Newcastle United brass continues to consider their options regarding what to do with St James’ Park. The historic arena has been the home of the Magpies since its opening in 1892. It has previously been renovated multiple times over the last 40 years, but team officials want an upgrade.

The biggest question regarding the issue is whether to undergo another renovation to St James’ Park or just build a completely new stadium. Money, however, is not necessarily a major issue. After all, Newcastle is currently owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The group is one of the richest sovereign wealth funds in the world. For instance, they have an estimated value of over $900 billion.

Nevertheless, club officials are being meticulous in their decision due to the enormity of the project. While the team is assessing all of their options, it seems as if a finish line is on the horizon. Newcastle’s new chief operating officer Brad Miller has recently claimed that the club’s board is “working through the last couple of questions we’ve got” regarding the stadium situation.

Newcastle executive says new stadium would help simplicity

Speaking with British newspaper i, Miller stated that investing in the stadium is “genuinely a once-in-a-generation opportunity” for the club. As a result, team officials need to be careful with their final decision.

“So there’s a lot for us to think about and that’s why we are, maybe frustratingly for people, taking our time to make sure that our next steps are going to be the right ones,” proclaimed Miller.

“Because whilst we’ve got the ability to invest and the commitment and the ambition to invest from the ownership, we only want to write that check once so we want to make sure we get it absolutely right for everybody that’s involved with the club.”

The newspaper recently received information from experts claiming that the project would cost billions. HKS, the American architecture firm that built SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, previously held talks with Newcastle regarding the project. Alex Thomas, the regional design director at the firm, told i that starting from scratch would be a better option for Newcastle. Choosing this route would, however, initially cost more money.

Chelsea, Manchester United also in a similar situation

An official word on what the club will do next regarding St James’ Park will not come until the fall. Newcastle is far from the only Premier League club to be considering their stadium options. Fellow English sides Chelsea and Manchester United are also pondering new arenas. The Blues have been discussing a change ever since Todd Boehly and his partners purchased the club in 2022. Stamford Bridge opened in 1877 and has been Chelsea’s home since 1905.

Similarly, United is also currently weighing their options regarding Old Trafford as well. Like Chelsea, the decision to potentially move out of the historic arena has come since a new investor entered the fray. Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in United earlier this year. The British billionaire has been open about wanting to give his new club a state-of-the-art stadium.

Newcastle officials also want to potentially host NFL and major concerts in the future as well. Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester City have all been able to attract these money-making activities in recent years. The trio has accomplished this by building new arenas. This particular need could be an indication that the Magpies are possibly leaning toward building a new stadium.

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