Crazy £15 million developments on the horizon for Birmingham City
|Knighthead, the American investment corporation that owns Birmingham City, has announced that it will invest an additional £15 million in enhancing the club’s current facilities, in addition to the funds pledged to create the club’s Sports Quarter.
The City has revealed intentions to develop a brand new Sports Quarter. According to the Birmingham Mail, they have purchased a 48-acre plot of land formerly known as Birmingham Wheels and intend to develop a new stadium, training facilities, and an academy there, with the goal of having it operational by the start of the 2029/30 season.
On top of these new initiatives, the investment group has announced that they intend to improve the club’s existing facilities.
Birmingham’s £15m investment in current facilities
Knighthead intends to invest £15 million on renovating St Andrew’s as well as the club’s two training sites, the Elite Performance and Innovation Centre (EPIC).
According to the Mail, the majority of the money will be spent on the stadium’s two new supporter zones. There will be a temporary pop-up solution in the Kop car park and a permanent one in the Main Stand car park. The hope is that the permanent setup will be ready for the Euros.
Nick Smith, the club’s head of infrastructure, who has supervised the work on the stadium and training areas over the past year, told fans at last week’s Open House: “Over the summer, we want to deliver a further 22 projects with a £15 million investment. Obviously, some of that investment is going into the training field, but I want to focus on the fan experience sections.
“When you arrive back at St Andrew’s at Knighthead Park next season there will be two new fan parks that will be free to access. One will be in the Kop which will be a pop-up fan park. Onto the Main Stand car park, this will be our second and permanent fan park. Over 1,000 people per match day will be able to attend this fan park.
“We will welcome families, we have a kids play area, five-a-side and teqball. We have an adults area with food and bars and a stage where we will be putting on local bands, acts and comedians.
“We will have a hospitality area with a TV studio. We will have an area for match days and, hopefully if all goes well, and I can get this done before the end of the Euros, you’ll have somewhere to come and watch the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final and England go on to win the Euros.”