Newcastle United

How To Get There By Car & Where To Park
At the end of the A1(M) continue on the A1 and then the A184 towards Newcastle. Continue along this road, bearing left onto the A189. Continue over the River Tyne on the Redheugh Bridge, from which the ground can be clearly seen. Carry on straight up the dual carriageway (St James Boulevard). This leads directly to the Gallowgate end of the ground. As the ground is so central there are a number of pay and display car parks in the vicinity

By Train
Newcastle Central Railway Station is half a mile from the ground and takes 10-15 minutes to walk.


Where To Drink?
The ground is one of the few in the country that is literally right in the centre of the city. You are only a few minutes walk from the main shopping areas of Newcastle. There are plenty of bars to choose from in the city centre, but most away fans tend to favour the pubs opposite and around Newcastle Railway Station. The 'A Head Of Steam' 'The Lounge' and 'O'Neills' are all recommended, but some of these bars w ill only admit fans if colours are covered and none of them admitted children. Also nearby is a Wetherspoons outlet called the Union Rooms. Alternatively there is Idols which has strippers and is popular with both home and away fans .


What's The Ground Like?
The ground has largely been rebuilt in recent years and is unrecognisable from the St James' Park of old. On approaching the ground, it looks absolutely huge, as it appears to have been built on raised ground. I particularly liked St James' Park as it is totally enclosed and has a great atmosphere. With the completion of the additional tier to the Milburn & Leazes (Sir John Hall) Stands, the capacity has been increased to over 52,000. These stands have a huge lower tier, with a row of executive boxes and a smaller tier above. This development has created the largest cantilever structure in Europe and has a spectacular looking roof, which allows natural light to penetrate through it (and hence is good for the pitch). However the ground now looks somewhat imbalanced with one half of the ground being significantly larger than the other two sides.

What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?
Away fans are housed on the very far side of the Sir John Hall Stand, in the top tier. Up to 3,000 supporters can be accommodated in this section for league games and a larger allocation is available for cup games. Be warned though that it is a climb of 14 flights of stairs up to the away section and that you are situated quite far away from the pitch. So if you are scared of heights or have poor eye sight then this may not be for you.On the plus side you do get a wonderful view of the whole stadium, plus the Newcastle skyline and countryside in the distance. Also the leg room and height between rows are the best that I have come across and the facilities on offer are pretty good. The concourse is spacious and there are a fair selection of pieson offerinclud ingthe Chicken Balti Pie, plus the usualburgers and hot dogs, all served in Newcastle United branded packaging (which made me wonder if their sales were affected when playing Sunderland!). There are also televisions on the concourse, showing live the gamebeing played, with separate refreshment areas which serve alcohol, again in Newcastle United branded plastic glasses.