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94-532: UEFA [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne , England. It is the home of Newcastle United . With a seating capacity of 52,350 seats, it is the 8th 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,

188-458: A round-robin format. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw, with goal average and eventually drawing lots used to separate teams equal on points. The top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. In the knockout games, if the teams were tied after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time were played. For any match other than the final, if the teams were still tied after extra time, lots would be drawn to determine

282-572: A Saturday, saw the lowest-ever Premier League attendance at the expanded ground, of 47,711, resulting in cash turnstiles. It was speculated at the time that this was due to the Great Recession ; however, with the shock departure of Kevin Keegan before the next home game, future changes in attendances would be hard to attribute to this alone. The first game after Keegan's resignation, a league fixture against Hull on 13 September 2008, registered

376-452: A World Cup winning team. That record stood until 1994, when it was surpassed by Brazil's three goals in seven games. France again lowered the record to two goals in seven during the 1998 tournament , a record that has since been equalled by Italy at the 2006 tournament and by Spain's two goals conceded during the 2010 tournament . England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy from Queen Elizabeth II and were crowned World Cup winners for

470-508: A capacity of 98,600. Prior to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen , but was recovered by a dog named Pickles four months before the tournament began. It was the first World Cup to have selected matches broadcast via satellite to countries on other continents. The final, which was broadcast locally by the BBC , was the last to be shown entirely in black and white . England

564-488: A crowd of 50,242 amid protests against Ashley and Dennis Wise. This was followed by an attendance of 44,935 on 27 September in a league fixture against Blackburn Rovers , which followed a record low attendance of 20,577 on Wednesday, 24 September in a League Cup fixture, the lowest ever attendance for a competitive first-team match since the 1993 promotion to the top flight , and a drop of over 4,000 from previous lows. Although Newcastle's crowds inevitably fell in 2009–10 as

658-717: A culture of doping across many sports for decades. A 2013 report by researchers at Berlin's Humboldt University on behalf of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, titled "Doping in Germany from 1950 to today", linked the West Germany national team of 1966, which reached the World Cup final, with doping. The format of the 1966 competition remained the same as 1962 : 16 qualified teams were divided into four groups of four. Each group played

752-546: A director until 2007, now life president of the club), and existing shareholder and board director Freddy Shepherd became chairman. Following the withdrawal of the Leazes Park plan, the club proposed expansion of St James' Park to over 52,000 capacity, through major construction of a second tier over the Milburn Stand, Leazes End and adjoining corner, adding to a structure that was itself just four years old. After

846-556: A gesture of goodwill, the club did not pursue the fans for legal costs awarded over their insured limit. In late 2003, preempting the relaxation of the UK gambling laws , the club signed a deal with MGM Mirage to hand over the land above St James Metro station, behind the Gallowgate End, in return for an equity investment, to build a jointly run complex centred on a 1,000-square-foot (93 m) Super Casino . These plans failed when

940-540: A lot of help from their outstanding striker Eusébio , whose nine goals made him the tournament's top scorer. Group 4, however, provided the biggest upset when North Korea beat Italy 1–0 at Ayresome Park , Middlesbrough and finished above them, thus earning qualification to the next round along with the Soviet Union . This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas had progressed from

1034-446: A men's World Cup final. Portuguese striker Eusébio was the tournament's top scorer, with nine goals clinching the golden boot with three goals more than second placed Helmut Haller . It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II during the opening ceremony. England were the fifth nation to win the event, and the third host nation to win after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934 . Two time reigning champions Brazil failed to get past

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1128-489: A penalty in the 82nd minute after a handball by Jack Charlton on the goal line. The other semi-final also finished 2–1: Franz Beckenbauer scoring the winning goal with a left foot shot from the edge of the area for West Germany as they beat the Soviet Union. Portugal went on to beat the Soviet Union 2–1 to take third place. Portugal's third place was the best finish by a team making its World Cup debut since 1934. It

