How much it will cost Tom Wagner and Knighthead to build Birmingham City's new 62,000 seater stadium | OneFootball

Blues' American owners plan to move the club into a new home in the coming years

Birmingham City supporters are in for an exciting journey under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management, who harbour ambitions to move into a new 62,000-seater stadium in the coming years.

Blues have called St Andrew's - originally known as Muntz Street - home since the year 1906, with all Bluenoses having their own favourite memories in B9 to pick from, despite numerous renovations made to the stadium over time, including a £15m makeover from the American owners last summer following the re-opening of the Tilton Road and Kop's lower sections.

However, those who have stood on the terraces for many a year seemingly don't have many left at the club's traditional home, after it was announced in April of last year that Knighthead had acquired the currently derelict, 48-acre former Birmingham Wheels site, just a stone's throw away, as well as a further 12 acres adjacent to the aforementioned plot of land for a reported £51m sum.

With Wagner, Tom Brady et al. in the boardroom hoping that a new complex in East Birmingham will help the city's overall transformation, the ownership will hope the club is in a division worthy of a new state-of-the-art stadium.

Therefore, FLW looks at how much this development is set to cost.

Birmingham City-centred Sports Quarter complex set to cost ten-figure sum

This isn't the first time a new stadium within the vicinity of the Wheels site has been mooted, with a previous proposition set by David Sullivan and David Gold between the mid-to-late 2000s, to build a 55,000-seater stadium and sports village, which would have cost a reported £100m.

Fast-forward to April 2024, and the aforementioned Wagner forecast that the building of a reported 62,000 seater-stadium and Sports Quarter would cost between £2-3bn, with the aim of it being completed by the start of the 2029/30 season, although the New York-born-man would concede that his "timeframe is lunacy."

The inspiration for such developments stems from Manchester City's Etihad Stadium complex, which spans 80 acres of land and includes facilities such as Co-Op Live, training facilities and the Manchester Institute of Health and Performance.

In February, Wagner unveiled a £20m plan centering around an underground tunnel which would stretch 1.5 miles between Birmingham City Centre and the new stadium, as well as links to the HS2 line which will run from the redeveloped Curzon Street Station to London.

Knighthead had also invested £100m of their own sums into the Sports Quarter project, which is set to generate 8,400 jobs for the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands, with sporting, residential and commercial facilities all spanning around the outside of the new stadium.

Wagner and the mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, were then present at 10 Downing Street last month, outlining their plans and how the redevelopment could boost the region's local economy.

Birmingham City and Aston Villa are both looking to make improvements

Across the Second City, Blues' arch rivals, Aston Villa, are also looking to expand their historic stadium, Villa Park, ahead of UEFA Euro 2028, which will be held in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

32 years on from when the B6 ground was a host venue in 'Euro 96, a redevelopment of the stadium and local area also centres around improved transport links and facilities, with Witton and Aston stations often overcrowded on matchdays.

Former West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, outlined his plans to transform the latter amid Villa's plans to expand their stadium to a capacity of beyond 50,000, which includes a brand new 'North Stand' which will merge into the current Trinity Road Stand.

Meanwhile, Knighthead are also adding to their ever-growing portfolio away from Blues, having acquired significant investment stakes in Birmingham Phoenix (Cricket) and Birmingham Panthers (Netball).

Wagner stated that his aim was to see the blue half of the city end their Premier League exile by 2026, and the first of those steps looks a formality now, holding a significant advantage over Wrexham in the League One promotion race, whilst they and Villa will both feature at Wembley this month for the EFL Trophy final and FA Cup semi-final respectively.

With the Second City Derby one of the fiercest and most passionate on the pitch and in the stands, there is hope for Blues fans that they will be able to compete against Unai Emery's side in the not-too-distant future.