A HOMEOWNER living next to a world-famous football stadium has explained why match days are a nightmare.
David Atkinson said that crowds coming to cheer on the Premier League team that calls the ground home cause disruption in the local area.
David, who has lived next to Newcastle’s ground St James’ Park for over 60 years, cited parking chaos as one of the major issues with fans.
He told Chronicle Live: “The biggest problem in my opinion is the parking, which is insane on match days, with cars pulling up and parking wherever they want, blocking drives and everything.
“The parking thing is difficult as it is impossible to police all of it but I think that something has to be done to improve the situation for residents, as there is growing frustration.”
He did, however, admit that his tolerance for match day crowds wasn’t helped by the fact that he has never been a football fan.
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He also added that, much to his relief, the “hooliganism and violence” that plagued crowds years ago has since died out.
It seems that David is in the minority, though, with fellow residents more than happy to sacrifice consistent parking for their local team.
Fellow resident Kate Gee said: “I only just moved in here back in August but I haven’t seen any negatives of living next to the stadium yet.
“It has been amazing so far, there is such a buzz and a positive atmosphere here, especially on match days, and it really is something special.
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“All the away fans just add to the atmosphere as well and we have had no bother or anything since moving in so I couldn’t be happier really.”
And it was a good night for the magpies on Wednesday, when they thrashed 2020 Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in their first home game of this year’s tournament.
The result comes as part of a stunning revival of the side’s fortunes since they were acquired by a consortium led by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund in 2021.
Since then they have finished 11th in the league in 2022 and 4th in 2023, securing a spot in the prestigious European competition for the first time in 20 years.
The cash injection has also allowed them to redevelop their home stadium, with St James’ Park set to become the second biggest ground in the Prem.
It comes as footie stars Robbie Keane and Rory Delap have been forced to flee Israel after an incursion into the country by Hamas terrorists.
Meanwhile, SunSport exclusively revealed that Spurs are closing in on star Norwich goalkeeper Dylan Thompson after the wonderkid rejected a new deal with the Canaries.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
