Newcastle told to avoid West Ham blunder and ‘respect the fans’ – Keith Wyness
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted West Ham’s London Stadium is a “cautionary tale” for Newcastle as they weigh up their own stadium development.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed the Saudi-backed ownership must “respect the fans” and turn away from a multi-use stadium if it will not benefit them.
iNews have reported (6 November) that Newcastle are now in the “advanced stages” of their stadium feasibility study, potentially paving the way for “concrete progress” in 2025.
Meanwhile, using a redeveloped or new stadium for other sporting events, such as NFL games, is also under consideration with any extra commercial revenue able to assist Newcastle financially.
West Ham moved into the London Stadium, which is still used to hold athletics and baseball, in 2016 but have faced criticism about fan’s proximity to the pitch and atmosphere due to the running track.
Newcastle could reconsider multi-use new stadium build, says Wyness
Wyness claimed multi-use stadiums “seem obvious on a spreadsheet”, but should be reconsidered if it will hurt the atmopshere at St James’ Park.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “If we look at West Ham with the Olympic Stadium, the biggest criticism has been the fact that the stadium was never built for football.
“Spurs have managed to design in a lot of the fan’s needs while keeping it as a multi-use arena.
“As long as Newcastle understand acoustics, the need to fit in the atmosphere – it’ll be fine.
“The London Stadium is a cautionary tale and it will cost a lot of money to fix.
“It can be done, but you’ve got to be careful.
“Newcastle have got to be clear. You’ve got to respect the fans.
“Maybe multi-use stadiums seem obvious on a spreadsheet, but don’t work in reality.
“The atmosphere is what live sport is about.”
In other news, Magpies lay the groundwork for “huge signing”.
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