The St James' Park Stack opened in 2024, and early signs suggest that this new fanzone could prove very lucrative for Newcastle United.
With the club's new ownership needing to find creative ways to bridge the PSR hole, many expected a St James' Park expansion or new stadium to be the only real answer. Since it opened in 2024, The Stack fanzone has proven to be a huge success, with recent accounts showing it made £400,000 in early December alone.
The Stack is more than just a matchday venue; it also offers events all week long, especially during the festive period. However, on matchday, it acts as a good pre-game hub. The Stack also shows matches if they are on TV.
St. James' STACK, presented by @Sela is the place to be this season! ? pic.twitter.com/42YhkmvQJ4
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) August 8, 2024
St James' Park Stack offers up a unique PSR boost
‘I am trying to work out if it is appropriate to come in (to the STACK) and have a few pints to support PSR for January. Is that one of my new roles? I'll put something on social media please free to join on a Tuesday afternoon.‘ These are the words of Paul Mitchell, Newcastle United's sporting director. While his comments are in jest, he does hit on an obvious point: The Stack is helping Newcastle United deal with the PSR issue outside of improving St James' Park.
According to The Chronicle, Newcastle expects The Stack to bring in close to £1.5m in December alone. If those numbers were consistent, that figure would add an extra home game's worth of revenue to the club per month when you consider that the extended cup runs and Champions League games in the 2022/23 season (seven in total) net Newcastle an extra £10m, it goes to show how impactful a fanzine like this could be.
‘I am tasked with the venue team, which maximises the revenue from the venue, including Stack, and the brand marketing digital media team, which grows our brand presence and digital marketing abilities both here in Newcastle and globally. Our growth will come globally.‘ These are the words of Newcastle United's commercial chief, Peter Silverstone, whose task is to increase the revenue of the club. It looks like The Stack is proving to be one of the better investments.
FGG says: PSR rules mean clubs have to think outside the box
PSR/FFP, it doesn't matter the variation of the rules, it's clear to see it is the leading reason for clubs to look beyond the normal ways to expand revenue. While stadium expansion and new stadiums are an obvious way to give you a huge jump, other options have begun to emerge. While Chelsea's selling of hotels or selling their own women's team to themselves are on the suspicious side, building club-connected projects seems like the play. How far the scope for these will be is hard to say, but a fanzone at least seems a logical step.
This is obviously a big deal for Newcastle. Speculation about a new stadium or St James' Park expansion is still not confirmed. However, news is expected to drop in March 2025.