First, a sizeable yellow metal office container appeared outside turnstiles 42 and 43 of the East Stand, partly blocking those two entry points into St James’ Park.

On the second weekend of August, as fears grew that the far-right riots that had broken out across the UK could soon reach Tyneside, almost 66,000 Newcastle United fans attended back-to-back pre-season friendlies against Girona and Brest.

For hundreds of fans sitting in that section of the East Stand, and the many thousands who walked along Leazes Terrace before and after both matches, the container provided an additional obstruction in an area that is already a pinch point on matchday, given how narrow Magpie Lane is, which leads down by the stadium, to the left of the metal box.

By the following weekend, when Newcastle hosted Southampton in their Premier League opener, the container had disappeared.

Nobody knew the purpose it had apparently served.

The situation became even more curious less than a fortnight later. In the week leading up to Newcastle’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur, a three-foot-high fence, leading nowhere in particular but apparently designating five car-parking spaces, appeared.

We have been made aware that there is the following fence/parking area being constructed in front of the East Stand by the owner of the land. pic.twitter.com/aHyDxKpJLu

— Newcastle United Supporters Trust (@nufctrust) August 29, 2024

The fence stretched about 8m alongside the perimeter of the East Stand, in almost precisely the spot where the container had previously stood, while at one end it jutted three metres out on to the road, parallel to other on-street parking spaces that are marked out by white-dashed lines.

By the evening of August 31, on the eve of the Spurs match, the peculiar fence had been removed and was not present on the day of the game. In the days that followed, some of the fence then appeared back in that spot, but rather than erected, the sections were piled on top of one another.

Once more, before Newcastle’s next home match — against Manchester City last Saturday — the wooden posts were nowhere to be seen.

As of Tuesday evening, when Newcastle welcomed AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup third round, Leazes Terrace was back to being unobstructed.

(Chris Waugh/The Athletic)

Theoretically, however, further obstacles could yet appear in that same awkward spot in the future.

The land is not owned by Newcastle United, or even Newcastle City Council. Instead, as notices placed by the club above turnstiles 42 and 43 outline — and which remain in place — the plot “is owned and controlled by St James Terrace Land Ltd, Company No. 15599599”.

(Chris Waugh/The Athletic)

While public safety on matchday was cited by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) and Newcastle United as a key concern arriving from these perplexing episodes, for the club this is also one of myriad factors that makes the potential expansion and redevelopment of St James’ Park extremely complicated.

The Grade-1 listed buildings on Leazes Terrace and the Grade-2 listed buildings on the adjoining St James Terrace already make extending the East Stand problematic.

Yet, even if Newcastle United’s stadium feasibility study — which began a year ago and the results from which Darren Eales, the CEO, claimed were “imminent” as far back as July — outlines a potential workaround to those delicate issues, the club would still need to acquire this strange island of land. And, given the price the present owner paid for the plot, Newcastle may need to fork out an eye-watering sum to do so.

Located directly adjacent to the East Stand, the strip is shaped like two triangles pointing inwards towards one another (as shown below in red, but not including the green section), and begins outside turnstiles 42 and 43 on Leazes Terrace and stretches about 8m-10m down Magpie Lane, along the side of No 4 St James Terrace.

The current owners acquired the plot on April 5 this year, as the club’s feasibility study was still ongoing.

St James Terrace Land Ltd was only incorporated as a company on March 28 but then, eight days later, according to Land Registry records entitled “Land lying to the south-west of 4 St James’ Terrace”, it paid £180,000 ($239,000 at present exchange rates) to buy the land.

Robbie Kalbraier is the sole director of the company. Although Mr Kalbraier’s correspondence address for St James Terrace Land Ltd is Great Portland Street in London, he is an active director of seven other companies — ranging from construction to flat rental and advertising firms — some of which are registered in Jesmond, Newcastle.

The Athletic, having failed to reach Mr Kalbraier or his companies via email or phone, visited Tyneside Developments Ltd, his company that has headquarters at Blue House. An iconic 19th-century building, which has exposed red bricks on the outside of the ground floor and a white-and-blue checked facade on the outer first floor, it belongs to the Freemen of Newcastle and is situated just off a busy roundabout in the middle of Newcastle’s famous Town Moor.

