Birmingham City have played their home matches at St Andrew's Stadium since 1906, but they will soon move to a brand-new stadium that could modernise the club and take it to new heights.
After just one season in League One, the club returned to the Championship at the first time of asking, and they will now be dreaming of Premier League football again. The club's owners, Knighthead, have grand plans for the Blues, and they would love to be back in the top flight in time for the grand unveiling of the new stadium.
Our guide below provides all the key information on the new Birmingham City stadium, from the latest updates to expected capacity.
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Birmingham City new stadium: Latest developments
Birmingham City name artichect and stadium design team for Sports Quarter
On October 21, Birmingham City chairman and owner Tom Wagner confirmed the artichect and stadium design team for the proposed Sports Quarter at the former Birmingham Wheels Site, just a short walk from the club's current home St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.
The American confirmed that British-based design company Heatherwick Studios and United States designers MANICA have been given the responsibility of drawing up plans for the 62,000-seater stadium and surrounding areas.
MANICA have worked on a number of world-class sporting venues across the globe, including the iconic Lusail Stadium in Qatar, where the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France was contested, with Lionel Messi lifting the famous trophy.
Whilst MANICA provide a wide range of experience in completing stadium projects, Heatherwick Studios have a number of eye-catching commercial buildings in their portfolio, as well as a new design for London double-decker buses during the first part of the 2010s.
Scale of the projects becomes clearer
The entire scale of the new Birmingham City project has become clearer than ever in recent months, after Tom Wagner publicly gave estimates of how much it is going to cost and how much space is needed.
The Birmingham City chairman has stated that the overall cost will be somewhere between £2bn and £3bn, but this won't be an issue when it comes to PSR compliance, as infrastructure costs don't count towards these rules.
In terms of size, Wagner said:
“It will be upwards of 125 acres when it’s done. There are some components that we don’t yet own that are necessary to ensure we can bring the full scope and scale.”
“I think that we will get there. I know that we have the Government’s full support. The faster that we can work with the local property owners to make that happen the better it will be for everybody.”
Transport plans get the green light
The new Birmingham City stadium project received a boost at the beginning of June after the Government pledged £2.4 billion to boost the West Midlands transport network.
This funding, which came directly after talks between the Government and Birmingham City owner, Tom Wagner, means that there will soon be a direct tram link between the new Sports Quarter (more info on that below) and the centre of Birmingham.
The expansion of the East Birmingham Metro not only means that it will be easier to move fans in and out of the area once the 60,000-seater stadium is complete, but it also opens the door to work opportunities for people across the city.
The plans don't stop there, either. In the future, there is hope that there will be a link between the new stadium and the east of the city, where the airport and HS2 Interchange are located.
The Mayor of Birmingham, Zafar Iqbal, said:
“This funding means we can now deliver a new Metro line to the Sports Quarter – connecting it to Birmingham city centre and unlocking one of the most significant private investments our region has ever seen.”
Birmingham City still targeting 2029 completion date
When the plans for Birmingham City's brand-new stadium were announced, the club were very public in their ambition to have the venue completely finished by the end of 2029.
Speaking on the matter almost a year after it was first announced, Wagner stated: “I think we're hearing the right statements now, we need the right action. I'm confident that we'll get it.
“I think Richard Parker [West Midlands mayor] is doing an exceptional job of providing us with the support that we need to make those things happen, but we've got to keep pushing ahead.”
Before going on to explain the importance of the project to the wider community in Birmingham, saying: “We can take one of the most deprived areas in all of England and really turn it around economically.
“So that in and of itself makes it a project worth pursuing for us. For us it's important not solely for the club, but demonstrating a true commitment for Birmingham.”
Wagner reaffirms his commitment to the project
Although many people have suggested that the current plans are far too ambitious given that the club are currently competing in the third tier of English football, the owners have been steadfast in their determination to push it through.
In a recent open meeting with the club's supporters, the club's chairman Tom Wagner said:
“We are deeply involved in complex planning and negotiations that will lay the groundwork for the development of the Sports Quarter. Our heads are down and we remain fully committed to doing the work needed to make this vision a reality.
“While we’re not yet at a point where we can share every detail, please know that we are making progress. Our commitment remains unwavering and we ask for your continued confidence as we navigate the process.
“Try not to hang on every word we say, or every press we read, or every tweet we see from across town. Your trust and belief in our vision mean everything to us and we hope that you have faith that there is a well-conceived plan driving every action, utterance and strategic decision.”
Stadium plans revealed
Earlier this year, Birmingham City announced that they had purchased a 48-acre site in east Birmingham and unveiled their plans for a new world-class stadium. The site, which was formerly known as Birmingham Wheels, will be transformed into a new sports quarter if all goes to plan and the plans are ambitious, to say the least.
