Birmingham City new stadium: Timeframe, capacity and why Knighthead have invested in St Andrew’s

Five months ago Birmingham City announced that it had purchased a vacant 48-acre site in east Birmingham for £51million, formerly known as Birmingham Wheels, and unveiled plans to build a new Sports Quarter and super stadium.

Knighthead has also acquired another 12 acres of land adjacent to the Wheels site, excluding St Andrew’s, to take the total holding to 60 acres. Blues have taken inspiration from Manchester City’s stunning Etihad Campus and plan to create a Sports Quarter that comprises a stadium, training and academy facilities.

There are also plans for office spaces, restaurants – or ‘eatertainment’ areas as Tom Wagner calls it – and hubs to socialise. Knighthead intend for match days to make up a fraction of the Sports Quarter’s revenue.

Here is the rundown of what we know so far about a facility which will change the landscape of Birmingham city centre…

Wagner wants the new stadium open by 2029 – but he admits that is slightly ambitious. “My timeframe is lunacy but we’d like to get this completed in five years,” he said. “That is the perfect world if everyone works with us at the same pace we’re willing to work. Five years from August and we could be in. 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.”

Chief executive Garry Cook and board member Kyle Kneisly are playing integral roles. Joking about his timescale target, Wagner said: “Garry and Kyle have told me definitely five years from now we’ll be in the new ground!”

What capacity will the stadium have?

Knighthead are keen to stress that the stadium is only the centrepiece of the Sports Quarter, the other cogs are equally important and will be used more frequently. Wagner showed supporters a mock up at the Open House event in April but warned them: ‘Don’t get wed to this!”

The stadium is expected to have a capacity of around 60,000 – a figure which would make it the largest facility of its type in the Midlands and rank among the 10 biggest stadiums in England.

That figure would provide Blues with room to house more supporters than St Andrew’s currently can and it would make the venue suitable for large scale non-football events. For instance, an NFL fixture in Birmingham would be a possibility.