Newcastle United warned by ex-CEO not to build new stadium
Former Everton chief Keith Wyness would rather see Newcastle United renovate St James’ Park rather than build a new stadium to avoid “disruption” to the club.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – warned Newcastle that they could experience the same “uncertainty” as Tottenham when they moved to Wembley.
As reported by The Telegraph, Newcastle’s Saudi owners are debating whether to renovate St James’ Park or build an entirely new stadium for the club.
The capacity of the current stadium is 52,000, but the Tyneside club are not short of fan demand and could boost revenue by expanding or building a new ground.
Tottenham have benefitted from their new stadium in North London with matchday revenue of over £100million in 2022/23, but they were forced to use Wembley as a home stadium for two seasons.
Newcastle must avoid “disruption” of new stadium – Ex-CEO
Wyness believes moving away from St James’ Park could cause “uncertainty” at Newcastle.
“I don’t think Newcastle are going to be ground-sharing with Sunderland, that’s for sure,” Wyness told Football Insider.
“I’d rather see St James’ Park renovated and if it means they have to close one stand for a season, then you have to do it.
“But there are some very clever ways now with construction to try and phase things through.
“The major point is how to avoid disruption as much as possible.
“There’s no doubt that Spurs when they had to move out to Wembley – it did create uncertainty and was uncomfortable for the squad.
“They want to play at their home stadium but progress has a price and once you’ve got the new stadium built then players will love it and hopefully the fans will love it as well.“
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