Eddie Howe insists he has no desire to see Newcastle United leave St James' Park for a bigger stadium elsewhere on Tyneside any time soon. Tickets for home games at the 'Cathedral on the Hill' are like gold dust since the takeover 12 months ago, with questions being asked about either a stadium expansion or a new venue entirely.
Newcastle 's owners have played down talk of finding a new location to meet demand, while the vast majority of Magpies supporters are also against the idea of leaving St James' Park. That is a view shared by Howe, who was emphatic in his response when asked about a theoretical move on Friday morning.
When asked if his preference would be to stay at St James' Park, Howe responded: "Without a doubt. When I look around the city, you see the stadium at every turn.
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"That's such a powerful thing and I wouldn't want to change that at all. If we can improve and enhance the matchday experience for supporters, we will try and do that in every way we can. But for me it is our home."
Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi say they have no intention of moving stadiums but have talked up the idea of expanding St James' Park to increase the current 52,000 capacity. Newcastle have been in talks with the council in the hope of adding an extra 8,000-13,000 seats.
Another hot topic that emerged this week was that of stadium naming rights, with Newcastle CEO Darren Eales admitting potential sponsorship from Saudi Arabia companies could come into play in the coming years. However, Eales insists all decisions will be made with the consultation of the fanbase.
Eales said: "There has to be a trade-off. If we want to be creating that atmosphere, there may be some opportunities where we talk to the supporters and say, ‘Look, we want to do this – are you guys okay with it because it’s going to help us bring in extra revenue?’ We need to compete, but that doesn’t mean we have to double the season-ticket prices or price people out of the ground."
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