Wembley Stadium architect vows to 'create something unique' amid St James' Park expansion talks

Wembley Stadium architect Angus Campbell has said that he will "create something unique" should he be given the chance to work on changes to St. James' Park.

Discussions have been taking place internally regarding what to do with the 52,000 seater stadium since Newcastle United were taken over in October 2021.

Despite rumours of new stands and a completely new stadium, nothing has been set in stone yet.

However, in an interview with The Chronicle, Campbell talked openly about what he would like to achieve and has hopes of being involved in any changes to the ground.

Image: Bea Castillo

More than just a stadium

"We hope to be invited to put our hat in the ring and show our ideas and our approach. Campbell said.

"We would look to reach out to the planners, what are the problems? What does the city need? Because managing a stadium on a matchday takes a lot of effort.

Campbell, who oversaw some of Foster and Partners' projects including Wembley Stadium, Qatar's Lusail stadium and the Commerzbank an ecological office tower has also had a hand in one of the Newcastle's most recent landmarks.

The Sage (now known as The Greenhouse International Centre for Music) was also designed by Foster and Partners and paved the way for their future projects.

"Think about (The Sage), the building was not that expensive in the overall scheme of things. It was done on a budget, but what we did was make a big effort to ensure the public could interact with it so that, in effect, there's an internal street."

Campbell envisions St. James' Park becoming like The Sage where people are allowed to wander around free of charge with attractions like 'smaller venues or things that can happen inside it' as a draw outside of matchday.

Strawberry Place could see more change with Campbell

At the moment, popular entertainment venue STACK are building a new site on Strawberry Place which will bring more footfall to the area away from matchdays.

The venue will be in place for three years while Newcastle's owners decide what they would like to do with the plot of land going forward.

Campbell admitted that the acquisition of Strawberry Place provides a 'special opportunity' for future development.

The architect said that the possibility of adding a 'very tight' extra 10,000 seats was a possibility.

Campbell also suggested that St James' Metro station could remain open if worked on correctly and encouraged supporters to share their views on plans for the future.