I went on a stag do over the Easter Weekend to Newcastle. The first thing on the itinerary was a tour of St James Park. At first i was like, 'meh, not bothered by that'. But when I actually started the tour I found it quite enjoyable as a footy fan. Some funny/interesting things I found out from the tour/guide:
Newcastle has no trophy cabinet. Having looked on Wikipedia they last won a major trophy in 1955 - The FA Cup.
Their version of diamond level and box seats can reach up 30+ grand. I was surprised how expensive they were actually but they all get bought. The concourse areas are really quite nice.
Even though I knew the capacity beforehand their stadium is massive (52,500 seats). The tour guide said all the infrastructure is there. I don't get why they've been so poor for so long. I wonder what they're training ground is like. The stadium is right in the middle of town so easy to get to. From the top tier on a good clear day you can see the Stadium of Light in Sunderland....
They moved the away fans section to the end of the Leazes stand to reduce stewarding costs. Having only one line of stewards was cheaper. We obviously filled out our section when we played there and beat them 2-1.
The important seats are designated to Mike Ashley, directors etc. Bobby Robson's family were given two seats. The England manager is given one but apparently Fabio Capello never ever traveled that far North. The furthest he went was Wigan. Sam Allardyce ripped up two seats to put in a screen and/or lectern when he sits up in the stand. He was sacked not long after he was hired but the woodwork is still there in the middle of the stand.
The changing rooms for the home team in most stadiums are always so much more comfortable and bigger with more facilities than the away team's room. At St James's Park they make the room hotter to make the team less comfortable which is a trick most clubs play to be fair. The exception to the rule is Mourinho who made the away dressing room really plush to lull the opposition players into a false sense of security and comfort before destroying them on the pitch. When he left Chelsea they reverted back to a basic away dressing room. But when Mourinho returned in 2013 he went back to this beautiful changing room. Fair play he hasn't lost a league game at Stamford Bridge.
The tour guide (nice bloke) secretly quite likes Mike Ashley as he believes he's managed the club finances well. They've made a 20 million pound profit recently apparently. He's done a lot for the club that he doesn't get credit for.
On another note I left on the day of the Tyne & Wear derby. Beer drinking from 11am for a 4pm kick off. The place was rammed.
