Newcastle plot £300m ground plan

Plans would see the capacity of St James' Park rise from 52,000

Newcastle United have unveiled plans for a £300m development of St James' Park that will take the capacity of the stadium to at least 60,000.

The plans include a major conference centre, hotels and luxury apartments, which the club are hoping will lead to the creation of 1,500 jobs.

"What we are proposing is something not just for the football club," said chairman Freddy Shepherd.

"But it is for the whole city and the people of Newcastle."

The Number 1 St James' Park project, as it has been described by the club, will be funded completely independently of the football club's revenues.

Glenn Roeder's team are 11th in the Premiership but the plans will not affect any cash set aside for transfers this summer.

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An application has yet to be submitted to planning chiefs and the project will take the form of a three-phase programme.

The first development stage would lead to a 140-bedroom hotel complex being built on the site of the former Magpies Supporters' Club, with a second hotel also in the blueprint.

Phase two will involve superior apartments behind the Leazes End of the stadium, while the scheme will be completed by a purpose-built conference centre.

Development within St James' Park itself would take place at the Gallowgate End.