Blues buy Wheels Park for new stadium and Sports Quarter

Birmingham City Football Club has bought Birmingham Wheels Park in Bordesley Green, with plans to turn it into a new sports quarter including a state-of-the-art stadium to replace St Andrew's.

The club announced the acquisition on 9 April.

The plans

The club says the Sports Quarter will include a new stadium and training facilities for all of Birmingham City's teams, alongside extensive commercial and community spaces.

Chairman Tom Wagner said the stadium is expected to be completed by August 2029, at an estimated cost of "2-3 billion pounds". The club says the development is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs in the local area, and hopes the stadium will be able to host international events such as the Euros and NFL matches.

A wheeled sports venue

Birmingham Wheels Park was a dedicated venue for wheeled sports, with a short oval motor racing circuit, a kart track, drifting arenas, an off-road rally stage and an outdoor speed skating arena. It was controlled by Birmingham City Council.

The site has a long sporting history. The Birmingham Brummies speedway team raced there in 1985 and 1986 after the closure of the old Perry Barr Stadium, and the oval later became a stock car racing venue. National and international champions began their skating and racing careers there.

The park's future has been in question for years. In 2006, plans were unveiled for a City of Birmingham Stadium and casino complex on the site, which would have become the new home of Birmingham City, but the scheme fell through when the Government shelved plans for "super casinos".

A government-appointed inspector confirmed in 2017 that the sporting facilities must either be relocated or included in any regeneration plans. The park closed in October 2021.

A new era for the Blues

The purchase is the most significant step yet for the club's American owners, Shelby Companies, a subsidiary of Knighthead Capital Management, which took control of the club in 2023. Wagner, the club's chairman and a co-founder of Knighthead, has made the stadium plans central to his ambitions for Birmingham City.

St Andrew's, the club's home since 1906, is just a short distance from Wheels Park in the east of the city.

For users of Wheels Park, the sale marks the end of a long campaign to keep the facilities open. Councillors and campaigners, including Councillor Bob Beauchamp, fought for many years to protect the park, arguing that its unique facilities had a real public benefit.

The stadium and the wider Sports Quarter will need planning approval before construction can begin.