1222-503: A priority. For the start of the 2008–09 season, the away section was moved from the corner of the Leazes stand/Milburn stand to the other end of the Leazes stand, where it abuts the East stand, at the same upper level. The area of seats designated as the family enclosure were expanded, and certain corporate areas saw increased pricing. The first home game of the 2008–09 season, at 3 pm on

1316-578: A refusal by the Secretary of State to take the application to an enquiry, permission was obtained in July 1998. For minimal disruption to seating capacity during construction, the project required 3-day shutdowns of work on home match days. 750 seats were lost during construction. During this expansion, executive boxes in the East Stand were demolished and replaced by seating blocks from pitch level up to

1410-460: A result of their relegation and the fact that Britain was still in recession , the Magpies still attracted a modern-day record average attendance for a club at this level with their attendance for the season averaging at 43,383. They also became the first championship club to attract a league attendance of more than 50,000 at this level in the modern era, and ended the season promoted as champions of

1504-403: Is both included and omitted by many sources, including the club's official website address information. Post-millennium it has been debated both whether the written name should include an apostrophe mark after St James, and, if it does, whether the official written form should include an extra 's' after the apostrophe. Pronunciation of the name with a second 's' sound or not differs between both

1598-489: Is now!" England's total of eleven goals scored in six games set a new record low for average goals per game scored by a World Cup winning team. The record stood until 1982, when it was surpassed by Italy's 12 goals in seven games; in 2010 this record was lowered again by Spain, winning the Cup with eight goals in seven games. England's total of three goals conceded also constituted a record low for average goals per game conceded by

1692-528: Is signed as St James Metro station , and with the street signs of the nearby St James Street and St James Terrace. Further, the use of one s and an apostrophe mark differs from the common convention of adding a second s to monosyllabic possessives ending in s, as is the case with the well-known public space in London: St James's Park . The full stop after the St giving St. James' Park

1786-499: The 2007 Champions League final , UEFA President Michel Platini stated that he wanted European Cup finals to be held at stadiums with an average capacity of 70,000 to solve security issues. The hosts for the finals between 2008 and 2023 ( Luzhniki Stadium , Stadio Olimpico , Santiago Bernabéu , Wembley Stadium , Allianz Arena , Olympiastadion , San Siro , Millennium Stadium , Olimpiyskiy Stadium , Stade de France , Atatürk Stadium ) all had capacities of at least 70,000 seats—with

1880-501: 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. 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

1974-538: The Apostrophe Protection Society , if the ground is named as the "Park of St James", the name of the ground is correctly written as St. James's Park, with the second 's' pronounced. Commenting on the written form on Radio Newcastle a week after the BBC story, a different senior lecturer in applied linguistics also of Newcastle University stated that if the name is to denote "the park of St James",

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2068-574: The Football League Championship . In October 2014, a scoreboard was installed in the far corner of the Sir John Hall Stand. The scoreboard was used for the first time on 18 October during a Premier League tie against Leicester City. However the game was delayed one hour, due to damage caused by strong wind to the paneling surrounding the scoreboard. Newcastle United later stated on their website: "Supporter safety

2162-672: The San Siro in Italy. The old ground would be redeveloped to be used by Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club, as part of the wider envisaged 'Sporting Club of Newcastle', with basketball and ice-hockey teams purchased by Sir John Hall. Leazes Park was historically part of the Town Moor , owned by the Freemen of Newcastle, and protected by the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Town Moor Act 1988 . The City council initially invited

2256-403: The 1960s planning difficulties continued, culminating in lack of development of the ground being cited as the reason for failure of Newcastle United to secure the right to host a group stage of the upcoming 1966 World Cup following political disputes. In the late 1960s further attempts were made to develop the site, and the council proposed a multi-use sports development of St. James' Park. This

