'Start pushing': Simon Jordan tells PIF to get moving on Newcastle United stadium decision as talks go silent
Newcastle United fans are still waiting for some sort of news on what's going to happen with St James' Park, well over a year since we were told we'd have an update.
Originally, fans were told they'd have an update in 'Early 2025', as that deadline approached, it was pushed back to 'somewhere near the end of the season', and here we are, midway through the following season, and we're no further forward.
There have been mitigating factors with so much upheaval in the boardroom, and new CEO David Hopkinson has asked for patience and essentially said that talks are on the back burner, but we're into the fifth year of this new ownership, and we're still waiting for ground to be broken on a new training complex and the stadium.
Fans are impatient by nature, as we simply don't know what is happening behind the scenes, so from the outside, it just looks like nothing is being done.
Simon Jordan says Newcastle's owners are wasting time and missing out on revenue
It seems it's not just fans who are frustrated now, as talkSPORT's Simon Jordan has urged the club's owners to pull their finger out in his latest rant.
“I think the Newcastle ownership have got to kick on with the stadium. I'm not suggesting that they should move their stadium but, if that's the opportunity and the fans are comfortable with it, then in order to help Newcastle expand, ok, start pushing the envelope.
“You wanted to buy this football club. You made a hullabaloo about it. You had senior people inside your country's royalty writing letters to prime ministers to get a hold of it. We know that you're being hamstrung by PSR, but you're not hamstrung on capital expenditure.
“You can go build a 75,000 stadium in Newcastle. You'll be bent over backwards by the council to be helped. So I'm interested to see why that's not happening because that will give them an opportunity.
“They wouldn't care about the funding costs. They've got more money than God. And the revenue streams that they get from that would catapult Newcastle up another £50million per season.”
Newcastle United's owners are leaving money on the table
Whatever you think of Simon Jordan, you can't deny that he is speaking the truth here.
The owners are leaving money on the table by not pushing hard to get this training ground and stadium done. The training complex will attract bigger players, and the increased revenues from the stadium will increase the funds to bring in those players. Then there are the sponsorship opportunities on both that still haven't been taken advantage of.
We fell behind in the Deloitte Football Money League this year, and stalling on projects and opportunities like this is exactly why. We can't close that gap if we don't move forward.
