Newcastle United’s the hierarchy has dropped the strongest hint yet that a transition from the historical St James’ Park may be imminent after revealing a new stadium could “double” revenue.

The club’s long-running and forensic investigation, which has now passed the one-year mark, is in its second and final phase after identifying risks surrounding staying at St James’ Park.

Newcastle insist no final decision has been made but in understands there are plans to speak to key stakeholders, including transport operators Nexus and the city council, in the new year before revealing the final options being considered.

But in a revealing intervention at an event in Newcastle’s STACK fanzone, chief operating officer (COO) Brad Miller said the club was “seriously” looking at moving to another site not far from St James’ Park. That opportunity, he revealed, would come with the ability to add “many more locations.”

It’s the most direct acknowledgment yet that a new arena is on the agenda and also reflects the narrative surrounding the project. While Newcastle’s official survey, commissioned by the CAA last year, recorded that 71 per cent of fans polled wanted to stay, it feels like there is now momentum behind the move – if the circumstances are right.

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There are a few reasons for this. The first, which the club alluded to on Wednesday night, is that with the Profitability and Sustainability Regulation (PSR) so stifling, they need to make the arena “sweat”.

Whatever they do with St James’ Park, the revenue opportunity will never match a purpose-built facility that would have an expanded corporate offering along with facilities for gigs, NFL games and high-profile boxing events.

If PSR or its successor – ‘squad cost controls’ – exist in their current form or not, Newcastle’s need for greater revenue to compete with more established clubs will remain. Frustrated fans now understand that better than ever, which has shifted the dial on the stadium debate.

Another compelling factor is the large number of supporters currently banned from games.

Newcastle implemented a membership system two years ago where fans pay an annual fee to gain access to a poll for the few thousand tickets on general sale. But the odds of getting one are not great and it has increased the feeling among the supporters that more places are needed.

The prospect of a new generation of younger fans being kept out of St James’ Park has also been raised.

in also understand that stadium specialists contacted by the club in the early part of the feasibility study were unanimous in their view that it would be costly to ‘bolt on’ additional seats or add to St James’ Park piecemeal and far from ideal from an aesthetic point of view. .

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It is understood that an interim solution of a small increase in capacity or patching up the stadium – one of the options initially looked at – has been ruled out in favor of much more ambitious options.

Here are the thoughts of Alex Thomas, a principal at HKS, the architects who designed the £4.8bn SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, on Newcastle’s dilemma.

“There’s a big difference between taking an existing piece of land with all its limitations and building something new,” he said.

“If we were to build a new stadium for Newcastle, we would do it so differently to the existing structure. You are always going to be compromised when you try to attach to the back of another structure that has already been bolted down three times.

“It’s often more expensive per square foot because you’re trying to operate this complicated, compromised thing whereas a new build, per square foot, is much, much better value for money.

– Objectively, you get a better project, but that’s without getting into the emotions of it, having the center circle where it’s been for centuries and the bonds that the supporters have.

“A lot of clubs have gone through that emotional journey and it’s difficult. But when the new venue turns out to be really good, people think differently – their new chair might be great, there’s new technology there, there’s opportunity.

“It would have to be night and day in Newcastle, but you can build in a bit of the club’s DNA from the old ground. There are ways to make the values ​​of the club and the iconic character of St James’ Park and its architecture part of the experience of a new land.”

It doesn’t feel a million miles away from what Miller said on Wednesday night in front of the supporters when he described the two double options in front of Newcastle.

“The first choice is, if we stayed at St James’, we already have the 52,000 seats,” he said.

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“It will bring significantly more money if we transform it and it will look fantastic. That’s option one.

“Option two is if we were to move away, and not too far away because we’re not going to stretch the elastic so it breaks.

“The other option, we’re looking at it seriously because it has the potential to earn more than twice as much in terms of revenue, compared to a conversion of St James’ Park. And more seats, a lot more seats potentially.”

The devil will be in the detail, you suspect. A new building that looks fantastic and is located in the center of the city could in time convince even those who believe that St James’ Park is still the best option.

If Plan B is outside the city center – the current Newcastle Racecourse site in Gosforth has been mentioned as a possible option – the club could fail to secure a majority. The city center is what makes Newcastle’s stadium unique.

It certainly feels like the message around the issue has changed recently. Insiders have also emphasized that in that the move option is on the table but the message feels like it has changed since Miller, who joined last summer, joined the club to lead the project.

“We’ve taken the opportunity to look at ‘what will a new stadium look like?'” he said on Wednesday.

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“It’s not comparing apples to apples, they’re not the same. It’s comparing apples to pears.

“The brilliant thing about St James’ is that it’s an iconic venue, the atmosphere and the competitive edge it gives the team on the pitch – and it already has 52,000 seats.

“A new stadium doesn’t have that, and we would have to pay for all those seats again. But a new stadium has the potential to earn a lot more, both on matchdays and non-matchdays.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, whatever we do, do we invest and transform St James’ as we see it today in place where we are? Or do we take the bold step and think about moving?”

The club say they will consult with fans and supporter groups when they reveal the next stage of the project in early 2025.

“We want to make sure it’s a very robust process,” says Miller.

“So, regardless of the outcome, I want to stand up in front of everyone through the process and say: This is why it’s a logical decision.”