Council bosses have denied any "secrets or secrecy" over the prospect of Newcastle United building a new stadium on Grade II listed green space next to its current home.
Rumours have swirled for months over the possibility of the club leaving St James' Park for a new stadium, with Leazes Park next door reportedly the preferred location.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service suggested Newcastle City Council's records contained more than 30,000 emails on the subject.
The Labour-led council said it would not comment on rumour but was "absolutely committed to a policy of transparency". The football club declined to comment.
“It’s a complete lie that they’re committed to transparency if they won’t comment on whether they are going to build on the space. I’m not always against building on green spaces if absolutely necessary but it’s infuriating they aren’t being honest about it.”
“Sounds kind of fishy that they deny it but have no further comments”
“This would probably spark some outrage if it went ahead. I feel like the stadium is iconic for being a football venue.”
“I have heard this from friends who were big Newcastle supporters and I found pretty hard to believe they didn’t see the issue with getting rid of one of Newcastles only central green spaces. I don’t think anything is worth encroaching on a park that makes such a difference to the city centre.”
“these are just romors for now I wouldn’t put too much time into listening to them. i mean we can deal with it if it becomes a problem but thats years away if it will ever happen. panicking over nothing calm down”
“Even if they are looking to move the stadium, maybe it will be further away. There must be some better sites in the city and I feel like people are just getting caught on up fearmongering, which is way too common these days. Don’t believe everything you hear!”
At a meeting on Wednesday, independent councillor Jane Byrne revealed the council had refused to answer her FOI request asking for details of emails between the political leadership or directors and Newcastle United about Leazes Park since 2018.
It was denied on the grounds that it would take officers too long to sift through thousands of pieces of correspondence, she said.
The council's response claimed there were 31,680 potentially relevant emails which appeared in an initial search of its email system containing the terms "Newcastle United Football Club" and "Leazes Park" – and either the words "legal agreement", "leasehold", or "sale".
Byrne said that writing more than 30,000 emails on the subject would be an "enormous investment of time" and asked why it was deemed justified.
In response, deputy council leader Alex Hay said: "Residents care about the football club, the council cares about the football club, but I am not going to comment on rumour or hypotheticals."
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The Labour councillor said the authority was "absolutely committed to a policy of transparency with members of council and residents about all aspects of the council's business".
Hay said: "I understand why questions like this are raised but it is important to recognise that some aspects of the council's work must remain commercially confidential.
"That is not about secrets or secrecy, but about good governance."
The council confirmed it had not received any planning application from the club to develop on Leazes Park or anywhere else in the city for a new stadium or a revamped St James' Park.
Newcastle's stadium is restricted in terms of space to increase its current capacity of just over 52,000, which has fuelled speculation about the need for a new location.
Previously, thousands of people signed a petition against any new stadium being built in the city's oldest park.
“Glad that the council have put out a statement but not that they haven’t responded to the FoI. It makes me suspicious when there are so many emails discussing the topic but they won’t advise what they discuss”
“I think this whole thing stinks of backroom deals. If thousands signed a petition against building on Leazes Park then the council should respect that. Stop hiding behind “commercial confidentiality and give us the truth.”
“I guess if the council said there’s no applications for development there’s nothing to go off on, and the petition should at least keep them from going ahead.”
“If all those people have signed a petition without there even being confirmation of plans theres no way the council would risk approving this. I’m not worried”