| Summary : A team called East End made their St James' debut on 3 September 1892 for a friendly v Celtic. Four months later they adopted the name Newcastle United and joined the League in 1893. The ground at this time was rather basic with banking used as terracing. In 1899, an extra four acres of land was leased from the grounds freeholders (the City Council and the Freemen of the City), the pitch moved and terracing cut into banks at the Leazes Park End and Leazes Terrace side. In 1905, the club set about revamping St James' Park completely. Three sides of banking were expanded and terraced, and a new West Stand built. Alterations and Improvements were also carried out by Archibald Leitch between 1921 and 1929. After covering the Leazes Park End in 1929 further attempts by the club to redevelop the ground were frustrated with the refusal of numerous planning applications. Eventually, however, in 1971 the club was granted a 99 years lease and approval for a 3,400 seat East Stand. Designed by the firm Faulkner Brown, work began in early 1972 and was completed in late 1973. In May 1987 the Council ordered the closure of the 80 year old West Stand and demolition started in August. Its replacement, designed by Traer Clark Associates, was opened in 1988 and renamed the Jackie Milburn Stand in 1990. After Sir John Hall took control of the club in March 1990 he hired local architects Taylor, Tulip and Hunter to redevelop the ground. The north east corner section and Sir John Hall (former Leazes End) Stand were the first to be built in 1993 whilst the south east corner section and Exhibition Stand (named after the sponsors Newcastle Breweries) were completed in late 1994. A south west corner section was the final piece of the jigsaw to open in 1995. The Milburn Stand has also been much altered with its original roof extended to provide cover for the now seated paddock. A further programme of development to increase the capacity of the stadium to 55,000 started in 1999. |
More information : [NZ 2433 6461] Football Ground [NAT] (1)
St. James' Park, formally known as Town Moor until 1892. Home of Newcastle United F.C.. Newcastle United was formed in 1892 when two rival teams, Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End amalgamated. The pitch had the slight disadvantage of an 18-foot slope from north to south until 1899 when an extra 4 acres of land was leased. By moving the pitch and shifting tons of soil, the slope was reduced to about 4 feet north to south. A new West stand was built in 1906. Unaltered until 1930 when the Leazes Park End was covered. In 1953 it became the only third division team to have floodlights. St. James' Park has also become in recent years one of the foremost rock concert venues in the North. Substantial structural changes were made in 1985 due to greater safety measures. The old West stand was taken down in 1987. (2)
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1948 aerial photograph (4)
Colour photographs taken in 2001 following the creation of new stands. (5)
The new West Stand was erected in 1905 by the Clyde Structural Iron Company under the supervision of Alexander Blair of Glasgow. There followed a record crowd of 56,000 spectators at St. James' Park for a derby match against Sunderland. Alterations and Improvements were also carried out on the football ground by the eminent football ground designer Archibald Leitch between 1921 and 1929. These included the installation of Leitch patented barriers to replace the wire-rope variety and new tunnels to the players dressing rooms. In 1929, a Leitch designed roof was added to the Leazes End terrace. However Leitch's grand plans for the football ground were never realised due to the refusal of planning applications. (6) |