Newcastle United’s stadium project, whether a new build or redevelopment of St James’ Park, will not be entirely financed by the Public Investment Fund, according to Daily Mail’s Craig Hope.
“When Newcastle
do make a final decision on whether to build a new stadium, as is expected, or redevelop St James’ Park, the project will NOT be fully funded by PIF,” Hope wrote.
Some supporters had assumed the majority owners would provide what has been called a “once in a generation” cheque. But as chief commercial officer Brad Miller said last year, “While we’ve got the ability to invest and the commitment and the ambition to invest from the ownership, we only want to write that cheque once. The stadium investment is genuinely a once-in-a-generation opportunity and we want to make sure that we get that right.”
“A ‘pitch document’ has been circulated with a view to securing finance on the project,” Hope revealed. The debt, according to Hope’s information, would likely sit with the club in the long term rather than with PIF. One example model described was a £2 billion stadium being funded half by PIF and the Reuben Brothers, with the remainder through loans.
“Confidential has been reminded that PIF is ‘not a sugar daddy’ and that the key letter in their acronym is the ‘I’ for ‘investment,’” Hope wrote.
Infrastructure spending may be exempt from Profit and Sustainability Rules, but ownership intends to approach the project as it would any other PIF investment.
With that, the expectation is for the goal to remain the building of a multi-purpose venue similar to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, capable of generating its own revenue through football, concerts, rugby and NFL fixtures.
