St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle, England. This stadium is owned by Newcastle City Council and has a seating capacity of 52,354 people. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C.
It is the seventh largest football stadium in England and the eleventh largest rugby stadium in the United Kingdom. This stadium has a pitch dimension of 105 by 68 meters for football matches.
The stadium is known by its initials of St James' Park (SJP). It is also often referred to as Gallowgate and simply St. James too.
History
The first football team to play at St James' Park was Newcastle Rangers in 1880. In 1908, the second-ever rugby league test match was played at this stadium.
A football architect Archibald Leitch made plans for double-tiered stand between 1920 and 1930 which were unsuccessful due to financial problems and some political disputes. Such planning difficulties continued till the 1960s.
In the late 1960s, further attempts were made to develop the stadium, and the council proposed a multi use sports development of St. James' Park. This was rejected as not financially viable. These plans were withdrawn in 1971 after the agreement to redevelop St James' Park was finally reached, after intervention by the then Minister for Sport, Denis Howell. In 1972, work started on the East Stand but, In 1978 the Leazes End was demolished due to some financial problems.
In January 1992, businessman Sir John Hall was installed as chairman who invested heavily in the stadium and the Leazes End was finally rebuilt. It was opened as the Sir John Hall stand in 1993 during Newcastle's debut season in the Premiership in 1993.
Major Matches
St James' Park hosted some football matches in the 2012 Summer Olympics. It also hosted British home Championship, Euro 1996 and 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup
The 1908–09 and 1911–12 Ashes series were also played at St. James’ Park.
The finals of the 2019 European Rugby Challenge Cup and Champions Cup are scheduled to be
played here.