2350-632: The Asia and Oceania qualifying group, before being disqualified after being suspended again due to pressure from other African nations in October 1964. Despite this, FIFA refused to change the qualifying format, citing competitive and logistical issues, and the African teams withdrew in protest. CAF subsequently informed FIFA that they would refuse to participate in World Cup qualifying for 1970 unless at least one African team had an automatic place assured in

2444-626: The CAF, responded to this punishment by saying, "FIFA has adopted a relentless attitude against the African Associations and its decisions resemble methods of intimidation and repression designed to discourage any further impulses of a similar nature. In our opinion, the African National Associations ;... really deserved a gesture of respect rather than a fine." South Africa was subsequently assigned to

2538-584: The East Stand, was restored to the original font that was used prior to the Sports Direct sponsorship. St James' Park is spelt with James' featuring one s and an apostrophe mark, as seen on the signage of the St James' Park steps outside the entrance to the stadium, and signage inside the adjacent Metro station. The use of an apostrophe is in contrast with the name of the Metro station itself, which

2632-530: The East stand has two concourse levels. The stadium has an asymmetrical appearance from the air and from some angles from ground level, due to the discrepancy in height between the sides and ends of the ground. The height difference between the Leazes/Milburn complex and the East/Gallowgate stands allows views of the city centre from many seating positions inside the ground. Further expansion of

2726-474: The Gallowgate End could potentially produce a more balanced horseshoe arrangement of equal height stands, similar to that of Celtic Park . UEFA stadium categories A stadium must be rated as category four in order to host games in the playoffs of the qualifying stage for the UEFA Champions League , or any game in the main competition. Category four is also required to host any game in

2820-466: The Gallowgate end involves difficulties due to the proximity of a road, Strawberry Place, and issues surrounding reinforcement of the underground St James Metro station. The 2007 redevelopment plans announced under the previous regime were put on hold following the takeover of the club and its plc holding company by owner Mike Ashley . One of the first noticeable changes in the stadium in the new era

2914-473: The Soviet Union, who were led by Lev Yashin 's stellar goalkeeping, proved little more than a consolation as they crashed out 2–1, and the only goal between Argentina and England came courtesy of England's Geoff Hurst . During that controversial game (for more details see Argentina and England football rivalry ), Argentina's Antonio Rattín became the first player to be sent off in a senior international football match at Wembley. Rattín at first refused to leave

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3008-541: The United States. FIFA told England's Football Association that the tournament would be moved if any qualified team were to be refused entry. On the suggestion of the British Foreign Office , the playing of national anthems, and meetings between players and state figures such as Queen Elizabeth II , would only take place in two games: the opener and the final. North Korea was not scheduled for

3102-643: The World Cup: this was put in place for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, and all subsequent World Cup finals. Players from the Portuguese African colonies of Angola and Mozambique participated for Portugal. The United Kingdom, which had fought for South Korea in the Korean War , was concerned over the entry of North Korea in the tournament. The UK did not recognise North Korea and feared that its presence would strain relations with South Korea and

3196-454: The ball crossed the line, with the goal becoming part of World Cup history. England's final goal was scored by Hurst again, as a celebratory pitch invasion began. This made Geoff Hurst the first player to have scored three times in a single World Cup final. BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme 's description of the match's closing moments has gone down in history: "Some people are on the pitch. They think it's all over ... [Hurst scores] It

3290-539: The club announced that the stadium would be known as sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium temporarily until the end of the season, to showcase the idea behind the package, until the new sponsor was announced. The stadium's official renaming as the Sports Direct Arena, or SDA, caused considerable perturbation amongst supporters of the team. On 9 October 2012, payday loan company Wonga.com became Newcastle United's main commercial sponsor and purchased

3384-493: The club had announced plans to sell the naming rights for the stadium. After protests about the possible loss of the name of the stadium, which included the tabling of an early day motion in Parliament, the club clarified the following week that the move would not involve the loss of the name St James' Park altogether, citing the example of 'SportsDirect.com@StJamesPark' as a potential stadium rights package. The following day,

