Newcastle United will push on with the club's new stadium project in early 2025 as they prepare a presentation for supporters in what will be an eagerly anticipated announcement from the club's top brass.
The presentation will see in-depth plans for staying at St James' Park or a potential new venue outside of the city although club chiefs have already stressed they will not "stretch the elastic band too far" when it comes to a new home. As reported by Chronicle Live earlier in the year, a switch to Gosforth Park has already been ruled out.
Club stadium supremo Brad Miller told fans of "two options" in the pipeline as the Magpies look to make a "once in a generation" decision. Miller said in November, in a fan event at the STACK: "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.
"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."
Since that event in front of 3,000 fans, it is believed that planners, architects and project managers have held key meetings behind the scenes. The appointment of Roger Thornton to the board is also deemed crucial as far as the new stadium is concerned.
Thornton's arrival earlier this year was significant as far as the next part of PIF's bigger picture is concerned. He was introduced to the board by Jamie Reuben after working closely on the Pilgrims Quarter project, Newcastle Racecourse and buildings on Grey Street.
Crucially, his relationship with Newcastle City Council can help United push forward with the stadium project, which could include an entire rebuild of St James' Park. Information on the new stadium options will be delivered to the Fan Advisory Board and the wider fanbase in meetings in early 2025.
Interestingly, Chronicle Live understands that club insiders have now seen some images and early drafts on what a revamped St James' Park and a new stadium elsewhere in the city could look like. Those images are not yet for public consumption but are believed to be breathtaking according to sources close to the project.
Those images would be warmly welcomed by the fanbase too when the time is right with a possible switch from St James' Park one of the most talked about subjects on Tyneside in 2024.
Speaking in November, Miller said: "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."
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