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Brummies and football fans have been offered further glimpses of how Birmingham City FC’s Sports Quarter project could forever change Brum. Last year, Blues announced the purchase of a vacant 48-acre site in east Birmingham, formerly known as Birmingham Wheels, from the city council and unveiled proposals to build a new stadium. The Sports Quarter project also includes plans for a “world-class” training centre, women’s stadium, an arena and a mixed-use development with housing and office space. READ MORE: Inside Birmingham’s World Cup bid - £100m boost, stadiums and fan festival Chairman Tom Wagner last week revealed the team responsible for creating the club’s new stadium, with the collaboration involving award-winning British designers Heatherwick Studio. They will partner with Kansas-based architectural powerhouse MANICA and be supported by Steven Knight, the writer behind iconic series Peaky Blinders and a lifelong Blues fan. The club said the partnership would deliver a project that would be “truly extraordinary, recognisable around the globe, yet rooted in the history of Birmingham”. But there have been further updates from those behind the huge project, courtesy of Birmingham City FC’s most recent Open House event. Here’s a look at what Birmingham residents have recently learnt about the highly-anticipated Sports Quarter project. Nick Smith, head of infrastructure at Birmingham City FC, told fans recently that the stadium’s capacity during football games could be more than 60,000. “Don’t get too caught up on the number,” he said. “We’ve got multiple events, for a concert we’re going to have 78,000. “For a football match it’s going to be somewhere in the region of 62,000. “Our ambition is to be able to run every event that we possibly can, other than the World Cup final.” Mr Smith also told fans that a retractable hybrid pitch gives the club the flexibility to run different events. He continued that a retractable roof was key for creating an atmosphere where the noise from home fans is enhanced while there could also be “acoustic dampening” for the away ends. “We also have to consider that when Taylor Swift or Coldplay play here, the noise they want to create needs to go out the stadium,” he said. “But in football, we want it to bounce in on the stadium.” According to Mr Smith, one of the design principles was to provide a “global destination of sport, media and entertainment”. “Entertainment in a multi-purpose stadium is going to be key because we’re probably going to run as many events as we play football games in the stadium,” he said. But he stressed another principle was making sure the project was putting the “football first” and creating an “intense and vibrant” atmosphere for fans. Mr Smith also confirmed there are proposals for a 10,000 seat women’s stadium in the Sports Quarter. He said this could be the first purpose-built women’s stadium in the country depending on the timing, which would be influenced by factors such as planning and the speed of build. This particular stadium could also have the ability to grow to 15,000 seats, he added. Blues fans won’t have to wait long to get their first proper glimpse of the stadium’s design, which is set to be revealed next month. “The stadium design, that you’ll see on November 20, is probably the most advanced stadium design I’ve ever seen from a revenue generating perspective,” Tom Wagner said. “That does not mean higher ticket prices. We’re modelling ticket prices in the new stadium that are the same as what you pay today […] for general admission tickets adjusted for inflation only.” There is also set to be a public exhibition for the community next month regarding the Sports Quarter Masterplan, along with fan engagement in the coming months. Nick Smith confirmed there are proposals for three fan zones “already designed into the space”. “Our fan zones here get around 3,000 people coming in before the game,” he said. “This will have 12-15,000 people in and around the stadium on non-matchday [or] matchday – it’s not just going to be open in a temporary tent, it will be much more permanent.”
