{"id":520,"date":"2011-11-28T11:34:20","date_gmt":"2011-11-28T11:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stadiumguide.nl\/?p=520"},"modified":"2017-04-10T18:41:22","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T18:41:22","slug":"stjamespark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stadiumguide.com\/stjamespark\/","title":{"rendered":"St James’ Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"St<\/p>\n

Key facts<\/h3>\n

Club: Newcastle United FC | Opening: 1880 | Capacity: 52,339 seats<\/p>\n

History and description<\/h3>\n

St James\u2019 Park was first used for football in 1880, but was initially nothing more than a bare pitch.<\/p>\n

By the late 1890s, one small stand had been built, but it was the promotion of Newcastle to the First Division in 1898 that prompted the club to properly develop the ground. New terraces were built, which brought capacity to 30,000.<\/p>\n

It then only took five more years before another round of major reconstruction works was started. A new stand at the Barrack Road side and expanded terraces increased capacity to over 60,000.<\/p>\n

In the 1920s, Newcastle planned for an extensive redevelopment of St James’ Park with new stands designed by architect Archibald Leitch, but conflicts between the landlord (the city of Newcastle) and planners led to abandonment of the plans.<\/p>\n

In 1930, St James\u2019 Park recorded its highest attendance when 68,386 people visited a match between Newcastle and Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Further conflicts between the club and city led to more cancelled plans in the 1950s and 1960s, which also made Newcastle miss out on hosting matches during the 1966 World Cup. These were hosted by Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, the club finally reached agreement with the Newcastle city council, and in 1972 a new Leazes Terrace Stand opened. Works were to continue with the Leazes End, but relegation and a precarious financial situation ended hopes of further improvements.<\/p>\n

Safety requirements resulting from the Bradford fire<\/a> made a replacement of the old West Stand necessary, and in 1987 a new stand, named Milburn Stand, opened.<\/p>\n

Further improvements were needed, but funding only came available after the takeover of the club by Sir John Hall in 1992. In only a few years three new stands got built, resulting in a bowl-shaped stadium with a capacity of 37,000 seats.<\/p>\n

In 1996, St James’ Park was a playing venue of the Euro 1996<\/a> Championships, during which it hosted three group matches.<\/p>\n

The increasing popularity of the club made further expansion necessary, and after plans to move to a new stadium had fallen through, instead was chosen to build a second tier on top of the Milburn and Leazes Stands. Works were completed in August 2000. The stadium now has the largest cantilever roof in Europe.<\/p>\n

In 2011, St James’ Park was temporarily renamed Sports Direct Arena (after the company of club owner Mike Ashley), but the stadium referred back to its original name after new club sponsor Wonga bought the naming right.<\/p>\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\t\t