Mr Kalbraier acknowledged receipt of The Athletic’s questions — which included queries on how he came to own the land on Leazes Terrace, why he had been placing obstacles on it, whether he will continue to do so going forward, and if he had spoken directly with Newcastle United regarding this — but he politely declined to answer them.

There has been contact between the club and the landowner, although the rationale behind why those obstructions were placed there and whether more will be positioned there in the future remains unclear.

Newcastle United said: “The landowner is not associated with or affiliated to the club in any way whatsoever.

“In the interests of continuing to provide uninterrupted access for our fans and others using St James’ Park, particularly on matchdays, we have offered alternative nearby sites to the landowner for the safe storage of their items and will continue to seek to engage in constructive dialogue with the landowner on this matter. We will monitor the situation and will work closely with our partners to find a sensible way forward.”

The NUST described the actions of St James Terrace Land Ltd as “disgraceful” and “openly petty”.

“We strongly urge the landowner to remove the current structure (fence) and to stop putting structures in place which could compromise the safety of our supporters on matchday,” NUST said in a statement last month. “Naturally, we are concerned about the serious health and safety concerns that the structure poses, given the impact this would have on queues when accessing and departing the East Stand.

“The area of the ground right by where this has been constructed is a very busy area on matchdays and putting obstacles in the way of supporters could have dangerous consequences and result in significant overcrowding.”

The club did contact Newcastle City Council, which began an investigation while the container and then the fence were in place, but that ceased once the obstacles were removed.

A council spokesperson said: “We are aware a fence was erected, however that is no longer there. This is a matter between the landowner and the club. The council will only become involved if a risk to public safety arises or work requiring statutory permission is proposed.”

While Northumbria Police were made aware of the situation, the force has not been involved or begun an investigation as it is considered a civil matter.

Regardless, just how did a private company came to own this pocket of land immediately behind the East Stand?

Four of Mr Kalbraier’s companies comprise Tyneside Group Limited, which specialises in the redevelopment, management and rental of properties in Newcastle.

One of those companies, St James’ Central Investments Limited, lists on its website that: “Early in 2014, an opportunity arose to purchase 1, 2, 3 St James Terrace and 17 St James’ Street”. Those properties were redeveloped and, collectively, according to the company, “sold for £2.05million” ($2.72m at present exchange rates), although it does not specify when those sales happened.

According to Land Registry documents, separately, on March 4, 2016, No 4 St James Terrace was bought for £300,000 by St James Partners Limited. Their sole director is Kashif Mumtaz, a businessman and Newcastle supporter who also owns Nos 1 to 3 on the same street — previously redeveloped by Mr Kalbraier’s St James’ Central Investments Ltd — meaning he possesses the entire block.

A week after No 4 was purchased, on March 11, 2016, the strip that St James Terrace Land Ltd now owns was separated from the title for No 4 St James’ Terrace, as was the land immediately behind that property (as shown on the map above in green). The property’s description was then altered with the Land Registry to reflect the change, which is why it is now “land lying to the south-west of 4 St James Terrace”.

The Athletic attempted to contact Mr Mumtaz to confirm these details, but received no response.

For now, Leazes Terrace is back to normal. But St James Terrace Land Ltd can continue to use the plot how it sees fit — and theoretically could place further obstacles on it in the future.

Although the site has (temporarily) been used to house a metal office and a fence apparently demarcating parking spots, it is not a prime storage position, while the parking spaces cannot be used on matchday when the road is closed.

Its significance and value to St James Terrace Land Ltd is unclear. But if Newcastle United ever want to expand the East Stand, they will need to acquire that small strip of land.

When it comes to redeveloping St James’ Park, it seems nothing is ever straightforward.

(Top photos: Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust, Chris Waugh/The Athletic)

The dynamics between the media and NFL players will look different in the near future after Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras confirmed Thursday that the NFLPA plans to enact a program stopping members of the media from conducting interviews inside the team locker room. 

Karras, an NFLPA player rep, spoke to the media this week about the new program that is aimed at protecting the “sanctity of the locker room” after he said that there were several instances this season where players were seen “naked on camera.” 

