Title: The Home Of Newcastle Football Word Count: 511 Summary: St James' Park is a large, fully seated stadium in Newcastle. The stadium is home to Newcastle United Football Club and boasts a capacity of 52,387, making it the fourth largest football stadium in England. The oldest football stadium in the North East, football has been played on the pitch at St James’ Park since 1880. Following the unification of Newcastle East End Football Club and Newcastle West End Football Club, the newly formed Newcastle United first played on the p... Keywords: Article Body: St James' Park is a large, fully seated stadium in Newcastle. The stadium is home to Newcastle United Football Club and boasts a capacity of 52,387, making it the fourth largest football stadium in England. The oldest football stadium in the North East, football has been played on the pitch at St James’ Park since 1880. Following the unification of Newcastle East End Football Club and Newcastle West End Football Club, the newly formed Newcastle United first played on the pitch in 1892. In 1898, Newcastle United were promoted to the First Division and decided to make an effort to develop their stadium. The pitch was in a terrible state, so it was leveled and relayed and a stand was also built, which brought the capacity up to 30,000. Just five years later, the team were still going strong and they decided to expand their home further. A large new stand was erected, along with some terraces that doubled the stadium’s capacity. The stadium even gained a swimming pool for the players and when the improvements were unveiled in 1905, the stadium was classed as the best of the country. The oldest football stadium in the North East, football has been played on the pitch at St James’ Park since 1880. Following the unification of Newcastle East End Football Club and Newcastle West End Football Club, the newly formed Newcastle United first played on the pitch in 1892. St James' Park is bounded by Leazes Park, which houses the Georgian Leazes Terrace. This beautiful and historic terrace once boasted some of the most exclusive homes in Tyneside. However, being situated within such close proximity to these historic residences would later cause St James’ Park some major planning difficulties. Since 1905, the team has struggled to action any major improvements to their stadium for this reason. Numerous plans have been drawn up over the years, although most have been abandoned due to pressure from protest groups and disapproval from the local council. Despite this, the club managed to expand their capacity in the 1990s and 2000s by simply adding extra tiers to existing stands. In 2005, the stadium also gained a new bar, Shearers, which was named in honor of the team’s legendary Alan Shearer , who spent a decade playing for the club. The oldest football stadium in the North East, football has been played on the pitch at St James’ Park since 1880. Following the unification of Newcastle East End Football Club and Newcastle West End Football Club, the newly formed Newcastle United first played on the pitch in 1892. Along with Old Trafford, City of Manchester Stadium, Villa Park, Emirates Stadium and the new Wembley Stadium, St James’ Park was named by FIFA as one of only six English football stadiums that are up to World Cup standard. As a result, the stadium hosted three matches in Euro 1996 and is also set to host some football matches during the 2012 London Olympics. St James' Park has also held a number of gigs and concerts from a variety of acts, including Rod Stewart, the Rolling Stones, Queen, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.