3478-429: 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

3572-469: The east. The Milburn stand is the 'main' stand of the stadium, housing the main entrance, lifts and escalators behind a glass fronted atrium . The dugouts and player's tunnel is located in the traditional position of the middle of the main stand. Behind the seating terraces of the stands, the Milburn/Leazes structure contains four concourse levels, the Gallowgate End has three concourse levels, and

3666-627: The exceptions of 2014 and 2019 finals ( Estádio da Luz and Metropolitano Stadium ) held with capacities of 65,000 seats. Two finals were played during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 in stadiums reaching 50,000 seats ( Estádio da Luz and Estádio do Dragão ) with none or reduced attendances. 350 E v (lux) vertical illuminance uniformity ratios U1h >0.35 and U2h >0.45 750 E v (lux) vertical illuminance uniformity ratios U1h >0.4 and U2h >0.45 1000 E v (lux) vertical illuminance uniformity ratios U1h >0.4 and U2h >0.5 1966 World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup

3760-402: The existing rows, in a mirror image of the Milburn Stand. The executive boxes were transferred to the new Milburn/Leazes complex, with more added to the Gallowgate End. During development, the additional stand and roof was constructed while leaving the existing cantilever roof intact until the last possible moment These developments increased capacity to approximately 52,143. The construction

3854-456: The field and eventually had to be escorted by several policemen. Scoreless when Rattin was dismissed, the game was decided by Hurst's headed goal twelve minutes from the end of normal time. This game is called el robo del siglo (the robbery of the century) in Argentina. All semi-finalists were from Europe. Bobby Charlton scored both goals in England's win, with Portugal's goal coming from

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3948-484: The final tournament. AFC (1) CAF (0) OFC (0) CONCACAF (1) CONMEBOL (4) UEFA (10) The mascot for the 1966 competition was " World Cup Willie ", a lion wearing a Union Jack jersey emblazoned with the words "WORLD CUP". This was the first World Cup mascot, and one of the first mascots to be associated with a major sporting competition. Willie was designed by freelance children's book illustrator Reg Hoye. The official match ball

4042-414: The first World Cup winning team not to win its first game in the tournament. Uruguay were the other team to qualify from that group at the expense of both Mexico and France . All the group's matches were played at Wembley Stadium apart from the match between Uruguay and France which took place at White City Stadium . In Group 2, West Germany and Argentina qualified with ease as they both finished

4136-589: 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,

4230-514: The first stage of a World Cup: the next would be Morocco in 1986. The quarter-finals provided a controversial victory for West Germany as they cruised past Uruguay 4–0; the South Americans claimed that this occurred only after the referee (who was Jim Finney , from England) had not recognised a handball by Schnellinger on the goal line and then had sent off two players from Uruguay: Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva . It appeared as though

4324-585: The first time. In this World Cup, the national anthems were played only in the final. They were not played in the earlier matches because the organisers (FIFA and the FA) feared that North Korea's presence – a socialist country that was not recognised by the United Kingdom – in the World Cup would cause problems with South Korea. A memo from the Foreign Office months before the finals began stated that

4418-473: The former, and was considered unlikely to reach the latter. A Foreign Office suggestion for flags outside stadiums to be removed after each team's elimination, in the expectation of an early North Korean exit, was vetoed by the Department of Education and Science . The 1966 World Cup had a rather unusual hero off the field, a dog called Pickles . In the build-up to the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy

4512-473: 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

4606-462: The group stages as they were defeated by Hungary and Portugal. It was the first time that defending champions were eliminated in the group stages after Italy in 1950 . This would not occur again until 36 years later . The two debut teams performed well at the competition – North Korea beat Italy 1–0 on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Portugal 5–3 after leading 3–0. Portugal themselves finished third, losing 2–1 to England in

