(photo from Newcastle Falcons website: https://www.newcastlefalcons.co.uk/news/story/white-lies-to-play-alongside-kings-of-leon-at-st-james-park)
Its seating capacity of 52,388 makes it the eight largest football stadium in England: just after Wembley, Old Trafford, Tottenham Hotspur, Emirates, London, City of Manchester and Anfield stadium. It’s not only known as the home of Premier League club Newcastle United since 1892, but also for its long history and expansion.
Wikipedia says it has been used for football since 1880, but throughout the history the expansion was causing conflict with residents and local council- where the proposals to move it twice occurred in the 1960s. It was said in the source that “reluctance to move has led to the distinctive lop-sided appearance of the present-day stadium’s asymmetrical stands.”
Those asymmetrical differences can be seen when St James’ Park is viewed from both the air and the ground- difference between different parts of the ground. Football Stadium website says: “Both the Milburn and Leazes Stands are double tiered and have a level of executive boxes between them, whilst the East and Gallowgate Stands are both single-tiered.” The website also provides with St James’ Park statistics, which show that the pitch size is 105 x 68 (7140), the record attendance was 68,386 during Newcastle v Chelsea in 1930 and the average attendance is 51,121.
Between 1920 and 1990 there have been plans for a double-tiered stand and there has been build a small roof from the Leazes Terrace side. In 1950s floodlights were added and used for the first match against Celtic in 1953. Wikipedia source says:
“Up until the 1960s planning difficulties continued, culminating in lack of development of the ground being cited as the reason for failure of Newcastle United to secure the right to host a group stage of the upcoming 1966 World Cup following political disputes.”
Late 1960s brought plans to move to a stadium in Gosforth or Wearside and sharing grounds with Sunderland, but those plans were rejected in 1971. Early 1990s are said to have seen different owners and the financial struggle was not contributing to plans on development of the stadium.
In 1992 Sir John Hall- property developer in North East England- used his expertise in property development as a chairman and invested in a stadium. Many parts were rebuilt such as Gallowgate End or Milburn Stand allowing in 1995 to maximise its capacity. The source also mentions 1995 relocation plans to Leazes Park to the north and it says that:
“It became clear that the relocation plan would not gain planning permission without a potentially long-running public enquiry. To quickly satisfy demand, the club decided to expand the current St James' Park instead.”
It also adds that after the withdrawal of the Leazes Park plan, the other plan proposed was focusing on construction of a second tier over the Milburn Stand, which received permission in 1998. It increased capacity to 52,143, and the construction finished in 2000. Five years later the Gallowgate was redeveloped and named “Shearer” after the player, which later on also helped with the creation of Shearer’s Bar, or a club museum. Two years after, another plan to develop not only the stadium but also the area around the place was taken into consideration, which included in its proposal the conference centre as well as hotels and apartments. It then entered into known for everyone Mike Ashley era, but one interesting fact of renaming the stadium in 2011 is worth mentioning- stadium officially renamed as Sports Direct Arena.
Besides serving as a place for international football or 2012 Olympics, it also hosts various events or concerts. It has many facilities such as Bamburgh Suite or the New Magpie Room containing bars and a great view. Large club shop, cafes or club museum are only some of the places where fans and tourists go. The perfect description of how much it means for Newcastle was summarised on Football Stadiums website:
“In the city of Newcastle, football is considered to be akin to a religion, so it’s somewhat suitable that St. James’s Park towers over the city like a cathedral, casting a shadow over all that sits below it.”