Revealed: Newcastle to build new 65,000-capacity super stadium and leave St James' Park after 133 years - all the bombshell details of 'stunning' plans including the new site, where team will play whi

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We reveal all the huge details of a seismic shift in the club's history - as their 133-year stay at St James' Park is set to come to an end

Newcastle United are now planning to build a new 65,000-capacity super stadium on Leazes Park, Newcastle Confidential can exclusively reveal.

The club are preparing to take their intentions to the Government for sign-off on a project that will create hundreds of jobs and pour money into the local economy.

It is expected that Downing Street officials will give the green light for Newcastle to press ahead with their ambitious development and will assist them in cutting through any red tape.

The club’s alternative option for a redevelopment of St James’ Park has been shelved for now, and we can reveal that the plot for the new stadium will retain its city-centre location in Leazes Park.

The proposed site has no overlap with St James’, meaning the team can continue to play there at full capacity while the new home is built. The club have played on that site for 133 years.

The club’s Saudi owners were presented with the plans during a board summit at Matfen Hall last month and, crucially, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is said to be fully behind the project.

Newcastle United are now planning to build a new 65,000-capacity super stadium on Leazes Park, pictured here in the background

It is expected that Downing Street officials will give the green light for Newcastle to press ahead with their ambitious development and will assist them in cutting through any red tape

The club’s Saudi owners were presented with the plans during a board summit at Matfen Hall last month and, crucially, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is said to be fully behind the project

The new ground will have a bubble-wrap-type exterior akin to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena

Chief operating officer Brad Miller and chief executive Darren Eales recommended then that a new build was the best way to maximise revenue and achieve the club’s goals, currently limited by the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.

The next step is more talks with local authorities and Government before sign-off from Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, the club’s majority owners. Once they know the project is feasible, the decision will be finalised and communicated to supporters. The exact cost of the build and nature of the funding is still unknown.

But this huge development, on the eve of the Carabao Cup final, is the biggest indicator yet of PIF’s commitment to the club. Stadium designs seen by executives are said to be stunning.

They have a bubble-wrap-type exterior and a parkland-style approach that will be Newcastle’s equivalent of Wembley Way. London architects KSS and Tyneside-based Ryder have provided some of the drawings. The most notable stadium in world football with a bubble-wrap design is Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.

It was originally thought that Newcastle chiefs would push for a capacity closer to 70,000. However, Eales has always guarded against going to a number that would see some seats remain unsold, even if just for one game in a season.

He was chief executive at MLS franchise Atlanta United when they limited the capacity of soccer matches to maintain demand, despite playing in the 75,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium, also home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

An increase of around 13,000 seats from the 52,300 that St James’ holds will go a long way to satisfying the current demand for tickets and allow for additional and more lucrative corporate offerings.

The alternative option was to redevelop St James’, taking it to a capacity of 60,300. But all efforts are now geared towards a new stadium that the club believe will be among the best in the world.

This huge development, on the eve of the Carabao Cup final, is the biggest indicator yet of PIF’s commitment to the club

The proposed site has no overlap with St James’ Park, meaning the team can continue to play there at full capacity while the new home is built

There will be a parkland-style approach that will be Newcastle’s equivalent of Wembley Way

Yas says yes to Wembley!

Al-Rumayyan is planning to be at Wembley for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, Confidential understands.

The club’s majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have taken their own box for the game and will host commercial partners, special guests and their own staff.

Al-Rumayyan, barring any last-minute hitches, is scheduled to be there, just three weeks on from watching the team beat Nottingham Forest 4-3 at St James’ Park.

Given this is Newcastle versus Liverpool, what are the odds of a repeat of the same scoreline?

Yasir Al-Rumayyan is planning to be at Wembley for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, Confidential understands

Al-Rumayyan was a lucky charm three weeks ago as Newcastle beat Nottingham Forest 4-3

Wembley A-way

Eddie Howe and his players will NOT be staying at the Hilton Hotel next door to Wembley, as they did for the 2023 final, and will instead be based out of town.

Confidential will not reveal the exact location - given the risk of fireworks outside the hotel and the usual eve-of-game shenanigans - but it’s safe to say they’ve picked a much quieter spot away from the hustle and bustle of the stadium.

They will also journey to the final on a new luxury coach, thought to be worth in excess of £500,000 and complete with all mod cons.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will stay in central London. Although, in the essence of fairness, we’ll not reveal where that is, either!

Eddie Howe and his players will NOT be staying at the Hilton Hotel next door to Wembley, as they did for the 2023 final, and will instead be based out of town

No time for a kickabout!

The cup final has decimated local non-League and junior football fixtures this weekend, with hundreds of games postponed.

In 2023, grassroots matches went ahead on the day of the final, but this time the decision has been taken to call them off.

In addition, the Northern Alliance has postponed this Saturday’s programme, given the number of players who will be travelling to London ahead of the match.

This will literally be the game that stops a city!

Porto or Port of Tyne?

Finally, some news reached Confidential this week of Porto making a late move to sign Malaga winger Antonio Cordero from under the noses of Newcastle.

The 18-year-old and his family have visited Tyneside and the expectation is that a pre-contract agreement will be signed before he joins on a free transfer in the summer. Confirmation of that was held up recently by lawyers.

That has given Porto a window to express their interest and, while they are proposing quicker ascent to the first team, my sources say that all roads still lead to Newcastle.

Toon Teaser…

Did you get Ivan Toney in the answers to last week's Toon Teaser?

Newcastle academy graduate Nile Ranger played five times on loan at Barnsley in 2011

It’s Toon Teaser time. Last week’s puzzler was… can you name the ELEVEN players to have played for Newcastle and Barnsley since 1992?

The answers were: Matty Appleby, Adam Armstrong, Harvey Barnes, Michael Chopra, Marlon Harewood, Peter Ramage, Nile Ranger, Mark Robinson, Ivan Toney, Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood.

This week’s puzzler is… across four Wembley appearances between 1996 and 2000 (Charity Shield, two FA Cup finals and one FA Cup semi-final), Newcastle used 10 England internationals.

Now, name them!

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