4700-431: The group with 5 points, Spain managed 2, while Switzerland left the competition after losing all three group matches. FIFA cautioned Argentina for its violent style in the group games, particularly in the scoreless draw with West Germany, which saw Argentinean Rafael Albrecht get sent off and suspended for the next match. In the northwest of England, Old Trafford and Goodison Park played host to Group 3 which saw

4794-461: The lack of direct representation of African nations in the World Cup was unfair, and demanded that FIFA guarantee at least one African nation a spot in the finals of the following tournament. They also protested against the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963, despite their expulsion from CAF due to the country's apartheid regime in 1958. As a result of this boycott, FIFA fined CAF 5,000 Swiss francs. Yidnekatchew Tessema, then president of

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4888-486: 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

4982-521: The local public and journalists, and is similarly debated. In May 2008 BBC Look North examined the case for adding an extra 's', to denote the ground is "the park of St James". The club stated that the ground is named after its neighbouring street, St James Street, which predates the ground, although it was pointed out the road sign of that street, and that of the adjacent St James Terrace, did not feature apostrophes. The BBC stated that both local newspapers The Evening Chronicle and The Journal write

5076-479: The loss of the moor land with proposals for a land trade-off with landscaping of land freed up by scaling down of the existing stadium restoring the views of the historic park from Leazes Terrace. It became clear that the relocation plan would not gain planning permission without a potentially long-running public enquiry. To quickly satisfy demand, the club decided to expand the current St James' Park instead. In 1997 Sir John Hall stepped down as chairman (remaining as

5170-699: The main assigned referee. Although the minimum stadium capacity for category four is 8,000, it is required to host the UEFA Europa Conference League final, and only one stadium with a capacity less than 60,000 has been selected to host a UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Euro finals and 30,000 for the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Nations League finals, since these regulations were introduced in 2006. After

5264-709: The main competition of the UEFA Europa League , UEFA Europa Conference League , UEFA Nations League or the UEFA European Championship final tournament. UEFA does not publish lists of stadiums fulfilling the criteria for any of the categories defined in the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. If a retractable roof is present, its use will be directed by consultation between the UEFA delegate and

5358-449: The main railway station of the city. The stadium is bordered by Strawberry Place behind the Gallowgate, Barrack Road in front of the main entrance, a car park to the north and Leazes Terrace to the East. Further south is St James station , a terminus station of the Tyne & Wear Metro line to the east, although the main Metro interchange at Monument station , is situated only 250 m to

5452-467: The match-day programme of a home match against Derby County (23 December 2007) depicts the stadium name as St. James's Park. Other sources also support the idea that the name should have no apostrophe as found in the name of the adjacent St James Street The stadium is known by its initials, SJP, or as St James'. In reflection of the early use of the site, it is also often referred to as Gallowgate, distinct from similarly unofficially named Gallowgate End,

5546-481: The name of the south stand. The stadium has a rough pitch alignment of north easterly. The four main stands are as follows: The unofficial new home of the singing section is located in the "Strawberry Corner" (South East Corner, located next to the Strawberry Pub) - between the Gallowgate End & East Stand. The stadium's location is close to the city centre, 500 m roughly north of Central station ,

5640-491: The name with a second 's', reinstating it partially in response to reader complaints after a period of publishing stories without it. The club insisted the name is pronounced without a second 's', whilst it was asserted by the BBC that older fans, in particular, pronounce it with two. A professor of applied linguistics of Newcastle University stated that if a second 's' was added to the name, it has to ultimately be pronounced in speech. The BBC went on to state that according to

5734-409: The old Gallowgate End stand, which had simply been covered up when the stadium was fully renovated in 1993. These steps were removed for Shearer's Bar. The completion of the redevelopment of the Gallowgate saw the creation of Shearer's Bar, an expanded club shop, a club museum and a new box office. It was announced on 2 April 2007 that the club intend to submit plans for a new £300million development of

