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Newcastle United’s chief executive regards the club as a rocket ship and believes that, by 2030, it could house the world’s best team. David Hopkinson has hit the ground running since succeeding Darren Eales at St James’ Park in September and the Canadian’s five-year plan is nothing if not ambitious.
“By 2030, I see this club being in the debate about being the top club in the world,” he said. “That kind of progress doesn’t take as long as you might think. What it takes is clarity of conviction.
“Can Newcastle win the Premier League? Yeah, of course. Why not? Our job is to set ourselves up as perennial contenders. We have to have the courage to ignore those that doubt us and even those that laugh at us.”
Hopkinson feels Newcastle will benefit from being part of the global investment portfolio managed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“I truly believe, in my heart of hearts, that we are their favourite investment,” said the 54-year-old, who acknowledged that a decision as to whether Newcastle move stadium or expand St James’ Park is not expected soon. “You’re talking about a fund that’s a major, major global player. But I think we take up so much of their shared mind and heart, that I feel like we’re a special investment to them. They show me that. I’m talking to the PIF every single day.”
The controversial Saudi takeover, which continues to alarm human rights groups, was largely backed by supporters, some of whom fear the ownership’s interest might have diminished. Hopkinson demurred.
“That was one of my questions during my recruitment,” he said. “There’s always different types of ownership: some are deeply connected, others are much more hands off and just see it as an investment. The PIF is very much in the former camp.”
The Saudis have tasked Hopkinson with transforming Newcastle into a super club. “It’s eminently doable but it takes clarity, conviction and commitment,” he said. “The transformation plan has to be time-bound. Key milestones need to be hit.”
Hopkinson’s immediate problem is that the “correlation between points earned and revenue is undeniable” and Newcastle’s commercial income streams remain significantly weaker than those of key rivals.
“Much of our ability to increase our revenue is self-help,” said the former head of global partnerships at Real Madrid, who also has executive experience across assorted North American sports. “It’s [agreeing] global partnerships and global sponsorships that are [potentially] in front of us right now.
“I want to be sure that we’re recruiting world-class [off-field] talent. We’re having world-class talent put their hand up for us. I had two conversations yesterday with folks who said: ‘It’s a rocket ship. I want to get on that rocket ship.’” Hopkinson was clearly taken by the description, smiling broadly as he recounted it.
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He knows that, long term, Newcastle cannot prosper without a new stadium or a significantly redeveloped St James’ Park. “I don’t know how much that [commercial self-help] will sustain us beyond 2030 without a major stadium renovation or rebuild,” he said.
Accordingly St James’ may be revamped regardless of any longer-term relocation decision. “We’re modelling a multitude of different scenarios but we’re going to be here for years and we’re thinking through what improvements we should make in the intervening period.
“Even if we made a decision on the stadium tomorrow – which we’re not going to – it would still takes years of permits, planning, finance, construction, etc. That’s the case whether we reimagine St James’ or build something new.”
Newcastle have decided to build a new training ground but, in the interim, millions of pounds are being spent on doubling the footprint of the current base. “Our facility today is probably a seven out of 10,” said Hopkinson, who explains that, in North American sports, players expect training grounds to provide, among other things, on-site creches, car valeting and hairdressing.
“But, even with the renovation, we probably only get to an eight, which is the reason we’re planning a very big investment to go and build a 10 and get to a world-class level. If you look at the arms race that training grounds have become – in the Premier League, in North American sports – players are spending an inordinate amount of time there and expectations have changed.”
