St James’ was once the second-biggest club stadium in the country, behind Old Trafford, but Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, West Ham United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton have all since leapfrogged Newcastle’s 52,335-seater ground in terms of capacity.
In that time, a huge revenue gap has opened up between the established order and Newcastle, with Manchester United generating £87m more in match-day income and £219.3m more in commercial income in 2023-24.
Newcastle’s training ground has been modernised in recent years, including hydrotherapy and plunge pools, a new canteen, a players’ lounge and bigger dressing rooms – but it remains some way off the best in the country.
Howe was keen to stress that the “ambition is there from everyone to make that happen”.
But the Newcastle head coach said there needs to be a “bit of patience” with the club’s infrastructure plans to “make sure it’s the right solution for everybody”.
He added: “If there is extra time taken to make the right decisions so the stadium project is correct, and it’s the right one for Newcastle for how ever many years the club are there, then take the extra time.
“It’s the same with the training ground. You need the right site and designs. I would rather it was correct than rushed.
“I know that there’s a 99.9% chance that I’m not going to see either in my position, but I’m still passionate about making sure it’s there for the future generations of Newcastle, whether that’s supporters or players.”