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5828-400: The option of paying these or being moved to seats in the proposed expanded sections. Half of these fans were 'bondholders', who had paid £500 in 1994 which they asserted guaranteed them an option on their specific seat for 10 years. Some fans resisted, and after two high-court cases and a Save Our Seats campaign, the club was allowed to move the fans, under an exceptional circumstances clause. As

5922-509: The outside broadcast commitments of the BBC, which also had commitments to cover Wimbledon (which ran between 20 June and 2 July) and the Open Golf Championship (6 to 9 July). 1966 was a World Cup with few goals as the teams began to play much more tactically and defensively. This was exemplified by Alf Ramsey's England as they finished top of Group 1 with only four goals, but having none scored against them. They also became

6016-567: The planning proposal amid suggestions that the club might move to a site in Gateshead , a 75,000-seat stadium next to Gateshead International Stadium , but it led to political debate and opposition. A pressure group "No Business on the Moor" eventually gathered a 36,000-petition signature, equal to the then-current stadium capacity. Opposition also came from a conservation group Friends of Leazes Park led by Dolly Potter. The club proposed to mitigate

6110-464: The proposed number of super casinos was reduced to one in the UK, and in January 2008 £5 million was repaid by the club to MGM. In 2005 the Gallowgate was redeveloped, with a new bar being built beneath the upper tier of the Gallowgate End, named " Shearer's' " after Newcastle player Alan Shearer . During excavation underneath the stand during building work, the builders uncovered the original steps of

6204-595: The qualifying tournament, with 70 nations taking part. FIFA determined that ten teams from Europe would qualify, along with four from South America, one from Asia and one from North and Central America. Portugal and North Korea qualified for the first time. Portugal would not qualify again until 1986 , while North Korea's next appearance was at the 2010 tournament . This was also Switzerland's last World Cup finals until 1994 . Notable absentees from this tournament included 1962 runners-up Czechoslovakia and semi-finalists Yugoslavia . The following 16 teams qualified for

6298-502: The semi-final. All 15 African nations who entered the qualifying later boycotted the tournament in protest after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, ruled that there would be no direct qualification for any African team. The 1966 World Cup was the first FIFA World Cup held in the English-speaking world . Matches were played at eight stadiums across England, with the final being held at Wembley Stadium , which had

6392-432: The signs being removed on 6 December. With the removal of the sponsor in the stadium former owner Mike Ashley would take legal action against Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi after Ashley alleged that both Staveley and Ghodoussi breached their agreement to continue to sponsor the stadium until the end of the 2021–22 season . Prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 season, the "Newcastle United" signage, located above

6486-488: The stadium and surrounding areas, to include a major conference centre, hotels and luxury apartments. The proposals also include a plan to increase the Gallowgate End, eventually taking the capacity to 60,000. This expansion would be funded by the city council and linked to the redevelopment of the land behind the stand and over the Metro Station, which had previously been earmarked for the casino project. Expansion of

6580-412: The stadium had reached a capacity of 36,610. As the expanded stadium still received full houses due to continuing success of the team led by the returning Kevin Keegan , in 1995, plans were submitted by the club to relocate to Leazes Park to the north. A new £65m purpose-built 55,000-seat stadium would be erected, less than two pitch lengths away from the original, but rotated, which would be similar to

6674-436: The stadium naming rights. They subsequently announced that the St James' Park name would be restored as part of the deal. Following the takeover of Newcastle United as part of Saudi Arabia's sports-washing programme, the new ownership would remove the Sports Direct sponsorship all over the stadium with co owner Amanda Staveley claiming she was "looking forward" to removing the Sports Direct branding to get new sponsors with

6768-550: The stadium with finances gained from success under new manager Kevin Keegan . The Leazes End that had been demolished but not replaced was finally rebuilt, and opened as the Sir John Hall stand for Newcastle's debut season in the Premiership in 1993. The Gallowgate End was rebuilt, the Milburn Stand modified, and a new pitch, drainage and floodlights were installed. With all four corners filled in with seating, by 1995

