'It's imminent': Darren Eales confirms that St James' Park feasibility study is due very soon

It has been a long time coming but Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales believes the findings from the stadium expansion feasibility study are due to hit his desk soon.

Newcastle United have tasked a top architectural firm to assess every possibility for expanding St James' Park in a bid for the club to remain at the iconic site rather than building a new stadium out of the city.

The location of Grade I listed buildings along Leazes Terrace behind the East Stand and the fact that the Metro runs beneath the Gallowgate End are huge obstacles in the way of a St James' Park expansion.

While The Telegraph reported a couple of months ago that the feasibility study had been complete, it later turned out that they'd got a little over-excited.

Darren Eales says the final report is imminent

On Monday, Darren Eales sat down with the media to discuss goings on at the club and touched upon the feasibility study, telling The Chronicle that he expects the findings very soon and outlining the next steps.

"We're waiting for the final report. I think it's imminent. It's complicated because where we are is a difficult spot in terms of building so we want to make sure that we do that diligent process and look at all the options.

"That will come in. It will go to ownership and we will also speak to the fan advisory board when we get that final report. Then we will look at what our next steps are going to be."

Remaining at St James' Park is the priority for many fans

The overwhelming majority of fans would prefer to remain at St James' Park and find some way to expand and update the iconic stadium, so that will be the priority when the study is finished.

There are options to move the stadium up to Leazes Park, however, that comes with its own set of complications.

It still sounds like any type of work is a while away yet, but it's good to know that one day in the not-too-distant future we'll have a state-of-the-art stadium to compete with the big boys.