St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.

St James' Park has been the home ground of Newcastle United since 1892 and has been used for football since 1880. Throughout its history, the desire for expansion has caused conflict with local residents and the local council. This has led to proposals to move at least twice in the late 1960s, and a controversial 1995 proposed move to nearby Leazes Park. Reluctance to move has led to the distinctive lop-sided appearance of the present-day stadium's asymmetrical stands.

Besides club football, St James' Park has also been used for international football, at the 2012 Olympics, for the rugby league Magic Weekend, rugby union World Cup, Premiership and England Test matches, charity football events, rock concerts, and as a set for film and reality television.

Early history
The site of St James' Park was originally a patch of sloping grazing land, bordered by Georgian Leazes Terrace, and near the historic Town Moor, owned by the Freemen of the city, both factors that later affected development of the ground, with the local council being the landlord of the site. Leazes Terrace was built c1830 by notable Newcastle residents, architect Thomas Oliver and builder Richard Grainger. Once the residence of high society in Newcastle, it is now a Grade 1 listed building, and, recently refurbished, is currently being used as self-catering postgraduate student accommodation by Newcastle University. The site was also near the gallows of the city, last used in 1844, lending the Gallowgate End its name.

The first football team to play at St James' Park was Newcastle Rangers in 1880[12] They moved to a ground at Byker in 1882, then returned briefly to St James' Park in 1884 before folding that year. Newcastle West End took over the ground in 1886. West End were wound up in 1892 and effectively merged into their rivals Newcastle East End, who took over the lease of St James' Park and became Newcastle United later that year. On 3 September 1892, Newcastle East End played its first game on the football ground. Local residents opposition to football being played at St James' dated back to the first games in the Football League following the building of the first small stand at the Gallowgate End. A redeveloped Gallowgate and further stands followed in 1899, bringing the first official capacity to 30,000 (standing).

While the stadium is now synonymous with the Black and Whites, Newcastle United actually played in red and white at St James' Park until 1904. In 1905, a doubling of capacity to 60,000, with a main stand on the Barrack Road (now Milburn Stand), and major other stands, produced a state-of-the-art facility, even boasting a swimming pool.

The second-ever rugby league test match, and first test victory by Great Britain, was played at the ground in 1908 against the touring Australian Kangaroos side on 23 January 1909.

свернуть