1. Public money to be committed to the plans.

Part of the official Manchester United announcement this morning stating:

‘…with the development of a world-class stadium for Manchester United at the heart of the project.

While Manchester United would be responsible for the stadium development, support from public bodies would be needed to unlock the wider regeneration opportunity, including improved transport infrastructure and housing.’

So the bottom line is that whilst Manchester United will be paying for any brand new stadium, public money will be committed to help support the overall regeneration, such as the transport infrastructure.

This news only makes me even more convinced that Newcastle United needs a new 80,000+ seater stadium ASAP.

We are repeatedly told that the Newcastle United owners and senior staff are looking at/waiting for feasibility plans on expanding St James’ Park and/or a brand new stadium.

This just doesn’t ring true at all.

For anybody to believe that almost 40 months after buying the club, the Newcastle United owners are still waiting to hear what is feasible… is beyond belief.

I am totally convinced that by the time they started over five years ago the process of trying to buy Newcastle United from Mike Ashley, the then-prospective Newcastle United owners would have already known all the possibilities regarding extending St James’ Park and or building a brand new stadium on a different site.

To claim that they still don’t know what is and isn’t possible isn’t credible.

This is the Saudi Arabia PIF and the financial power they wield in terms of able to pay for the best possible advice and quickly!

Then their junior partners the Reuben family, one of the very richest families in the UK and their £25bn fortune mostly built on construction and property development projects, not least in Newcastle Upon Tyne and the region in general.