6862-429: The surprise package North Korea would claim another major upset in their match against Portugal at Goodison Park, when after 22 minutes they led 3–0. It fell to one of the greatest stars of the tournament, Eusébio , to change that. He scored four goals in the game and José Augusto added a fifth in the 78th minute to earn Portugal a 5–3 win. Meanwhile, in the other two games, Ferenc Bene 's late goal for Hungary against

6956-413: The tournament began, eventual winners England were 9/2 second favourites with bookmakers behind Brazil (9/4), while beaten finalists West Germany were 25/1 outsiders. The final took place on Saturday, 30 July 1966, the 36th anniversary of the first final. Until 2022, this was the latest date that any tournament had concluded. The reason for the unusually late scheduling of the tournament appears to lie with

7050-407: The two-time defending champions Brazil finish in third place behind Portugal and Hungary , and be eliminated along with Bulgaria . Brazil were defeated 3–1 by Hungary in a classic encounter before falling by the same scoreline to Portugal in a controversial game. Portugal appeared in the finals for the first time, and made quite an impact. They won all three of their games in the group stage, with

7144-619: The winner. The final would have been replayed if tied after extra time; but if still tied after the replay, the champion would have been decided by drawing lots. In the event, no replays or drawing of lots were necessary. The draw for the final tournament, taking place on 6 January 1966 at the Royal Garden Hotel in London was the first ever to be televised, with England, West Germany, Brazil and Italy as seeds. Eight venues were used for this World Cup. The newest and biggest venue used

7238-422: The written form should feature an apostrophe, but the use of an additional 's' after it is optional and both are correct. Match-day programmes printed up until the late 1940s have written the name as St. James's Park . According to the club historian, the oldest memorabilia in the club museum refers to the ground as being pronounced without a second 's'. However, a match-day programme dating from 1896, reprinted in

7332-480: Was Wembley Stadium in north west London, which was 43 years old in 1966. As was often the case in the World Cup, group matches were played in two venues close to each other. Group 1 matches (which included the hosts) were all played in London: five at Wembley, which was England's national stadium and was considered to be the most important football venue in the world; and one at White City Stadium in west London, which

7426-462: Was Wembley, which was used for nine matches, including all six featuring England, the final and the third-place match. Goodison Park was used for five matches, Roker Park and Hillsborough both hosted four, while Old Trafford, Villa Park and Ayresome Park each hosted three matches and did not host any knockout round matches. The opening match took place on Monday, 11 July, which made it the second World Cup after 1930 to not begin on May or June. Before

7520-526: Was again shelved for lack of finance. Until the early 1990s the ground had achieved only modest expansion under various owners, with plans dogged by disputes and lack of finance due to poor on-field performances. In January 1992 businessman Sir John Hall , who had led the Magpie Group consortium in a hostile takeover of the club, was installed as chairman. Sir John used his experience in property development to rapidly gain approval and invested heavily in

7614-457: 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. 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

7708-520: Was chosen as host of the 1966 World Cup in Rome, Italy, on 22 August 1960, over rival bids from West Germany and Spain. This was the first tournament to be held in a country that was affected directly by World War II, as the four previous tournaments were either held in countries out of war theatres or in neutral countries. Despite the Africans' absence, there was another new record number of entries for

7802-515: Was completed in July 2000 at a cost of £42 million. Ironically, after opposition from local residents to the relocation plan, the expansion of the current ground at the Leazes End has further reduced the view of Leazes Park from Leazes Terrace, although this is now student accommodation. The 1998 redevelopment caused controversy when the club informed 4,000 season-ticket-holding fans that their seat prices would be increased to corporate rates, with

7896-483: Was equalled by Croatia in 1998. London's Wembley Stadium was the venue for the final, and 98,000 people attended. After 12 minutes 32 seconds Helmut Haller put West Germany ahead, but the score was levelled by Geoff Hurst four minutes later. Martin Peters put England in the lead in the 78th minute; England looked set to claim the title when the referee awarded a free kick to West Germany with one minute left. The ball

