What Tom Brady has said on Birmingham City's 62,000-seater stadium update | OneFootball

The NFL icon reacted to huge plans concerning the club's upcoming 62,000-capacity stadium

NFL icon and Birmingham City minority stakeholder, Tom Brady, has been among the thousands of people associated with the West Midlands side reacting to a major breakthrough in the development of the club's upcoming 62,000-seater stadium.

Early on Tuesday afternoon, it was revealed by Blues owner, Tom Wagner, who had been speaking at a Regional Investment Summit taking place at Warwickshire County Cricket Club's well-known Edgbaston Stadium, as to which firms would be responsible for the end design of the aforementioned centrepiece of the city's upcoming 'Sports Quarter' regeneration project.

Excitement levels in this part of the Second City have reached fever pitch in recent weeks and months, particularly regarding the lofty visions which the likes of Wagner and Brady have for the Championship side, which has certainly been backed by the hefty investment ploughed into the club through the former's business firm - Knighthead Capital Management.

The American chairman is also spearheading the aforementioned project, which will see areas such as Small Heath and Bordesley Green completely transformed in comparison to their current outlook, whilst Blues continue to hope making swift strides of major progress on and off the pitch, which began last term as they swept aside all before them in a record-breaking League One campaign.

Brady's presence has had a profound impact on developments both on and off the pitch at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in the past two-and-a-quarter years, which were echoed in the screening and title of a five-part Amazon Prime docuseries in August.

However, the 48-year-old, like many, couldn't hide his excitement when reacting to such landmark midweek developments.

Plans for the 62,000-seater stadium and regeneration project were effectively green-lighted back in June when government funding for a West Midlands Metro extension towards and beyond the 'Sports Quarter' was unlocked by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Despite moving into a modernised home in comparison to that of St. Andrew's, which has still undergone a major transformation in recent times, Wagner has continuously spoken of the need for the complex to have a strong representation of the community which it serves and the core values and principles shared throughout Birmingham as a hard-working, industrious city.

The project is set to generate over 8,400 jobs for locals within the city and the wider West Midlands conurbation, and is reported to cost between £2-3bn, with a 15,000 to 20,000-capacity indoor arena, training facilities and various retail and commercial spaces set to be built adjacently to the new stadium.

As such, it was revealed by Wagner on Tuesday that Heatherwick Studio and MANICA had been selected as the 'design and architect team' for the stadium, which he hopes will open its doors in the summer of 2030, with the land currently occupied by the derelict 'Birmingham Wheels' BMX track.

The duo of firms will also receive support from filmmaker and director, Steven Knight, whose affinity for the club and city is well-documented.

As such, Brady was among those taking to social media welcoming the developments, with the NFL icon stating: "...and big things coming at @bcfc" via his Instagram story.

Birmingham City will hope to nail new stadium design and maintain St. Andrew's atmosphere

Modern stadiums often split opinion, with the most recent high-profile example in the English game being Everton's switch from Goodison Park to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the summer.

However, unlike the Toffees' move to the banks of the River Mersey and West Ham United's controversial departure from Upton Park to the unpopular London Stadium, the new complex in Birmingham is a stone's throw away from St. Andrew's, meaning local businesses aren't exactly at risk of losing plenty of pre and post-match custom.

MANICA, in particular, are involved in the current expansion of FC Barcelona's iconic Camp Nou, which will only add to the excitement felt by Bluenoses, albeit some jitters have been made clear due to delays surrounding the Catalan giant's return to the stadium.

Whilst there will be some obvious differences, the main hope of supporters will be that it is able to add to what is one of the most hostile atmospheres in the country at St. Andrew's, especially with a near-double increase in terms of spectators.