Newcastle United have an ’emotional’ stadium decision to make – but the Magpies must ‘run to stand still’.
That is the view of football finance expert Kieran Maguire after Newcastle stressed the club’s chosen scheme needed to ‘provide an investable return and not least deliver strong revenue growth to increase our PSR headroom’. Brad Miller, the club’s chief operating officer, previously revealed that a ‘transformed’ St James Park would bring in ‘significantly more money’ while a new stadium ‘not too far away’ has the potential to earn more than twice as much with a lot more seats to boot.
Although Newcastle generated €68m (£57m) in match day income last year, according to Deloitte, and €90m (£75.5m) in commercial revenue, these figures pale in comparison to the established order. There are obvious caveats, given that Spurs are a London club, but the Lilywhites generated €123m (£103.1m) in match day income in 2024, according to Deloitte, as well as €297m (£249m) in commercial revenue with the help of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has staged big-name concerts, become the official home of the NFL in the UK and played host to the first F1 branded electric karting experience in the world.
Although Spurs have not exactly made the most of those revenues – Ange Postecoglou’s team are currently floundering in 14th – Newcastle have to find a way to dramatically boost their income streams in order to spend more freely.
“I appreciate the stadium is an emotional decision,” Maguire told ChronicleLive. “My personal view is that you’ve got to run to stand still. Trying to extend St James’ Park probably isn’t in the club’s best long-term interests.
“Everton have just moved to a brand new one. Arsenal are talking about going to 80,000 at the Emirates, which is still a new stadium in the eyes of many. If Manchester United move, they will get 100,000 there, which will set a benchmark for match day income. Trying to work out PIF’s ultimate motivation in all of this is the one thing we need to unlock.”