It’s going to be iconic, it’s going to be bold, it’s going to reflect who we are and where we are going.
These are the words of Nick Smith, Blues head of infrastructure, in relation to the new Blues stadium.
At the club’s latest Open House event, tagged Forward, more tantalising details about the 60,000-seat arena and 135-acre Sports Quarter site were revealed.
World renowned Heatherwick Studio and architects MANICA won the tender to collaborate on the design and build of Blues new home, which chairman Tom Wagner insists gets completed by 2030.
On November 20, Blues will stage a major event to reveal the stadium design to all and sundry.
Only a handful of people know what it looks like – and Smith, Wagner and others at the Open House showed commendable restraint not to give too much away despite their obvious excitement and enthusiasm for what is proposed.
A new, global destination and a place to call home, Smith said. It will be ‘recognised and iconic’.
In fact, Wagner reckoned it will be visible from Broadway in the Cotswolds, let alone dominate the city skyline.
The whole stadium and £2 billion – £3 billion Sports Quarter project is also about driving transformation of East Birmingham and improving lives for the local community.
On Monday, engagement with those living in the neighbourhood begins. There will be four workshops before public exhibitions starting in November and through to the new year.
Smith (picured above) said it was about what those in the area wanted and expected from the stadium and Sports Quarter, and Blues fans will be counselled at length to get everything just so.
Blues have already got plenty of detail in place.
Smith confirmed there will be a 10,000-seat women’s stadium built, and an 18,000-seat arena. This is in addition to the ‘absolute world class, elite best, training centre’ for the men’s, women’s and academy teams.
There will be 3 million sq ft of mixed use including hotels, commercial, retail, entertainment, parks and residential areas. Below is the latest drawing of what the Sports Quater could look like. This is not an artist’s final impression.
The design brief sent out to 13 firms who expressed interest was wide-ranging.
But Smith said it had to be ‘football first . . . through the lens of football was key ‘.
So whilst it will be able to host multi-events, including concerts and other sports like rugby, NFL – Smith casually dropped in a 78,000 capacity configuration for a concert – the stadium will be first and foremost delineated to provide the best football experience possible.
- Fans will be as close to the pitch as regulations allow.
- Two fan ‘walls’ – a huge bank of seating at either end, similar to what is seen at Spurs and Borussia Dortmund.
- The steepest stands in the country – Smith said: ‘Just over half a degree steeper than the Spurs and Everton stadiums; right at the max’.
- Retractable hybrid pitch
- Retractable roof
- Three fan zones for 12,000 – 15,000 people, around the stadium
- Acoustics – Blues are working on the roofline ideas in the home ends so the sound bounces off into the pitch and acoustic dampening over the away section.
Smith said the base figure of 60,000 capacity often quoted was so the club could hold any event there they wanted to, other than the World Cup Final, and for football and Blues games it was more likely to be around 62,000.
Being the heart of the community is of vital importance for Blues.
Smith said: “A number of modern designs are landing in communities, almost like untouchable stadiums, like spaceships. You don’t feel like you can go there unless it is on matchday.
“Our stadium is to be part of the community. Live and breathe every single day with its community and neighbourhood on matchdays and non-matchdays.”
One thing Smith and the assembled leadership team at the Open House kept coming back to was that the stadium had to be ‘uniquely Birmingham’ and reflect the city, its people and history.
Hence Steven Knight’s involvement; the ‘cultural adviser’, as Wagner jokes.
The design brief stated that the stadium and Sports Quarter would drive transformation of the city and area, and contained the following:
Birmingham has rich and storied history. It was the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. Its men and women changed the world with their curiosity, intellect, innovation and penchant for hard work
Now it is to lead in a new revolution, one where moral admission and stunning architecture collide to create new ways of living and collaborating . . . and everyone in its richly diverse community has opportunity for progression.
At its heart will be an accessible, modern day coliseum.
A sporting venue that will stand tallest in the city, visible for many miles around and permanent home to the football club that bears its name – Birmingham City.
Smith said: “When you pan back that Champions League picture of the Allianz Arena you know it’s the Bayern Munch stadium.
“When we pan back from ours, you’re going to know it is Birmingham City Football Club stadium and Birmingham city
“It’s going to be iconic, it’s going to be bold, it’s going to reflect who we are and where we are going.”
