{"id":269,"date":"2025-04-22T00:36:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T23:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/?p=269"},"modified":"2025-04-22T00:36:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T23:36:46","slug":"newcastle-uniteds-unprecedented-ticket-demand-how-and-why-has-it-reached-these-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/2025\/04\/22\/newcastle-uniteds-unprecedented-ticket-demand-how-and-why-has-it-reached-these-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Newcastle United\u2019s unprecedented ticket demand: How and why has it reached these levels?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Newcastle\u2019s recent cup final sell out highlights the recent surge in appetite for tickets among fans. Thousands of eager Geordies are struggling to find a way into St James\u2019 Park, with many raising doubts over the club\u2019s ticketing system. But how did the Toon Army go from half-empty grounds and relegation battles to weekly sell outs and demand sky-rocketing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Geordies in Trafalgar Square 25\/02\/2023. <\/strong>
Image by Joseph Chisholm<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Flag display at St James’ Park.
Image by Joseph Chisholm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How does the system work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Season tickets<\/a>: grants fans access to every home game and priority for cup and away tickets. There are currently an estimated 32,000 season ticket holders, making up the bulk of home fans, who are given the option to renew their ticket every season. The club have not announced any plans to release new season tickets, meaning they are now impossible to acquire indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mags membership<\/a>: grants fans access to ballots for remaining home and cup tickets after sale to season ticket holders. As of April 2025, there is an estimated 150,000 members, three times the capacity of Newcastle\u2019s\u2019 ground, St James\u2019 Park, meaning the chances of winning a ticket are slim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With tickets now being solely digital, re-selling tickets has become increasingly difficult, meaning the other viable way in is buying hospitality, costing between \u00a3150 and \u00a3400 per game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though many season ticket holders have now attended for years, the system still poses limited opportunities for the broader fanbase to attend, leaving thousands in a frustrating position. People like new young fans who have dreamt of soaking in the atmosphere of St James\u2019 Park for the first time are left with little options for a way through the turnstiles.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Image Credit: Elang Wardhana, Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Why is there such a high demand?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Team Performance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Since the appointment of manager Eddie Howe in November 2023 Newcastle United have been exceptional. Their aggressive, attacking style of play has brought a long-awaited buzz back to Tyneside, and this season, they are playing better than ever. Since Howe\u2019s appointment, the magpies have now reached two cup finals, made a return to the Champions League <\/a>, and are consistently competing alongside the best teams in the Premier League<\/a>. Naturally, more fans are wanting to see a slice of world class football first-hand at St James\u2019 Park, contrary to the club\u2019s lacklustre mindset under previous owner, Mike Ashley <\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Team captain Bruno Guimaraes celebrating a huge victory over Aston Villa on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DEDNvjFifDj\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Passionate Fanbase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whether it be selling out every game, the deafening atmosphere at St James\u2019, or thousands travelling anywhere for away games, the Geordies have a rep for being die-hard supporters. Oliver Chalmers is one fan who attends games weekly. \u201cThe atmosphere has taken a huge turn in recent years,\u201d he told us, \u201cIt\u2019s much more positive now in comparison to under the old owners.\u201d With football in the DNA of so many fans it\u2019s no surprise as to why demand is soaring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Marion Williams is the vice chair of the Newcastle Fan Advisory Board<\/a>, having an extensive relationship with fans to help provide support. \u201cI can\u2019t see why anybody wouldn\u2019t want to support Newcastle,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cFootball fans are fickle, except when you come to Newcastle. It\u2019s that one city club and living in the North East. The club ties fans together. Back in the day you would have hard graft all week and you\u2019d go and shout your lungs out at the match on a Saturday, and I don\u2019t think that genetic has ever gone away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Ownership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Saudi Public Investment Fund\u2019s takeover<\/a> of the club in October 2021 saw the end of 14 disappointing years on Tyneside under Mike Ashley. A fresh change meant a newfound ambition and investment for the magpies, with new ownership being what most fans attribute the club\u2019s recent successes to. But as much as this has benefitted Newcastle, this new vision may not be entirely beneficial for fans hoping to attend more games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Marion, who also regularly meets with club officials, such as CEO Darren Eales, as part of her work with the board, added, \u201cA woman from the Premier League told me that football is a global product. The Premier League is Labour\u2019s biggest asset to sell to the world. When you\u2019ve got a mindset like that, we\u2019re not far off paying hundreds for tickets per game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If we go down that route people will have the opportunity but only if they\u2019ve got the money. If fans hang onto the idea the club is their club there will always be a limit to who can get in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With this consumerism-focussed approach to football, it raises questions regarding how attended to will fans be, and how financially accessible it will be to obtain tickets.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Image Credit: John McArthur, Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    What next?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reports have speculated building a larger stadium<\/a> in Leazes Park to accommodate more fans, however no concrete plans have been announced. Until then, thousands of Geordies remain frustrated trying to source a way into St James\u2019 Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Newcastle\u2019s recent cup final sell out highlights the recent surge in appetite for tickets among fans. Thousands of eager Geordies are struggling to find a way into St James\u2019 Park, with many raising doubts over the club\u2019s ticketing system. But how did the Toon Army go from half-empty grounds and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/joseph-chisholm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}