BIRMINGHAM CITY are planning to build a stunning new ‘spaceship’ stadium and state-of-the art complex – but it will cost them £2billion.
Earlier this year Blues majority ownership group, Knighthead, announced that they had acquired a 48-acre site within a mile of St Andrews.
They have since purchased 12 more acres of land next to the former Wheels site and have taken inspiration from Manchester City’s Etihad Campus.
Knighthead plan to create a Sports Quarter that comprises a stadium, training and academy facilities.
There are also plans for office spaces, restaurants and social hubs for the surrounding community.
Co-CEO and Chairman Tom Wagner wants it to be built in time for the 2029-30 campaign, with the overall project costing between £2-3billion.
Wagner told the Birmingham Mail: “My timeframe is lunacy but we’d like to get this completed in five years.
“That is the perfect world if everyone works with us at the same pace we’re willing to work. I’m going to keep saying that even though it makes everyone around me sweat.
“A lot of it is outside our control but that’s the goal.”
But the capacity plans are certainly ambitious.
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Early indications suggest that the new stadium will have a capacity of 62,000.
This would make it the eighth-largest stadium in England, 850 seats under the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and slightly more than Anfield, which has 61,276 seats.
It would make the venue suitable for large scale non-football events.
Taylor Swift concerts and NFL fixtures in Birmingham could become a possibility.
Last season, the Blues struggled to regularly sell out St Andrew’s which only has a capacity of 29,409.
Despite their best efforts, the club were relegated from the Championship after flirting with League One for several seasons.
The new base is within walking distance of the city centre and Knighthead have said that the “world-class Sports Quarter” will create 3,000 jobs.
There is no official name for the new ground yet.
AI platform Midjourney, with the assistance of Chat GPT, provided images of the new stadium’s design.
It includes a partly retractable roof, solar panels and efficient lighting.
St Andrew’s has looked tired for many years now, but the club spent a fortune on renovation works in 2023.
This summer, they also upgraded the stadium’s hospitality areas, but the decision has been made to leave and move to a new site.
NFL legend Tom Brady is one of Birmingham’s investors, but has no voting rights.
Birmingham go head-to-head with Wrexham, who are also bankrolled by US celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in a League One blockbuster on Monday night.
