Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner drops new Sports Quarter update - It sounds so exciting | OneFootball

Blues' ambitious owner has been speaking about the upcoming Sports Quarter

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner has provided yet another update on the club's upcoming Sports Quarter complex, and it's one that will certainly excite supporters and residents of the local community in equal measure.

It has been a remarkable period of just over two years as Blues owner for the American, who initially took control of the club in July 2023, bringing the extremely tumultuous period overseen by Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSHL), also known as Trillion Trophy Asia, to an end.

The 55-year-old hasn't shied away from his future ambitions in this part of the Second City, with the end goal being one that sees the current Championship side emerge as one of English football's modern powerhouses in a new state-of-the-art, 62-000-seater stadium situated just a stone's throw away from the club's current and spiritual home of St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

The man who fronts Knighthead Capital Management has, unsurprisingly, backed current manager Chris Davies significantly in the transfer market in order to move a step closer to the aforementioned aims as quickly as possible, which saw the club enjoy a record-breaking season in League One last time out, during which the EFL's all-time record points haul of 111 was accrued.

And whilst on the pitch, Birmingham have made a steady, if not spectacular, return to the second-tier, Wagner has continued to oversee plans for the upcoming Sports Quarter after the project was given the go-ahead earlier in the summer.

Plans for the £2-3bn complex began in April 2024, just weeks before Blues were relegated from the Championship for the first time since 1994, and they were effectively given the all-clear in June once Government funding for a £1bn West Midlands Metro extension running through East Birmingham was approved.

Wagner has continuously spoken about the need to improve facilities in what is one of the country's most deprived areas, and such talking points continued in a fresh interview as part of US outlet Bloomberg's 'Wall Street Week' initiative, which he posted a snippet of on his personal Instagram profile.

"For Birmingham - the City - I think the growth potential is extraordinary," he stated.

"Because we can help spur investment into a City that's in need of housing, in need of more office space, that I think (it) could use to keep more of the talent that is educated there in the City of Birmingham by making it a more compelling place to live.

"And then, providing for a venue of work and entertainment for the whole of the Cotswolds, the whole of the West Midlands, as an example. Those are places that are very dynamic and experiencing lots of inbound investment that will see a greater amount of connectivity into Birmingham - the City.

"As it relates to Birmingham City Football Club, the opportunity for us is to grow the brand, and to grow the club into something that is more commensurate with the underlying fanbase that existed when we brought the club," Wagner added.

"It had always been a big club that had never seen, or fully achieved its full potential."

Birmingham City can reach unseen heights in the coming years under Knighthead

With the untapped potential Wagner is referencing, its no surprise that excitement levels have reached fever pitch in B9, and will continue to as the American issues further updates regarding the development of the club and the wider city.

Blues have been out of the Premier League since 2011, and have failed to finish above cross-city rivals and one-time European champions, Aston Villa, since the 1970s, something which supporters and the ownership group will be desperate to change.

Wagner's discourse about serving the local community should not be viewed as a publicity stunt by outsiders either, as Knighthead recently acquired a 49 percent stake in Birmingham Phoenix of The Hundred cricket league, whilst the upcoming Sports Quarter is set to generate approximately 8,400 local job opportunities.

However, the short-term aim is to see Blues compete towards the top end of the second-tier for now, and they returned to winning ways after three defeats in all competitions, with Lyndon Dykes' 94th-minute header against Swansea City sparking wild scenes at St. Andrew's.