like STACK, - it is giving us an indication that we can actually contribute even more to the football club and football side if we had a new stadium."
"I don't know how you are all feeling or whether it has warmed you up. Can I dare to ask if you are up for some audience participation. I won't hold you to any of it, and it won't go into a planning application. It is a little bit of fun."
Miller continued: "The first choice is if we stayed at St James' we have the 52,000 seats already. It comes with significantly more money if we transform it and it will look amazing. That's option one."
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"Option two is if we were to move away, and not too far away as we aren't going to stretch the elastic band to the point of breaking.
"The second option we are looking at it seriously as it does have the potential to earn more than twice as much in terms of revenue, compared to a transformation of St James' Park. And more seats, a lot more seats potentially."
As Miller observed the room's reaction to the idea of a new stadium, he noted: "Wow, wow. As you may have contributed to last year, there was a survey. At that time 71 per cent of everybody that responded said stay at St James' Park."
"Only 29 per cent were open to moving. I think it is credit to everybody that they are open-minded. Everybody now understands the importance of PSR."
