Alex Thomas of HKS Architects tells i how St James’ Park could be transformed into a ‘Mad Max’ style stadium to rival the Bernabeu
The design masterminds behind the breathtaking £4.8bn SoFi Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium want to help revamp St James’ Park, hailing the possibility of constructing an innovative new football ground “unlike anything else in the world”.
i can reveal architects HKS have held dialogue with Newcastle United as part of the club’s extensive due diligence around either expanding St James’ Park or exploring options for a new stadium elsewhere in the city.
Wall-to-wall sell outs mean St James’ Park’s 52,350 capacity is not big enough to sustain the club’s ambitions, but any expansion is complicated by the city centre ground being hemmed in by listed buildings on two sides. The footprint of the ground, which backs onto the city’s Leazes Park, is also very tight – making redevelopment potentially expensive and painstaking.
The club have recently concluded a nine month feasibility study but are yet to disclose the results. Members of Newcastle’s ownership group have previously been clear about their preference for remaining at St James’ Park and it is thought that is the conclusion they are leaning towards.
But the question that has dogged the club throughout is: how can they revamp the stadium, expand the capacity and still develop something eye-catching and ambitious with such narrow constraints around the project?
It is a dilemma which Alex Thomas, a principal at HKS and the firm’s regional design director for sports and entertainment, believes could drive a creative solution.
Citing his firm’s recent work in Diriyah in Saudi Arabia, where innovative designs for a new indoor arena based on the city’s heritage of forts and castle walls have recently been unveiled, Thomas believes that options are open to the club that would expand capacity while also giving it a “wow” factor. A roof – similar in scope to that at the Bernabeu – or “bridge” across the top of the stadium are possibilities, he says.
“Designers in any discipline will tell you that being backed into a corner and having lots of constraints often creates the environment for real, genuine creativity because you’re being forced to be creative to solve a really difficult problem,” he told i.
“That usually involves challenging the norms, moving away from what has been done elsewhere and you can bring in ideas from other realms.
“Newcastle is going to demand some really innovative, different thinking, it’s going to need dialogue with planners, safety authorities, it’s going to be need the club to be brave, to have a vision and stick with it.
“There’s no doubt some pretty interesting outcomes that could manifest itself there if the client really wants to push it. I think it would look very different to any other football ground we’ve seen elsewhere.”
Thomas may have worked on design projects worth hundreds of millions of pounds across the globe but he is no stranger to St James’ Park, having studied architecture at Newcastle University. During his studies he lived in a flat on Richardson Road, which has a view of the stadium. It has given him an “affinity” for the club and a real interest in the ongoing expansion debate.
“I know what that stadium means to the people in Newcastle. Art, sport, religion, culture – they all come back to Newcastle United football club,” he says.
“There’s a real strong identity about Newcastle – there’s so many different unique aspects about that club from the colours to the supporters – and part of the stadium exercise there would need to be about capturing that, harnessing it, amplifying it and making the experience of the home fans even more intense.”
They have a seriously good portfolio, get them in Darren
captn_morgn on
They had me at “Mad Max Style Stadium”.
BerwickGaijin on
We’re gonna be giants in a decade’s time, holy shit.
Baxterousness on
The SoFi is an absolutely incredible stadium – it really feels like a futuristic experience.
I know that we get snobby about American Football, but the fan experience there is really exciting and fun – many of the stadia there are extremely characterful. It would be great for us to learn some of the lessons from the NFL.
Tuckgh on
There’s something special about having the opportunity to work with someone that’s lived in the area and has such an impressive portfolio. Would be way more confident about keeping the same feel with someone that is more likely to understand us
someonehasmygamertag on
My only request is for it to not be a toilet bowl and keep its cathedral like stance
Jazred90 on
Seats under the pitch. You heard it here, folks.
HodgyBeatsss on
Let’s have a bombonera type vertical wall but massive
9 Comments
Alex Thomas of HKS Architects tells i how St James’ Park could be transformed into a ‘Mad Max’ style stadium to rival the Bernabeu
The design masterminds behind the breathtaking £4.8bn SoFi Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium want to help revamp St James’ Park, hailing the possibility of constructing an innovative new football ground “unlike anything else in the world”.
i can reveal architects HKS have held dialogue with Newcastle United as part of the club’s extensive due diligence around either expanding St James’ Park or exploring options for a new stadium elsewhere in the city.
Wall-to-wall sell outs mean St James’ Park’s 52,350 capacity is not big enough to sustain the club’s ambitions, but any expansion is complicated by the city centre ground being hemmed in by listed buildings on two sides. The footprint of the ground, which backs onto the city’s Leazes Park, is also very tight – making redevelopment potentially expensive and painstaking.
The club have recently concluded a nine month feasibility study but are yet to disclose the results. Members of Newcastle’s ownership group have previously been clear about their preference for remaining at St James’ Park and it is thought that is the conclusion they are leaning towards.
But the question that has dogged the club throughout is: how can they revamp the stadium, expand the capacity and still develop something eye-catching and ambitious with such narrow constraints around the project?
It is a dilemma which Alex Thomas, a principal at HKS and the firm’s regional design director for sports and entertainment, believes could drive a creative solution.
Citing his firm’s recent work in Diriyah in Saudi Arabia, where innovative designs for a new indoor arena based on the city’s heritage of forts and castle walls have recently been unveiled, Thomas believes that options are open to the club that would expand capacity while also giving it a “wow” factor. A roof – similar in scope to that at the Bernabeu – or “bridge” across the top of the stadium are possibilities, he says.
“Designers in any discipline will tell you that being backed into a corner and having lots of constraints often creates the environment for real, genuine creativity because you’re being forced to be creative to solve a really difficult problem,” he told i.
“That usually involves challenging the norms, moving away from what has been done elsewhere and you can bring in ideas from other realms.
“Newcastle is going to demand some really innovative, different thinking, it’s going to need dialogue with planners, safety authorities, it’s going to be need the club to be brave, to have a vision and stick with it.
“There’s no doubt some pretty interesting outcomes that could manifest itself there if the client really wants to push it. I think it would look very different to any other football ground we’ve seen elsewhere.”
Thomas may have worked on design projects worth hundreds of millions of pounds across the globe but he is no stranger to St James’ Park, having studied architecture at Newcastle University. During his studies he lived in a flat on Richardson Road, which has a view of the stadium. It has given him an “affinity” for the club and a real interest in the ongoing expansion debate.
“I know what that stadium means to the people in Newcastle. Art, sport, religion, culture – they all come back to Newcastle United football club,” he says.
“There’s a real strong identity about Newcastle – there’s so many different unique aspects about that club from the colours to the supporters – and part of the stadium exercise there would need to be about capturing that, harnessing it, amplifying it and making the experience of the home fans even more intense.”
[https://www.hksinc.com/what-we-do/practices/sports-and-entertainment/](https://www.hksinc.com/what-we-do/practices/sports-and-entertainment/)
They have a seriously good portfolio, get them in Darren
They had me at “Mad Max Style Stadium”.
We’re gonna be giants in a decade’s time, holy shit.
The SoFi is an absolutely incredible stadium – it really feels like a futuristic experience.
I know that we get snobby about American Football, but the fan experience there is really exciting and fun – many of the stadia there are extremely characterful. It would be great for us to learn some of the lessons from the NFL.
There’s something special about having the opportunity to work with someone that’s lived in the area and has such an impressive portfolio. Would be way more confident about keeping the same feel with someone that is more likely to understand us
My only request is for it to not be a toilet bowl and keep its cathedral like stance
Seats under the pitch. You heard it here, folks.
Let’s have a bombonera type vertical wall but massive