Birmingham City sent clear warning over new 62,000 seater stadium - 'costs will escalate' | OneFootball

Keith Wyness credits Tom Wagner's ambition, but questions whether naming a set opening date is a step too far

Former Everton, Aston Villa and Aberdeen Chief Executive, Keith Wyness, has praised the ambition of Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner as the Blues aim to build a 62,000-capacity stadium by 2030.

However, on the Insider Track podcast, he questions "where that money and revenue is going to go," after it was revealed that the stadium itself would cost £1.2 billion to build on top of the other costs set to make the new Sports Quarter in Birmingham one of the biggest community hubs in the country.

The Blues have Premier League aspirations, and the achievement of a promotion to the top flight couldn't come quickly enough, as the club is in pursuit of becoming one of Europe's biggest clubs.

Wagner hopes that their new 'Powerhouse' stadium will be open for use in 2030, and the further along that path to European success they are by the start of the 2030/31 campaign, the more likely it may be that Birmingham can generate the money needed to warrant playing in a stadium of that size.

But with the Blues still in the Championship, Wyness believes that "the jury is still out" on the execution of such an idea.

Speaking on the Insider Track podcast, Wyness, who spent time as CEO at Everton and Aston Villa in England, praised Tom Wagner for having such lofty ambitions for both Birmingham as a football club, but also the city itself.

The 68-year-old knows how tricky it can be for these stadium plans to come into fruition, as he was the leading voice in Everton's plans to move to a 50,000-capacity stadium in Kirby in 2008, which ultimately didn't happen.

"I've been in this phase of projects before, and it's not that easy to then make this reality," he said.

"It's going to be a lot of arm-twisting and wrangling, a lot of late-night meetings and probably a lot more than they expect, as costs will escalate as well.

"With Birmingham, HS2 being stopped at Birmingham basically, it makes it very attractive, almost like a London club [...] so that's one advantage that has always been there.

"But as I say, it's a long road to go, but it's nice to have ambition, and I give them full marks for that. But whether you like it or not, as I say, it's up to the eye of the beholder."

Wyness feels that if Wagner and co had put out staggered dates to get certain parts of the new ground built, then Birmingham fans wouldn't have minded. With a set opening date, it puts pressure on the deadline to be met.

The former Everton CEO credits the ambition to do so, but acknowledges how difficult it may be to hit the 2030 deadline.

"I think they've certainly given themselves something, an image to aim for and a feeling to aim for, and so full marks for that. But let's just see, the jury is very much out on execution on such a big project," he continued.

"It may have been better to have done it in phases and to have got different things done by certain dates. I think fans would have accepted that, but they've gone for the whole package and wanted to deliver.

"[Tom Wagner] has that ambition, but there are a few questions yet to be answered about where that money and revenue is going to go."

Premier League the aim for Tom Wagner and Birmingham City

Given the sheer amount of money that being in the Premier League gives, Birmingham will be hoping that they can get up there as soon as possible to give them the best chances of moving into the new stadium at the earliest possible opportunity.

Wagner has not been shy about stating his high expectations and ambitions for his club, stating as soon as the 2024/25 campaign ended that Birmingham were aiming for a back-to-back promotion to the Premier League.

Right now, the Blues are on the periphery of the play-offs, so, despite there being perhaps a few more bumps in the road than expected, they are well on their way to meeting their targets this season.

So, if those expectations can be met, many people will have confidence that further targets can be met, too.