Stefan Borson: This is how Newcastle’s stadium plans could boost their PSR position
Newcastle United are looking to increase the capacity of their stadium in a bid to boost their financial situation.
Newcastle have been exploring their stadium plans over the past couple of years, with both options of renovating St James’ Park or building a new ground on the table.
Newcastle’s owners were hoping to announce their decision in early 2025, but club chiefs are aware of the importance of the project.
It has now emerged Newcastle won’t be leaving St James’ Park anytime soon, with The i Paper reporting on 13 November the club have given Uefa cast-iron assurances the 52,000-seater facility will still be standing in its current situation in the summer of 2028.
Eddie Howe’s side were initially hesitant to commit to hosting games for Euro 2028 due to their stadium situation, but they have now agreed to become part of the bid and will host five games throughout the tournament.
Newcastle facing ‘all sorts of issues’ after stadium latest
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider increasing the stadium’s capacity will allow more money to come into the club and boost their profit and sustainability (PSR) position.
Newcastle have been close to breaching the PSR rules in recent years, with Premier League clubs only permitted to lose £105million over a rolling three-year period.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Newcastle’s stadium plans, Borson said: “I’m sure it’s a complicated project. Don’t get me wrong, you’re talking that there are all sorts of issues with where the Newcastle stadium is.
“They are clearly not going to want to move very far. If they want to build one next door, how easy is that to do? Who owns the land? Are the council supportive? They probably are. Where do you play during the build project if you’ve got to take out party stadium?
“This is not London, where you can go up the road. Where are they going to play? I don’t know what the answer is to that. I’m not sure there is an answer, so they probably can’t knock down St James’ Park because they would have nowhere to play.
“They may be able to take out a stand at a time or one corner or something like that. My point is it’s not straightforward.”
It is believed the favoured option is to build a new facility with a capacity of just under 70,000 at nearby Leazes Park, making it significantly bigger than St James’ Park’s 52,000.
Newcastle owners have made ‘surprising’ stadium decision
Borson admitted he would have expected the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – Newcastle’s majority owners – to have made a decision on the stadium project by now.
“I’m surprised after four years now of the ownership that they haven’t got a very clear position that they’re working towards,” said Borson.
“But I’m sure it will happen over time because it’s so important to be able to put more money in at the top to then get more money out going forward.
“This is really the only way you can do it from a PSR and a Uefa perspective. The stadium is the key bit of spending.”
In terms of the financial situation at St James’ Park, Newcastle smashed their club-record revenue in 2023-24 after their overall turnover surged from £250m in 2022-23 to £320m.
That was boosted by an increase in matchday income, which improved from £38m to £50m across the same period.
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