Newcastle’s plans for a new ground have reportedly hit a speed bump.
The Magpies are thought to be eyeing up a site in Leazes Park, which is situated in close proximity to St James’ Park.
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However, the club may be forced to pursue an alternative location due to the discovery of bats, according to the Daily Mail.
As per Regulation 43 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, it can be a criminal offence to deliberately capture, injure, disturb or kill a bat.
It is also a criminal offence to either damage or destroy the breeding site or resting place of a bat.
Troubling times in the Toon?
The report adds a delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the owners of Newcastle, are set to jet in towards the end of April for meetings with the club’s executive team, with the new stadium sure to be high on the agenda.
Newcastle’s owners arriving in town comes at an interesting time amid reports the PIF is set to scale back its gargantuan investment in sport, most notably with LIV Golf.
Yet there has been little mention of its plans for the club, who are worryingly likely to spend next season without any European football.
As a result, the Magpies appear destined for a major sale in the summer, with star winger Anthony Gordon a likely candidate to be moved on.
Despite Newcastle’s on-field woes and looming squad issues, the future of St James’ Park is a different beast.
Stick or twist?
The Magpies have called St James’ Park home since 1892 and it is one of English football’s most atmospheric grounds when its 53,000 seats are packed out.
However, it has not undergone any refurbishments since 2000.
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The club’s success since the PIF’s takeover coupled with their desire to turn Newcastle into a global powerhouse ramped up talk a redevelopment of St James’ Park could be on the cards.
But if a renovation is not feasible, Newcastle could elect to build a new ground elsewhere in the city.
Speaking exclusively to eSPORTY in February, Magpies CEO David Hopkinson was non-committal on which avenue the club would go down.
“St. James’ is a magical place, it’s going to be an extraordinary place on Saturday when we play our next match,” Hopkinson said.
“It’s 53,000, we think we could be bigger and that of course is revenue, a major investment.
“We haven’t made the final decision on what we’re going to do here, we are working on this every day, deciding whether it’s here or a new site, where it’s a renovation or new stadium.
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“But we’ve got an opportunity we’re pursuing and working on every day.”
Should Newcastle choose to stay at St James’ Park, Hopkinson believes an extra ’10-15,000′ seats could be added, taking the capacity to a potential 68,000.
But building a new venue would allow the Magpies to choose whatever capacity they desire, boosting the amount of potential revenue.
Unfortunately for incumbent Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, he conceded there is a ‘99.9 per cent chance’ he wouldn’t be in the position when a new ground is complete.