They have since purchased 12 more acres of land next to the former Wheels site. The club are said to be looking to create something similar to what Manchester City have done with the Etihad Campus, where all the club's training facilities and stadium are on one site.
Thanks to the sheer size of the land the club has purchased, there is also space for office blocks, restaurants, bars, and places for fans to socialise. Knigthead is said to want the complex to be used all year round, not just on matchdays, and it has the potential to transform the east side of Birmingham.
The area is within walking distance of the city centre and Knighthead have said that the “world-class Sports Quarter” will create 3,000 jobs.
Do Birmingham City need a new stadium?
St Andrew's has looked tired for many years now, but the club spent a fortune on renovation works in 2023, which now looks like a questionable decision considering the stadium is set to be demolished in the coming years after the club moves into their new home.
In the summer of 2024, further upgrades came, with the club improving their hospitality areas. This perhaps looks less like a questionable decision, as these revamped areas have seen plenty of famous faces turn up at St Andrew's, including Tom Brady.
While these changes have improved St Andrew's, it is no longer a Premier League-calibre stadium, and that is where the club want to be. With plenty of money being pumped into the club, too, it isn't inconceivable that they achieve their Premier League ambitions in the next year.
While this would mean the club having to start their life back in the big time back at St Andrew's, it would give them ample time to re-establish themselves as a Premier League outfit before the big move happens, which wouldn't be a bad thing.
Fans understandably have an affinity for St Andrew's, but the new site is literally next door to the current stadium, so there won't be any contention around the location of the new Birmingham City stadium.
How will Birmingham City decide naming rights for new stadium?
Wagner recently provided his latest updates on the stadium at an Open House event where the subject of naming rights was addressed.
There have been situations across the Premier League and EFL over the years where fans have been left disappointed with the altering of their traditional stadium name to accommodate sponsors.
When quizzed on the matter in October, Wagner made it clear that whoever offers the most amount of money would win the race to have their brand name associated with Birmingham City's new stadium.
While it remains up in the air whether supporters will be happy or not, Wagner and Knighthead's stance is hardly surprising given the vast amount of money that it will take to bring the ambitious plans to fruition.
In order to generate more funds after the stadium is complete, head of infrastructure Nick Smith added at the same event that Birmingham intend to stage in the region of 20 non-football events.
What will the new Birmingham City stadium look like?
Concept art was also released when the plans were first unveiled, which gave fans a look at what the stadium and the surrounding area could look like if everything went to plan. At the time, Wagner was keen to stress that he wanted to build something that was in line with the rest of the city.
While concept art shows a stadium that resembles a spaceship, Wagner also emphasised that the stadium's actual design has yet to be decided. Architects are still working on these designs, and an update could be given in due course.
On the look of the stadium, Wagner said:
“I don’t know if we’re going to go with the spaceship look but I think it (the concept art) gives you a strong idea of what our intent is.
“Maybe the most important aspect is this huge promenade where people are coming in because not everyone will be watching the game in the stadium because obviously all 62,000 seats are sold.
“We want something that fits in the community and critically it’s important that this doesn’t look like a blight on the skyline of Birmingham and that it fits within the context of the city and more importantly, the neighbourhood.”
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What will the capacity be at the new Birmingham City stadium?
The capacity plans are certainly ambitious, with early indications suggesting that the new stadium will have a capacity of 62,000. Last season, Birmingham struggled to regularly sell out St Andrew's, which only has a capacity of 29,409.
Throughout 2024/25, their average attendance was just over 26,000, so going from that to 62,000 feels like a stretch. The idea is that the stadium can become multi-functional, with the club's owners keen to get NFL matches played there, too, while major concerts would also be held there.
As a result, the plan is to install a retractable pitch, similar to the one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so that the playing surface can be protected during non-football events.
At 62,000, the stadium would become the fifth-largest football stadium in England.
When will the new Birmingham City stadium be built?
Wagner has admitted that the planned completion date is also very ambitious. They aim to complete the entire project by 2029, enabling Birmingham City to host their home matches at the new stadium during the 2029/30 season.
That gives the club five seasons to return to the Premier League. Otherwise, they face the very real possibility of the stadium being at least half empty in the lower divisions, a situation that would not look good for the club or the ownership.
On the build timeframe, Wagner said:
“My timeframe is lunacy but we'll look to get this completed in five years. In a perfect world, if everyone works with us at the same pace, we're willing to work. I'm going to keep saying it, even if it makes people sweat. A lot of it is outside of our control, but that is the goal.”
FGG says: A fresh start for a waking giant
Relegation to League One at the end of the 2023/24 season may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to Birmingham City. It allowed the club's owners to enforce a full reset, and now they look very much like a club on the up, as opposed to one that was just surviving in the Championship.
The new stadium could set the club up for decades to come, and without being greedy, there will be optimism that they can play their first match here as a Premier League club.