Newcastle United followers will love mouthwatering St James’ Park expansion pics - produced by AI

Confirmation that St James' Park, the home of Newcastle United, will host Euro 2028 matches has poured fuel onto the fire of expansion excitement.

Club owners have already expressed their interest and determination in boosting the cathedral on the hill's 52,000 capacity as demand for tickets to watch the Magpies continue to outstrip availability. Co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi confirmed the club are 'definitely' looking at expansion with a target capacity of '60 or 65,000'.

An increase to 65,000 people would see St James' Park climb above Anfield, the Etihad Stadium, the Emirates Stadium, the London Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in capacity to become the second largest in the Premier League and the sixth largest across the whole of the UK.

Achieving that expansion is easier said than done for the football club given the stadium's city centre location and lack of space around the stands. Feasibility studies are taking place focusing on extending the Gallowgate and/or East Stand, although no time frame has been put on a solution.

The announcement that St James' Park will host Euro 2028 has some supporters theorising that the international competition could provide a target date for the club ahead of welcoming international visitors.

Leading figures at the club and in the city have commented on the importance of hosting the event and a desire to show the North East at its very best. Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales said: "Newcastle is a special city with football at the heart of its community from Newcastle United to grassroots clubs. To have UEFA Euro 2028 games in our city is exciting not only for football fans but for the economy, businesses and the entire region. To be awarded the status as a host city is the result of great collaboration between the football club and Newcastle City Council along with great support from North of Tyne Combined Authority, all playing key roles in delivering this achievement for the North East."

Speaking on an expansion, Eales had previously said: "So we have kicked off the feasibility study. That is looking at the stadium and saying, 'What is possible?'. What I really, really want us to do as a club is engage some experts that just look at what is possible. Look at everything and tell us what we could do. Don't think of cost, then we look at it and say 'these are our possibilities'. So that's a process that is going to be ongoing now and will feed into the possibilities of what we can do at St James' Park."

The football club had already unveiled plans for a fanzone on the Strawberry Place land recently bought back, having been sold by Mike Ashley during his tenure at Newcastle United. Past that, any suggestions about expansion so far are theories with no official plans confirmed by the club.

However, that hasn't stopped fans dreaming. Following the Euro 2028 announcement, one Magpies supporter fired up a Bing AI programme to ask the computer system what St James' Park might look like in the future. The results were certainly head-turning.

Sharing the pictures on X, the AI programme offered up three different models for the stadium. The designs show all stands brought up to the same height with sleek branding outside, huge glass windows around the ground and even a hologram in one.

The images seemed to be more fitting for a world where Newcastle United owners would build a new stadium rather than expand in the current city centre spot - an idea which has split supporters in the past.

Earlier this year, NewcastleWorld worked with local architect Sadler Brown on a comprehensive analysis of what would be possible for Newcastle United. The firm spoke about the fanzone ahead of that becoming a reality and highlighted potential issues with structural problems, traffic and the Leazes Conservation Area.