Birmingham owners and Tom Brady buy land for new stadium

Tom Brady, Tom Wagner and the rest of the ownership group of Birmingham City are pushing through with updating their facilities by buying land for a new stadium. St. Andrew’s is one of the oldest stadiums in England, having opened in 1906. Therefore, Knighthead, the club’s ownership group, purchased a 48-acre site to build a new venue. Initial plans are preparing for a stadium with a capacity of 60,000.

The major hurdle for that is that Birmingham City is threatening relegation to League One. The prospect of dropping into the third tier has major ramifications for the club. For one, the finances would take a hit as broadcast deals would be less valuable in League One. Likewise, interest in the club from a wider audience dwindles in League One compared to the Championship.

Regardless, Knighthead CEO Tom Wagner says his group’s ‘multi-billion-pound’ investment does not change after one season. While avoiding relegation is still the top priority this season, the goals the for group’s investment last year are far more widespread.

“What happens in the next five games is going to have no impact on what we’re pursuing and our vision for the next decade,” Wagner said. “You can’t talk about making a multi-billion-pound investment and worry about the next two fixtures.”

Birmingham City new stadium would revamp facilities

What Wagner can worry about is the lack of attendance at the current venue. St. Andrew’s can host 30,000 fans. Yet, in this difficult season for the club, the stadium has only been about two-thirds full, according to Sky Sports. That does not stop Wagner from planning a stadium that is double that capacity.

“In a perfect world, that’s exactly what we’d shoot for,” said Wagner. “That puts a lot of pressure on us to achieve our objectives and put a product on the pitch for our fans to have that many people showing up.”

While it does include training facilities for the different teams in the Birmingham City ranks, Wagner’s ideal stadium caters to a wider audience. For example, one of the co-owners of Birmingham City, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, may be pleased to see Wagner discuss American football games in Birmingham.

“What we’d like to do is build something that will enable us to host international sporting events. It would be ideal to host NFL events. There’s many other options – Euro football, World Cups, rugby events. All those revenues from increased usage are for the benefit of the club.”

That explains why Wagner is not overly concerned about the prospect of relegation. The profits a stadium can bring in, particularly one with a 60,000-seat capacity, are high. If the stadium is a world-class option, the England national team would be likely to play friendlies or competitive games there.

Focusing on this season

While a new stadium is a sensible choice for Birmingham City, the fans will want things fixed in the present. Risky decisions by this new ownership group led to the sacking of John Eustace when the club was sixth in the Championship. Wayne Rooney took over to a massive failure, and the club plunged to 20th in the table. Now, it is 22nd in the league table and in the relegation zone. That came off the back of one point in seven games from late February through March.

A recent win over Preston has the club hopeful, but it needs more points to survive in the second tier.

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