In a week when all of the club’s key powerbrokers, including chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and a high-powered delegation from majority owners the Public Investment Fund (PIF), met in Northumberland to discuss the stadium and Newcastle’s future plans it was Silverstone who broke ranks among the club’s board as he spoke on a panel at the Financial Times‘ Business of Football Summit.
One is a new build with a capacity of around 68,000, constructed close to the current St James’ Park site, while on the other a possible revamp of the existing stadium which could take it closer to 65,000 seats has been investigated.
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Read MoreAs the man charged with leading their commercial growth Silverstone has a crucial role. To put it simply: in the era of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) the only way the club can spend more money on players is by securing lucrative sponsorships. The buck ultimately stops with him if progress on that front slows down.
For those after a definitive update, the wait goes on. But there was less strident talk here about moving from St James’ Park than there was when Brad Miller – the club’s chief operating officer – suggested it would double revenue in an instant.
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But still, it was nice to hear fans mentioned in a stadium debate that has been largely dominated by Newcastle’s ongoing tussle with PSR and the impact that has had on a squad that has not been strengthened for three transfer windows.
But Silverstone framed things slightly differently on Thursday, insisting that the club’s starting point for making a decision was meeting the excess demand for tickets that exists weekly at Newcastle.
“Richard Masters talked about the Premier League having an audience of 1.4billion. We have the interest and audience of a very passionate city. We are a one club city and therefore we fortunately have an over demand for our stadium currently so we need to look at ways of both satisfying that and allowing as many fans to come in and enjoy the atmosphere of Newcastle and watch their team and then obviously, as everyone has talked about, try and maximise the value in return for ownership.”
“We’re at that point where we’re deciding ‘Is it best to renovate and re-invigorate St James’ Park’ – which is renowned as one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the country – or build a new stadium as these projects have shown and other clubs in the Premier League have done.
“So you start with the fans and how we can service most of them and then look into what’s the best option from that.”
Some of that is due to the regulations, which prohibit excessive spending. But PIF’s methodical approach is at odds with their desire to disrupt in other sports like golf and in their own Saudi Pro League. Sources consistently point out that they see Newcastle as an investment rather than a vanity project and that is why big decisions are considered and there needs to be a strategic approach.
Newcastle’s STACK Fanzone is surpassing revenue expectations (Picture: Getty)
“I’m in a fortunate position, we have an ownership group in the PIF and Reuben family who are not only extremely well-funded but also extremely ambitious for the club in the long-term so we have been investing, whether that’s in a fan zone outside the stadium which has created double digit (increases) in revenue in a year (or) investing in a retail business. We’re in the build phase, we’re investing to build and grow,” he said.
Newcastle face “unprecedented challenge”
Newcastle’s last recorded commercial revenue (for the 2022/23 season) was £46million. Manchester United’s was more than £300million. That simple comparison is why the club has set “relentless” targets for growth and why they face what Silverstone branded an “unprecedented” objective in the modern Premier League.
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Read More“It doesn’t matter how much we’ve grown over the last two years, to catch some of the clubs who are way ahead of us we have to keep growing at that double digit growth rate which is unprecedented in the Premier League in this PSR era.”
Newcastle are set to unveil new season ticket prices and a new pricing structure for supporters whose long-term, ten-year deals are up in the next few weeks. Given the focus on prices throughout the Premier League it is a potential flashpoint for supporters.
Encouraging noises, at least.
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While Manchester City’s lawyers are poking holes in the legislation – with a big decision on the future of APTs that could open the door for more lucrative sponsorship deals for Newcastle in the future – the Magpies aren’t kicking up much of a fuss.
“I don’t see the focus on Newcastle over any of the 19 clubs,” he said.
“We all have to work within these rules and maximise opportunities in our own ways. We’re continuing to do that.”
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