Leazes Park Stadium – design description

Planned for 55,000 people, this new stadium for Newcastle United was expected to grow in Leazes Park, just 250-300 meters away from St. James’ Park. It would address the issue of reduced capacity in post-Taylor era (NUFC had some 20,000 people on their waiting list in mid-90s).

Should there be increased demand, the stadium could grow by a third tier, reaching 70,000 covered seats. With such capacity it would be among the largest and most impressive not only in England, but Europe overall. It would be accompanied by 4,650 parking spaces, 800 of them under ground.

Should it get built, the old St. James’ Park would have been transformed into St. James’ Centre, a multi-use complex for athletics, hockey and basketball. However, it never came to fruition. Despite formal planning application being prepared, opposition of the local community proved more powerful than demand for the stadium.