'It was such a depressing looking place'

'It was such a depressing looking place' - New Newcastle stadium changes made ahead of schedule

Paul Houston had made his way through St James' Park countless times before as a supporter, but not when the concourses were empty. "Wow," the contracts manager thought as he stared at the grey walls that perfectly summed up the uninspiring Ashley era that had come and gone.

It was Houston's first day on the job last May and the task ahead hit the 50-year-old there and then. Breathing new life into the stadium was going to be 'one of the biggest jobs' Optimal Decorating Contractors had ever taken on - in more ways than one.

"They did not have the lights on in the concourse areas at the time," Houston told ChronicleLive. "It was such a dull, depressing looking place.

"When they put the lights on, it didn't make much difference but, when they go on now, everything is nice and bright. It looks clean and fresh. It's needed it for a long time, but it just never got done. It was kind of neglected."

This transformation has been months in the making and the new owners started work on improving the match day experience literally the day after the final home game of last season against Arsenal. To put the scale of the operation into perspective, cranes were even required to lift scissor lifts and cherry pickers into the stadium to access the upper concourses at the Gallowgate End.

Optimal, working with Bain & Hind, ultimately had four machines on the go at any one time during those 10-hour days as the decorators covered around 8,000 square metres of blockwork in the Gallowgate, Leazes End and East Stand with nearly 6,000 litres of paint.

The 10-strong crew had less than three months to complete the work before the start of the new season. However, given how 'all the lads who worked on the job were mad keen Newcastle fans', perhaps, it was not a surprise that they finished the job three weeks ahead of schedule as they painted the walls of the concourses in club colours.

"Let's face it, when everyone talks about Newcastle, they talk about the black and white stripes don't they so it was an easy decision to have the white walls with the black bottoms," Houston said. "Us being in black and white, it had to be done in those colours. You've even got the blue flooring in, which is part of the badge as well."

As well as the flooring, new flags have been hung above the kiosks and collages have been commissioned. These may seem like small changes, but a lot of thought has gone into each of the new additions, whether it is the design and colours of each flag being a nod to a retro '90s kit or the collages featuring club legends such as Kevin Keegan, Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer; badges from years gone by; pictures of retro match programmes; or the words of chants like 'Toon! Toon!' and 'We are the Geordies'.

Supporters will get their first peek of the new-look concourses when Newcastle play Atalanta in the first of two pre-season friendlies at St James' next week. You suspect that will be a proud evening for Houston and his team - particularly given the challenges the Gateshead firm have faced during the pandemic.

"When the country went into lockdown, it was kind of like the end of the world for everybody," he added. "It took well over a year to get things slightly back to normal and to be able to actually go to work and work without face coverings.

"It is a nice thing to look now and see that after everything that has gone on in the last couple of years. It's always nice to see something done, especially when it's Newcastle United as well. It's fantastic."

'It was such a depressing looking place' - New Newcastle stadium changes made ahead of schedule

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