7990-479: Was last permitted to be developed. In 1978 the Leazes End was demolished, but relegation and financial difficulties meant the new stand was not built. Investigations following the Bradford City stadium fire in 1985 identified a need to replace the ageing West Stand, which was demolished in 1986. Its replacement, the Milburn Stand, was named in honour of Jackie Milburn and opened in 1987. Further development

8084-420: Was launched goalward and Wolfgang Weber scored, with England appealing in vain for handball as the ball came through the crowded penalty area. With the score level at 2–2 at the end of 90 minutes, the game went to extra time . In the 98th minute, Hurst found himself on the scoresheet again; his shot hit the crossbar, bounced down onto the goal line, and was awarded as a goal. Debate has long raged over whether

8178-431: Was of paramount importance." On 10 November 2011, Newcastle United announced that the stadium would officially be renamed Sports Direct Arena , as a temporary measure to "showcase the sponsorship opportunity to interested parties", whilst looking for a sponsor for possible future stadium re-branding. According to the club, the St James' Park title was dropped as not being "commercially attractive". Previously, in 2009,

8272-548: Was played at the ground in 1908 against the touring Australian Kangaroos side on 23 January 1909. Between 1920 and 1930, plans were drawn up for a double-tiered stand by notable football architect Archibald Leitch . However, after planning disputes, all that was achieved was a small roof over the Leazes Terrace side (Sir John Hall Stand). Floodlights were constructed in the 1950s, with the first match played using them held on 25 February 1953 against Celtic . Up until

8366-503: Was produced by Slazenger for the tournament. All fifteen entered African nations boycotted the tournament to protest against a 1964 FIFA ruling that required the three second-round winners from the African zone to enter a play-off round against the winners of the Asian zone in order to qualify for the World Cup: they felt winning their zone was enough in itself to merit qualification. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) felt that

8460-467: Was rejected as not financially viable. Plans were drawn up by the club for a move to a stadium in Gosforth , or even a groundshare with Sunderland A.F.C. in a new stadium on Wearside. These plans were withdrawn in 1971 after agreement to redevelop St James' Park was finally reached, after mediation by the then Minister for Sport , Denis Howell . In 1972, work started on the East Stand, 50 years after it

8554-556: Was stolen from an exhibition display. A nationwide hunt for the icon ensued. It was later discovered wrapped in newspaper as the dog sniffed under some bushes in London. The FA commissioned a replica cup in case the original cup was not found in time. This replica, as well as Pickles' collar, is held at the National Football Museum in Manchester, where it is on display. West Germany encouraged and covered up

8648-402: Was the eighth FIFA World Cup , a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the final to win their first ever World Cup title. The final was level at 2–2 after 90 minutes and went to extra time , when Geoff Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick , the first to be scored in

8742-404: Was the removal of advertising mounted underneath the roofs (facing the crowd) for Shepherd Offshore and Cameron Hall Developments, companies associated with the previous regime. A large advertising sign for Sports Direct appeared on the lip of the roof of the Gallowgate, visible from the pitch. A full review of the club performed by the new management team concluded that stadium expansion was not

8836-1212: Was used as a temporary replacement for nearby Wembley. The group stage match between Uruguay and France played at White City Stadium (originally built for the 1908 Summer Olympics ) was scheduled for a Friday, the same day as regularly scheduled greyhound racing at Wembley. Because Wembley's owner refused to cancel this, the game had to be moved to the alternative venue in London. Group 2's matches were played at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield and Villa Park in Birmingham ; Group 3's matches were played at Old Trafford in Manchester and Goodison Park in Liverpool ; and Group 4's matches were played at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough and Roker Park in Sunderland . The stadium construction cost are estimated to be today's equivalent of £9.2 million, additional to £36.22 million for tournament organisation. The most used venue

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