Scottish Rugby official statement on Newcastle United using Murrayfield when/if St James’ Park redeveloped
· Yahoo Sports
For some time now, the possibility of Murrayfield being used as a temporary home by Newcastle United has been discussed amongst fans.
Nothing official has ever been released regarding this possibility and not sure where the rumours started.
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However, the discussion revolves around the fact that if Newcastle United carried out a significant redevelopment of St James’ Park, or flattened it and built a far bigger new stadium on more or less the same site, where then could/would NUFC play their matches if a temporary alternative stadium was needed.
Tottenham did this with their stadium, using Wembley as a temporary home for just under two years.
When it comes to neutral stadium options for Newcastle United, the alternatives not great.
The idea of using Sunderland’s stadium is a non-starter for countless reasons. Middlesbrough very unlikely as well, plus their stadium only holds around 33,000.
So this is where Murrayfield has become talked about amongst Newcastle United fans as a potential possibility. A capacity of 67,000, less than 100 miles from St James’ Park, trains from Newcastle Central Station to Haymarket Station in Edinburgh which is only around one mile from Murrayfield.
The midweek match that saw United play Everton at Murrayfield has sparked extra life into the St James’ Park debate, Newcastle fans wondering if that friendly was some kind of a dry run.
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) owns and operates Murrayfield and they have now released a brief official statement.
The Edinburgh Evening News reporting this from the Scottish Rugby Union: “Whilst we are always open to conversations, as it currently stands there have not been any conversations with Newcastle United regarding them using Scottish Gas Murrayfield as a temporary home.”
An interesting answer, as I’m sure plenty of Newcastle United fans will note that the SRU haven’t dismissed the idea out of hand.
The fact remains, if Newcastle United do go ahead with the kind of stadium plans laid out above, where else could they use as a temporary home?