Newcastle are yet to make a decision on a new stadium but it is vital to achieving their aim of becoming one of the biggest clubs in the world by 2030
Newcastle United have been warned they will have to leave St James' Park and build a state of the art new stadium if they want to regularly compete for Champions League places.
The Magpies had made a strong start to life under the ownership of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, reaching two cup finals and qualifying for the Champions League twice within the first four years of the project.
But last season saw them hit a wall on the pitch as despite matching their best ever Champions League performance and reaching the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, Eddie Howe's side finished a disappointing 12th place in the Premier League.
Not only did that see them miss out on the Champions League but European football altogether next season and this summer has been seen as a bit of a reset for the project.
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Newcastle are expected to largely adopt a 'one in one out' policy in the transfer market with Anthony Gordon already joining Barcelona this summer and interest in Sandro Tonali making the Italy international's exit from the club possible, too.
The frustration, certainly from a sporting point of view, from Newcastle fans is that it is Tottenham who are making the inroads to sign the 26-year-old.
United rejected an £80million offer from the North London club last week and are sticking to their £100million asking price to sell the player this summer.
Arsenal and Man City remain interested, too, but it is only Tottenham that have put an offer on the table and that has led to questions over why Newcastle's spending has to be so stringent when Spurs, who have finished 17th in the Premier League for two successive seasons, have the ability to spend so freely.
Roberto De Zerbi's side have already plucked Marco Senesi from Bournemouth and Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton, despite both of those clubs finishing in the European places last season and should Tonali swap St James' Park for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of Newcastle fans.
But the truth lies in Spurs' excellent financial position away from the pitch, which has allowed them to offset two very difficult seasons on it.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium brought in £126.5m during the 2024/25 season, according to the club's latest financial accounts, which dwarves Newcastle's £51.6m significantly.
Similarly, Spurs' state of the art stadium has become a hotspot for events, with NFL games and a whole host of music concerts, as well as other strategic partnerships, helping them bring in £277.1m in commercial revenue. Newcastle's commercial revenue stood at £120.2m.
Add those figures together and Newcastle are looking at a £231.8m gap they need to close to Spurs in terms of those off-field revenue streams.
In reality, that is not a gap, it is a chasm. And it is a chasm football finance expert Kieran Maguire feels Newcastle can only bridge if they leave St James' Park and head to a new stadium.
"If the Newcastle owners want a football club which is regularly competing for one of the Champions League places, they have to move," Maguire told BBC Sport.
"If they want Newcastle to be a regular top-10 club competing in the Europa League and Europa Conference League, tweak St James' Park. That's how significant the decision is."
Newcastle are yet to announce whether their intention is to upgrade St James' Park or build a new state-of-the-art stadium on a site on nearby Leazes Park.