Tom Brady, Jude Bellingham hail Birmingham’s new stadium
Birmingham City Football Club has announced plans to construct a 62,000-seat stadium in East Birmingham, a project valued at £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) as part of a wider £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) development aimed at transforming the area into a major sporting and cultural hub. The club, currently competing in the Championship, revealed that the stadium is expected to open in time for the 2030-31 season.
The proposed venue, dubbed the Birmingham City Powerhouse Stadium, will feature 12 prominent chimneys, a retractable roof, and a moveable pitch, positioning it among the largest club stadiums in England. The design, created by Heatherwick Studio in collaboration with Manica Architecture, seeks to host not only top-tier football matches but also major music concerts, boxing events, and potentially NFL games.
Tom Wagner, Birmingham City’s chairman, described the stadium as a “beacon of excellence for Birmingham on the global stage,” emphasizing the club’s ambition to compete at the highest levels of football while driving broader economic and cultural development in the city. “This is a huge milestone for Birmingham City Football Club, creating a home for the club that reflects our ambition to compete at the highest level,” Wagner said at the unveiling.
The announcement featured endorsements from high-profile figures, including NFL legend and minority shareholder Tom Brady, and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, a former Birmingham City academy graduate. Bellingham described the stadium plans as “wow” in a promotional video, while Wagner suggested the venue could serve as a “great coming home story” for the England international. “I think Jude is the greatest player on the planet today…if we can provide him a platform to achieve his full potential, well then that’s a great story,” Wagner added.
Birmingham City, last in the Premier League in 2011—the same year they won the League Cup—currently play at St Andrew’s Stadium, a 29,000-capacity venue that has served as their home since 1906. The new stadium would more than double capacity, making it the fourth-largest club stadium in England, behind Manchester United, West Ham, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Knighthead Capital Management, co-founded by Wagner, owns the club, which is positioning itself for long-term growth both on and off the pitch. With the stadium project, Birmingham City aims to combine sporting ambition with community engagement and international event hosting, signaling a strategic vision that extends well beyond the Championship.