St James' Park, Newcastle United, Magpies, Premier League
Luke Edwards has admitted on Sky Sports that he’s not thrilled by the idea of Newcastle United setting up a fanzone outside of St James’ Park.
The Lowdown: PIF making moves off the pitch
One of the last actions Mike Ashley did to try and leave a legacy at Newcastle was to sell off the Strawberry Place land which left developing St James’ Park almost impossible given the listed buildings around the stadium.
However, PIF – more specifically, Mehrdad Ghodoussi – has stepped in and managed to broker a deal between the club and the owners of the land which will allow the Magpies to extend St James’ Park if they wish to in the future.
The news obviously got fans excited on Tyneside, but plans certainly aren’t anywhere near coming to fruition at the moment instead, PIF are looking to install a fanzone behind the ground for the time being.
The Latest: Newcastle looking towards the future
Edwards certainly isn’t impressed that all PIF have lined up is a fanzone for before games to entertain perhaps the younger fanbase, as he spoke about live on Sky Sports.
He said: “I think the story is absolutely 100% correct but what they’re going to do with it is what we really need to know now. At the moment, it’s going to be a fanzone, which I’m slightly underwhelmed by, if I’m perfectly honest. I’m not a huge fan of fanzones, but that might be my age.”
The Verdict: Toon looking to modernise the club
While the fact Newcastle are looking to do something other than expanding the stadium may well be disappointing news for fans, especially ones that don’t have a season ticket, this is a sensible step for the club.
This is because if PIF just ploughed on and expanded the stadium with very little thought or reasoning as to what they’re doing then it would only be worse in the long-term, so the club must consult the council and also some of the best architectures around to come up with the best result.
A fanzone certainly isn’t for everyone, but to get the younger fans engaged and loving both football and Newcastle, this is the best way to go about it by having a dedicated area right next to the stadium where they can be entertained before heading to the match.
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