‘Logical sense’ - Newcastle United given heartbreaking hint on St James’ Park’s future
Football financial expert Kieran Maguire has told Newcastle United supporters to brace themselves for a stadium move.
Debates about St James’ Park’s future has dominated the Tyneside agenda in recent months. Brad Miller, the club’s Chief Operating Officer, called the dilemma a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.
He also insisted FFP/PSR restrictions - which continue to govern Newcastle’s thinking - will play a major factor in the ultimate decision and a new stadium could double the club’s revenue. An official announcement is not expected until early 2025 following further consultations with fans, architects and local authorities.
Speaking to the i, monetary guru Maguire called a stadium rebuild the “logical decision” in an FFP/PSR-dominated world. He said: “In terms of impact on Newcastle squad cost controls will be restrictive.
“It is being driven by your ability to enhance revenues. So if you look at the key strategic decisions the club has to make – more than the January transfer window, the most important one is the stadium. The costs of a new stadium or rebuild are exempt from your cost base, so if the Public Investment Fund (PIF) want to build a 75,000-seater stadium in Newcastle which is going to be of a similar quality to Tottenham’s, they can go ahead with that.
“Spurs have tripled their matchday revenues and also trebled commercial revenues from the move from their old stadium. Given that for every £100 you generate you can spend £70 on player costs you can see that actually it’s not the next transfer window where critical decisions are being made at Newcastle, it’s the decision about the stadium.
“For Newcastle, building something with those revenue streams potentially takes you to the next level. From a business perspective, from a compliance perspective, it’s the logical decision to make.”