March 2025, it was announced that a new ‘Super Stadium’ was set to be built in Newcastle. Leazes Park Stadium was promoted as a multi-purpose venue and, importantly, would replace St. James Park as the home of Newcastle United FC.
This has followed the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2021, which has had plans to expand St. James Park or relocate the stadium since their acquisition.
This decision has generated considerable controversy, as people oppose the use of public parkland, and many fans have a sentimental attachment to the original stadium. As of 2025, there has been no formal planning application submitted.
The stadium, if it is built, will have a significant impact on the city of Newcastle, both for tourism purposes and for locals.
A New Stadium – Potential Tourism Hotspot?
A brand new ‘super stadium’ would undoubtedly draw attention from tourists. Newcastle has many features that draw people to the city, and the multi-purpose Leazes Park Stadium would add to that impressive list. Current tourist attractions include the Angel of the North, Newcastle Castle and Tyne Bridge.
This stadium would be both a tourist attraction and an events hub for people in Newcastle. Not only would this be used as a football stadium, but as a multi-purpose arena, it could also be transformed into a music venue and a sports stadium for American Football or Baseball.
Football is firmly ingrained in the culture of Newcastle, and as a worldwide sport, a larger stadium could draw in fans from across the globe. Football is so popular that it reaches across multiple forms of media. There are acclaimed TV shows and films based on football, popular video games such as FIFA, and it is even found in iGaming, where you can play such slot games as Football! Cash Collect™ at a Great Britain casino.
It has been proposed that there would be an estimated capacity of 65,000 to 70,000 people at Leazes Park Stadium – a potential 20k increase to the original St James Park. This would offer brand new opportunities for the club and Newcastle as a whole, with more ticket sales and larger event opportunities.
Would This Be a Positive for Newcastle?
The main criticism against this move is the fact that it would be built on Leazes Park, a historic public ground. First opened in 1873, it is the city’s oldest ever park and building a stadium on this land could be detrimental due to environmental disruption and reduction of public access for citizens.
Newcastle have also been at their original stadium, St. James Park, since the formation of the club in 1881, which means that many fans are reluctant to move, having strong nostalgic connections to the ground.
However, there are also many arguments in favour of relocating stadiums. St. James Park has limited room for expansion due to its location in the city centre as well as the surrounding developments.
This means relocation is necessary to enable an extended capacity. The construction itself could also generate thousands of jobs to boost local employment rates, and more pedestrians on match days would benefit businesses in the surrounding areas.