New ground talk of Toon

WILL Newcastle United decide to leave their iconic city centre stadium, St James’ Park, in the coming years?

With the ground now a regular 52,200 sell-out, having fallen down the rankings for seating numbers with rivals now boasting large capacities, it may ultimately be on the agenda for the Saudi ownership.

Leaving their historic base would be a massive deal, and has become a heated debating point among Geordie fans this week.

It is known that the new owners have plans to redevelop, or probably relocate, the existing training ground, and that has backing.

But on Friday, sport and leisure specialists GT3 Architects, North East based, revealed a vision of what a new ground could look like, and it was spectacular.

A vast community stadium, a Wembley Way style path, a 7,000-seat satellite stadium for Academy and women’s matches. A 60-bed hotel offering on-site digs for players and visiting teams. It was billed as a conversation starter, and was not commissioned by Newcastle United.

Such a development could fit nicely on the site of Newcastle Racecourse, just off the A1 and within Newcastle’s boundary. That land is owned by the Reubens family and son Jamie (above) is a 10 percent stakeholder in the Toon.

Or maybe used to redevelop land in a run down part of town.

Are fans being softened up for a potential stadium move, with a debate being gently opened before it is put firmly on the agenda?

For now, we don’t know. It seems unthinkable that St James’ Park could become no more. But there are limited options to expand capacity.

And if Newcastle do rebuild into a top-four club under the Saudis, they’ll probably need 70,000-plus seats.

They certainly need a world-class training base to rival even that recently built by Leicester.

A conversation has begun and it is likely to split the fan base. Progress versus history and city centre games.