'Soon' - Newcastle United chief provides St James' Park update just days after Yasir Al-Rumayyan meeting

Newcastle United will make a decision regarding the future of St James’ Park “relatively soon”.

That’s according to the club’s chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone, with the Magpies set to reveal whether they plan to stay and extend their current home, or build a new state-of-the-art stadium on Leazes Park.

Progress has been made this week following Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s visit to Tyneside. Al-Rumayyan, Newcastle’s chairman and governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, was in attendance for the 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest befire hosting meetings with the club’s top brass at Matfen Hall on Monday.

Top of the agenda was the stadium as well as the training ground, both of which will require PIF’s deep pockets.

Peter Silverstone speaks at Financial Times Business of Football Summit

A few days after sitting in those VIP meetings alongside the likes of Darren Eales, Paul Mitchell, Simon Capper and Brad Miller, Silverstone appeared as a guest at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit on Thursday.

Silverstone was asked about stadium plans but as per the iPaper’s Mark Douglas, the United chief gave little away, claiming "no decisions have been made yet" and that any decision “starts with the fans”.

He did, however, admit a decision will be made “relatively soon” which falls in line with the “early 2025” date a club statement mentioned in October.

Silverstone said: "We're at the point where we're deciding 'Is it best to renovate and re-invigorate St James' Park, which is renowned as one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the country or build a new stadium."

To stay or to go?

Chief operating officer Brad Miller addressed supporters regarding the future of St James’ Park at a St James’ STACK event in November and outlined the two options.

“The first choice is, if we stayed at St James', we have the 52,000 seats already,” said Miller. “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.”

NewcastleWorld has launched a new dedicated NUFC WhatsApp channel to bring you the latest news, analysis and insight from St James' Park. Be part of the conversation - click here to join.

“We have 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.

“A new stadium doesn't have that, and we'd have to pay for all those seats again. But a new stadium has the potential to earn a lot more, both on match days, and non-match days.

“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'.”