NEWCASTLE UNITED will make a “once-in-a-generation” investment to resolve the St James’ Park expansion dilemma.
The club’s new chief operating officer Brad Miller has claimed that news over the long-term plan for an improved home is “really, truly” imminent.
Although he also refused to rule out leaving the famous old stadium for a new build.
Miller, who has previously led a £1.3bn transformation of Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2, is the man tasked with leading the plans for St. James’.
He has now reassured fans that Newcastle’s owners have an “overwhelming” commitment to investing in a huge transformation of their current home or building a home elsewhere in the city.
Following the competition of a wide-range study into all possible options, Miller has now provided an update on plans while explaining the reasons he decided to join the Toon.
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He said: “There’s three big things on my why did I join the club? One is obviously the stadium.
“Two is to invest elsewhere, across the rest of our facilities, whether that be training ground, academy, etc. across all of the teams.
“And then working on our existing operation. So there’s a brilliant team here today, and they do an amazing job, and they’ve got loads of knowledge, and it’s all in their heads.
“And we put on a brilliant, brilliant operation each and every day and on match days.
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“And the work with them will be that we’re going to put in place what is a once-in-a-generation amount of investment into the club, whether it be in the stadium or other areas.
“Let’s make sure that our operation matches that future ambition.
“And so the good job, the great job we do today, let’s make sure we’re able to continue to do that great job.
“So what do we need to think about that’s going to be relevant when we’ve got our new forever home? Whether that be stadium, training ground, academy, etc etc. So, they’re those big three things.”
The results of the feasibility report are due to be made public over the coming months.
And Miller called for patience while citing the opening of the STACK fanzone outside SJP last week as an example of the club’s commitment to seeing through infrastructure projects.
He said: “With regard to the stadium, I’d love to be able to share more today.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate. We’re still just working through the last couple of questions we’ve got.
“Darren [Eales] has gone on record previously to say look it’s imminent.
“But it really truly is in terms of next steps, what direction we’re going to be taking, etc. It’d be remiss of me to go early and cut across that.
“What I will say is the product you see today, the STACK, this is just an indication of the ambition and the commitment and the dedication that the ownership and everybody within the club has got, not just to Newcastle United, but to the region as well.
“We hope it’s representative and a little bit of a hint to what we’re hoping to achieve into the future.
“The stadium investment is genuinely a once-in-a-generation opportunity and we want to make sure that we get that right.
“And I think we’re doing that against the backdrop of, in the UK, we haven’t got a great track record of delivering really big projects and delivering on time and successfully and making sure they work right from the absolute outset.
“So there’s a lot for us to think about and that’s why we are, maybe frustratingly for people, taking our time to make sure that our next steps are going to be the right ones.
“Because whilst we’ve got the ability to invest and the commitment and the ambition to invest from the ownership, we only want to write that cheque once.
“So we want to make sure we get it absolutely right for everybody that’s involved with the club.”
Newcastle’s top preference is to find a solution that will allow them to modernise and expand St. James’ Park.
But the obstacles they face have been well-documented due to the 52,350-capacity stadium being surrounded by listed buildings.
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Miller declined to confirm whether anything, including a move elsewhere, has been ruled out yet.
But it is believed that the cost of rebuilding on alternative sites was part of the feasibility study.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
