St. James’ STACK presented by Sela welcomed tens of thousands of visitors over its first weekend.
The fanzone, created as a partnership between Newcastle United and STACK, opened its doors on August 8 with queues of fans lining up to be the first to take a look. By Sunday, 38,000 people had walked through the doors.
The container hub – which has created 165 full- and part-time jobs – is home to a range of top street food traders, who have reported record sales since the venue launched.
Rob West of Davey’s Mexicano said: “The response had been absolutely incredible. We opened at noon on the first day and we were planning for a bit of a soft launch, but we were busy from the word go and it has not stopped all week, it’s been absolutely fantastic. We thought it might quieten down a little bit midweek but that absolutely hasn’t been the case. We’ve been overwhelmed with the response.”
Garry Overs of Texas Smoker added: “We were in the original STACK and then we’ve been busy at festivals up and down the country, but when the opportunity came up to be in the fanzone we knew it was a great way for us to be back in Newcastle again and it has been absolutely amazing. It’s a great venue for everyone and we have hardly stopped for breath from the minute it opened.”
Neill Winch, CEO of STACK, said: “We knew before we opened the level of interest and excitement there was for STACK to make a return to the city and how special this project was for NUFC fans, but it was still incredible to see people turn out in their thousands to enjoy the fanzone in its first weekend. The feedback from both visitors and traders has been overwhelmingly positive, which has left everyone feeling immensely proud. It’s been an honour to create a venue that truly resonates with the club and the community.”
