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Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales has revealed the club have begun "a formal process" to expand St James' Park.

The club have been clear about their commitment to improving and expanding their current 52,000-seater home following the 2021 takeover.

Speaking at a supporter event at the stadium on Wednesday evening, Eales has told fans that their views will be sought ahead of any definitive moves forward.

"Given our demand for tickets what we are doing is stadium feasibility and we are looking at what will be possible," he said. "We started that fairly recently, a formal process. I learned quickly that everybody has a view on what could be done and everyone is an amateur architect.

"Whoever you talk to will tell you what you can do with the Gallowgate End or various parts of St James' Park. What we want to is get a world-renowned leading agency that deals with this and to have a blank sheet of paper and see what is feasible and what can be done?

"And we are going to need your feedback as that is vital. What we want to know is what is truly possible? That is going to give us that greater understanding as we look to make decisions for the Newcastle United of the future. There is going to be a supporter survey going out as part of the feasibility study.

"That is going to give the agency valuable feedback. It will give a sense of demand for ticketing and what fans want in the stadium and what facilities supporters are looking for. It will ask a number of hypothetical questions. I want to be clear, there is no decisions made yet.

"That feedback all comes in to give us the information we are looking for as we look to feasibility. The plan will be what is possible architecturally. Together with what the demand is for tickets and facilities? And that will ultimately determine the best path forward."

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