“As you’ve heard from a couple of teams now and the NFLPA is going to come out with a statement – In an effort to protect the sanctity of the locker room and the comfort of the players, each team is going to figure out a program to where we conduct our interviews outside of the locker room,” Karras said.  

“Now, this doesn’t bar you from the locker room – we can’t do that, but what we want to do is get cameras off guys in private moments in our locker rooms.” 

Karras explained the basics of the program, and added that it was not meant as “an indictment” against members of the media. Teams or players are not required to follow the new program. 

“This is what our membership feels is best for the players.” 

New England Patriots center Nick Leverett talks to the media before practice.  (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Karras said the idea had been brought about during the COVID-19 pandemic, but interest in implementing a new program was brought on by incidents where players were filmed in the nude while in the locker room. 

BUCCANEERS’ VITA VEA CELEBRATES SACK WITH SNIPER CRAWL AMID NFL CRACKDOWN ON ‘VIOLENT’ GESTURES

“This has been a topic of discussion since COVID with the COVID protocol, when no one was in the locker room. It’s been brought up several times since then, and now we figure it’s the time to do it,” he said. 

“I think what brought it to light was a couple guys naked on camera this year. I know that’s happened a few times throughout the history of the league. But this will not affect game day, I don’t think. We’re gonna come up with a good solution to make the week as smooth as possible, get everyone the time they need and, again, protect the sanctity of the locker room.”

Joe Burrow, #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals, walks out of the locker room to the field prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on October 29, 2023, in Santa Clara, California.  (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The program is aimed at stopping locker room interviews during the week but not on game day. Karras said that while players are free to do what they want, he asked that members of the media “respect” the new process of interviewing players. 

“This is not an excuse to avoid the media,” he added. “We are contractually obligated to be available one time a week for questions . . . so, that will not be an issue.” 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Six horses at Los Alamitos were euthanized on Wednesday and Thursday after an outbreak of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in the barn of trainer Heath Taylor. A seventh was euthanized on Sept. 24.

EIA is an incurable disease that usually results in euthanasia. Horses with EIA have that virus mostly for the rest of their life, meaning an interminable quarantine or euthanasia.

All of the afflicted were quarter horses.

The first horse to have the condition detected was Bullet Train V, an Oklahoma bred, on Sept. 24. The 2-year-old colt was winless in two starts, neither at Los Alamitos, having finished third in a trial for the All American Futurity in Albuquerque.

Upon notification, the horse was euthanized and nine horses run by Taylor were put in quarantine. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), as is standard, was put in charge of the situation and subsequent investigation. EIA is not confined to the U.S.; it is a problem worldwide.

The three remaining horses who were quarantined have tested negative for disease. They will remain quarantined and be re-tested in two months.

EIA is caused by insects, usually flies.

Other horses who were euthanized were:

• Opt In, a 3-year-old gelding, who won once in eight starts, which was an All American Futurity trial last year. His last race was a seventh in an allowance race at Los Alamitos on Sept. 15.
• El Vencedor V, a 2-year-old gelding, won three of four including a win in an Al American Futurity trial. He never ran at Los Alamitos.
• Amore for a Reason, a 3-year-old filly, won three of eight including a seventh in the All American Oaks final, for 2-year-old fillies.
• Goodtyme, a 3-year-old gelding, who won three of nine races. His last race was a fourth in an All-American Futurity trial, in which he finished fourth.
• Other Assaultt, a 2-year-old colt, was winless in four starts.
• The Marksman V, a 3-year-old gelding, who was four for 10 lifetime and three-for-four this year. His last race was Sept. 2 with a fourth in the All American Derby in Albuquerque.

According to records from the California Horse Racing Board and supplemented by The Times, Taylor has had six deaths since 2000. He also had a sudden death during training.

Los Alamitos runs a year-round quarter horse and thoroughbred meeting that is partly made up of lower level thoroughbred horses. So far, the track has had eight racing or training deaths because of musculo-skeletal and one sudden death during training. The Times accounting of horse deaths do not generally account for diseases or non-racing injuries.

In 2019, Taylor was restored to good standing in Louisiana after a 2012 drug violation for the drug Dermorphin, a pain killer, known as frog juice because its origin was from secretions of South American tree frogs. Taylor served three years and nine months before being reinstated.

Racing at Los Alamitos is conducted every Friday and Saturday.