Newcastle United face stadium issue as 28,000 people protest proposed park project

Newcastle United has yet to confirm any solid plans for the next step in their stadium development plans.

While a St James' Park expansion and refurbishment is still an option, more signs point towards an entirely new stadium, with the parkland behind the current stadium a leading contender for the new site.

Leazes Park is Newcastle's oldest park, and while building on top of it is certainly less than ideal, the club does plan to create a park on the old St James' Park site to make up for it.

However, that is not enough for thousands of people who have signed a petition to hold a referendum on the club's stadium plans.

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Concerned residents have signed a petition against building on Leazes Park

A reported 28,000 signatures have been collected, but as the BBC reports, so far the protests have fallen on deaf ears as the Council has said they can't have a referendum on something that doesn't exist.

No plans have been submitted by the club to build a new stadium as yet, so the petition filing was somewhat premature.

That's not to say that it will just go away, obviously. As soon as the club confirms their plans, there will no doubt be backlash. Although it really doesn't matter which plan they opt for, there will be someone who will oppose it on some grounds.

The stadium development was never going to go smoothly

There may also be another agenda at play here, given the wording used by the petition's creator, who said the move would be 'scandalous' and referred to the proposed new ground as a 'Saudi super stadium'.

Clearly, they have an issue with our owners, too, and again, we totally understand that. It's an awkward dilemma to wrestle with as a Newcastle fan, but suggesting that the new ground would be a monument for our owners rather than something great for the club and the city is probably undercutting your case.

We still hope to get some further information on the club's proposed next steps this month, but as we keep saying, whatever the plans are, there are going to be those who are far from happy for whatever reason. We just have to ride it out, and soon it will all be forgotten.