The home of Newcastle United, St James’ Park has made the list as a potential host stadia for England and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid as reported in The Chronicle.
St James’ Park finds itself on the list of 14 stadia earmarked as potential venues for the tournament in a Preliminary Bid Dossier submitted on Wednesday. Also on the list is Sunderland’s Stadium Of Light, meaning that the North East could potentially have two venues hosting fixtures in the tournament.
The initial fourteen comprises of nine venues in England, two in the Republic of Ireland and one in each of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. However, four stadia will be cut from the final submission in April and with two from the North East on the list, you’d likely expect at least one to not make the cut.
Of course, by 2028, St James’ Park could be a completely different beast. We know the new owners have plans for expansion but have already got to work on improvements within the stadium as it is and that’s within the first year. So with another five-plus years before the tournament is due to kick off, St James’ Park could well be bigger and better than it is now.
Add to that the fact that by then, especially at the rate the team is going, we’ll have been hosting European football again, and the appeal of foreign visitors wanting to visit St James’ Park will be through the roof.
I’d be absolutely gobsmacked if St James’ Park doesn’t make the list of ten in the final submission in April. Whether the England and Ireland bid is selected is an entirely different matter.