Newcastle United stand to earn in excess of £60million per season in matchday income from plans to expand St James’ Park.
The Tynesiders are searching for ways to unlock the near-limitless spending power of their Saudi owners under financial fair play – and a stadium revamp is central to the plan.
St James’ Park boasts sell-out attendances almost every week, which has led Amanda Staveley and co to explore options to either build a new home ground entirely or expand the existing stadium.
Speaking to iNews, HKS revealed that they have held talks with Newcastle about their stadium plans, with the club appearing to favour the expansion route at this stage.
The US-based firm, who were the brains behind the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the AT&T Stadium in Texas, claim the end product will be “unlike anything else in the world”.
How big will Newcastle’s expanded stadium be?
Multiple reports suggest that an expansion project would take capacity from 52,000 to around 65,000.
The Magpies are in some ways limited due to the geography of St James’ Park, which sits squarely in Newcastle city centre.
CEO Darren Eales revealed earlier this year that the club had conducted an extensive due diligence survey to see what was possible within engineering and financial constraints.
How much will St James’ Park revamp be worth for Newcastle?
Newcastle earned £38m in matchday income in 2022-23, a 10 per cent increase on the previous season.
The club played 19 Premier League home matches, as well as four times in the FA Cup and four more in friendlies.
With weighting for FA Cup gate receipts and more affordable friendly tickets taken into account, our analysis shows that Newcastle therefore earned an average of £1.73m per match at St James’.
A capacity increase of 13,000 would boost that average figure to £2.16m. Extrapolating that sum over the course of a season gives them a matchday income of almost £48m.
But the premium features that come with a modernised stadium such as hugely enhanced hospitality and merchandising opportunities would easily boost that total by a further £10m.
If Newcastle play in Europe, that would likely supplement their matchday stream by another £6m at the least. Either way, a conservative estimate places their potential annual income at around £60m.
In reality, the total would likely be far higher as pricing structures mature.
How will stadium expansion help with FFP?
Every extra penny Newcastle earn is cash they can invest in the transfer market.
At present, the Saudi Public Investment Fund are desperate to invest but are restrained by an FFP system which limits the club to losses of £105m over a rolling three year period.
That structure is soon to be axed of a dual system which anchors expenditure to a multiple of the lowest-earning Premier League’s club’s income, as well as an 80 per cent spending-to-turnover quota.
It is imperative therefore that Newcastle take every step they possibly can to increase their revenue.
They have filled their commercial department with some of the best operators in the league and have already made significant strides, but there is a long way to go to catch up with the so-called ‘Big Six’.
An expanded St James’ Park would go some way to redressing the disparity.