Birmingham City owners make major vow as details of new stadium and £3billion revamp released

Championship strugglers Birmingham City have released details of a £3billion revamp of the east side of the city, which will take five years to complete, and which the club’s owners hope will help transform the club and the surrounding area

Birmingham City have vowed to return to the big-time after releasing details of a massive £3bn revamp.

The ailing club, currently sitting in the Championship relegation zone, has unveiled a five-year plan to transform a huge swathe of the Second City.

The club’s owners, Knighthead Capital, have outlined their future vision by announcing a transformative regeneration of the east side of Brum. The American investment house confirmed the purchase of 48 acres that used to house Birmingham Wheels, a disused former go-karting venue on Monday night.

And they immediately made public their plans to re-site their club as part of a sports’ quarter that they believe will thrust the Blues among the elite of English football.

Knighthead Capital co-owner and club chairman Tom Wagner said: “To understand why we are doing this, you have to get a sense as to the whole vision. This isn’t just about a stadium, it’s about a sports’ quarter.

“What does that mean? It means a stadium, a training ground for men’s and women’s teams, the academy, it also brings in other entertainment options in one location. We have lots of in-bound enquiries already.

“I can see hotel, restaurants, entertainment concepts, eatertainment too – we have a couple of interesting businesses we have invested in that can play a part in this. Beyond that, there’s development, potentially involving some housing which we may end up doing at St Andrew’s.

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“If you look at the fact that this site is within walking distance of the city centre, that’s a one-off. No-one else can claim they have brought together the stadium, academy, and entertainment venues into a single location within walking distance of the city centre.”

Wagner said that he hoped the work would be completed in five years – but admitted too that this might be optimistic.

He added: “The total investment is between £2-3bn. I don’t know how quickly we can pursue it. I hope it can be done with immediacy. The goal is to be pushing this out of the gates. We’d like to get this completed in five years – in a perfect world. I’m going to keep saying that. If I say ‘six or seven years,’ it will end up being eight.

“The formal planning process is starting immediately. I have meetings in London later this week to begin some of the more detailed processes.

“A lot of what we’re putting together is to ensure what we build is appropriate, respectful of the club’s history and local community. And we want it to be best in class when it’s completed.

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