Building Site - the road to an extended SJP or a new stadium.

When a decision is made on the vexed question of where Newcastle United is going to play in the long term, what happens after that?

We are very fortunate at TRUE FAITH to be able to call on the professional expertise of fellow supporters who can explain and guide us through complex areas of Newcastle United’s operations. Stephen Hodgson is a construction - engineering professional with significant experience of delivering large projects and has an understanding of the process involved in taking projects through the various stages from initiation to completion. In this piece Stephen talks us through the hurdles and milestones Newcastle United will go through to either extend and upgrade St James’ Park or relocate to a new stadium. We’re grateful to Stephen for giving us his expertise.

Since the takeover in October 2021 a hotly discussed topic between our fan base, and the national news, is does our long-term future remain at SJP or pastures new?

We are now told the club is reaching a decision point. Like most, I’m eagerly anticipating the news of whether we are staying at our long time home of SJP or not.

That said, any announcement from the club will only be the beginning of a very long journey before we see a finished stadium, new or improved

After the announcement there will start, what I anticipate being, a long progress of planning application, investigation works and then finally the commencement.

A decision of this magnitude would normally be made by a client after having carried out ground investigation works. Ground investigation work takes various forms but all end up at the simple point ‘what do we need to do make sure the building doesn’t fall down?’

Work to ensure a stable building, or stadium in our case, can vary wildly and can add significant cost. A common phrase used in construction is ‘you make or lose your time in the ground’.

What does that mean?

Well quite literally a lot of a projects overrun because they are delayed whilst carrying out works in the ground like foundations and drainage but mainly the former.

I’m not aware of any ground investigation works happening around SJP or in Leazes Park to date. As a fan base if we can track planes on deadline day I’m sure somebody would have noticed by now.

So, what will happen next?

You obviously need to be ‘on the inside’ to know exactly but we can take an educated guess. I’d anticipate the first meaningful step will see an announcement from the club to say what their preferred option is and that work to finalise a planning application, including ground investigations, will commence forthwith.

I’d also expect to see some sort of consultation, whether that be immediate or after a short period of time will likely depend on the level of information that has been developed to date. Let’s not forget developers and our club, must consult with relevant parties before submitting a planning application.

That is not limited to season ticket holders, or club members, it will be a city-wide consultation.

Ultimately though we are still very early in the project’s lifecycle, regardless of the option selected. I’ve seen durations quoted of around five years for a refurbished SJP or seven years for a new stadium.

These durations will not likely include for any delays associated with any planning decisions being bogged down in legal challenge.

Chelsea have had this problem due to a right to light challenge from a residential neighbour, but let’s ignore that until it happens, or hopefully doesn’t.

What can we expect to see happen over the next five to seven years? Well, this can be simply split into three main stages of a project, regardless of option.

Define stage – Quite literally defining the required works of the project and developing a design to meet that.

Deliver stage – Again quite literally delivering the works as defined in the previous stage.

Operate stage – The building is in operation.

It is common that the define and deliver phases overlap. This is because part of the deliver phase is preparing the site so the project can commence.

Once the define phase is suitably complete and the site has a secure boundary, is prepared for commencement, and facilities for workers put in then the main works can start.

This will include excavating, and possibly stabilising the ground, to a level where the building foundations can be installed. Once this is done the project will then start to ‘come out of the ground’ this is commonly referred to as the transition between sub-structure to super-structure.

Quite literally this means the building below (sub) and above (super) ground.

The building ‘coming out of the ground’ will likely be a mixture of structural steelwork and concrete. Typically, the construction industry tries to utilise pre-cast concrete where it can as it saves time, and often money, during the build phase but this isn’t always possible so we may see some more traditional techniques know as cast in-situ concrete installation, quite literally a concrete element constructed on site, as well.

Once the structure is sufficiently built, they will commence the installation of the ‘building’s skin’, this is generically referred to as the façade and roof.

Once the ‘skin’ is sufficiently installed and watertight, the internal fit out will commence to the concourses, dressing rooms, offices etc with aesthetic, and mechanical and electrical works including what are known as lifesaving systems. The lifesaving systems are mandatory systems that ensure the safety of persons working at or attending the stadium.

Some examples of these are, fire detection and suppression systems and emergency lighting.

Once this work is installed the project will then enter into a period of commissioning as the stadium is prepared for use. This is the transition between the deliver and the operate stages of the build.

This phase of the project is likely to be quite challenging as a new stadium, or a refurbished SJP, is in effect a major information technology project due to the number of digital requirements covering things like concourse TV screens, tills, WiFi, turnstiles and as I noted before life saving systems.

We’ve recently seen the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium suffer opening delays due to having issues with life saving systems not functioning as planned.

Why am I rambling on about life saving systems?

There are several pieces of legislation that covers sporting venues. Without listing them the main output is that the local authority has to issue a safety certificate before the stadium can be used. This is typically done by agreeing, before work starts, with the local authority what safety controls will be put in place. This agreement will then be used to finalise designs and demonstrate how the life saving systems work in real life to ensure the safety of persons entering and leavingthe stadium.

Successful demonstration of the systems and issuing of the safety certificate the stadium will be approved for use. The stadium will then enter the operate phase of the project lifecycle.

Regardless of the option selected, the project will be complex and challenging but also exciting for us as fans and everybody involved. We must not forget that this will be the largest single construction project ever built in the North East of England.

What will they choose?

Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m excited either way and I hope you are too.

Stephen Hodgson