Birmingham City have taken a giant leap towards a new stadium and Sports Quarter after the Government pledged to fund the tram-line between the site and the city centre. Blues chairman Tom Wagner has spent the last 12 months lobbying for a new transport link and £2.4billion was recently awarded to the region. West Midlands mayor Richard Parker will now prioritise the Sports Quarter tram-line. In April 2024 Blues announced the purchase of a vacant 48-acre site in east Birmingham for £51m, formerly known as Birmingham Wheels, and unveiled plans to build a new Sports Quarter and super stadium. Knighthead also acquired another 12 acres of land adjacent to the Wheels site, excluding St Andrew’s, to take the total holding to 60 acres. They have continued to hoover up land in that part of Birmingham over the last 12 months and Wagner estimates the Sports Quarter will total in excess of 125 acres when all is said and done. Wagner, along with Knighthead colleagues Kyle Kneisly and Laura Torrado, plus Blues’ head of infrastructure Nick Smith are listed as directors of two companies on Companies House – Winter Sun 2023 and Red Fox 2023 – that are being used to hoard land in East Birmingham. Winter Sun recently took control of a number of houses on the St Andrew’s industrial estate, more houses on Crown Lane and Garrison Lane, plus land on Garrison Lane. Documents also reveal that land has been purchased on the north east side of the Tilton Road. Wagner estimates the cost of building the Sports Quarter will be between two and three billion pounds. It is worth remembering that infrastructure costs don't count towards a football club's Profit and Sustainability totals. “It will be upwards of 125 acres when it’s done,” says Wagner. “There are some components that we don’t yet own that are necessary to ensure we can bring the full scope and scale. “I think that we will get there. I know that we have the Government’s full support. The faster that we can work with the local property owners to make that happen the better it will be for everybody.” For context, the impressive Etihad Campus is 80 acres, meaning this would instantly become the largest facility of its type used by a football club in the United Kingdom. There will be room for 19 pitches at the Sports Quarter to house Blues' men, women and academy players. There are plans for office spaces, restaurants – or ‘eatertainment’ areas as Wagner calls it – and hubs to socialise. Knighthead intend for match days to make up a fraction of the Sports Quarter’s revenue. Here is the rundown of what we know so far about a facility which will change the landscape of Birmingham city centre... What’s the timescale? Wagner has set a new target to open by 2030. "The stadium will be ready then and hopefully many of the other components of the site will be ready," he said. "I don't know if this will ever be fully done in the sense we will see a lot of development continuing on from this in the years ahead." What capacity will the stadium have? Knighthead are keen to stress that the stadium is only the centrepiece of the Sports Quarter, the other cogs are equally important and will be used more frequently. Wagner showed supporters a mock up at the Open House event last year but warned them: ‘Don’t get wed to this!” Wagner has confirmed the stadium will have a capacity of 62,000 – a figure which would make it the largest facility of its type in the Midlands and rank among the 10 biggest stadiums in England. Speaking at Blues' awards dinner in May, Wagner said: "To all those who doubt us, they are afraid what will happen when they see 62,000 in our home stadium." That figure would provide Blues with room to house more supporters than St Andrew’s currently can and it would make the venue suitable for large scale non-football events. For instance, an NFL fixture in Birmingham would be a possibility. Head of infrastructure Nick Smith, who will play an integral role in building the new stadium, has promised supporters will have a say on the design. Smith said: “I want you all to be assured that you will have a voice about what the design will look like, what we take from here, what we make new, what the new family area looks like, what the new home end looks like. You will absolutely have a voice. “We have started the masterplan and what some of the blocks might look like. We definitely don’t have the same AI programme that have shot out four or five designs you’ve seen!” BirminghamLive understands the plan is for the pitch to retract like to one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This will allow for large concerts and non-sporting events to be held inside the stadium. What else will be in the Sports Quarter? Wagner insists there will be ‘nothing else like it in the world’. There will be a hotel, with easy access, and office space. “We want the site to be used 365 days a year,” says Wagner. “Restaurants, pubs, mini golf… All those types of venues will be incorporated. “That revenue from every one of those things is going into your football club. Look at Tottenham and how much money that stadium is making. If you think that stadium is generating a lot of money, wait until you see what we’re going to build.” There will be an arena with a capacity of 15-20,000 and there will be a mini stadium to host matches of Blues Women and their academy teams that is expected to have seating for 10,000. What about St Andrew’s? The club’s existing stadium underwent a makeover last summer to bring its hospitality offering into the 21st century. Knighthead have splashed out to create a number of new spaces, despite the promise of the new stadium. Why? Head of infrastructure Smith said: “The discussion with the owners goes, ‘OK, how quickly do you want to go here? And how much do you want to spend to get here before going to the new stadium? If you are going to go, you have to go early and hard to return on the investment you’re going to make. “Hence why there’s a big chunk of work now. There will probably be another 18 months or two years of investment (in this stadium) before we shift our energy and put sticking plasters on whilst we focus on the build phase of the new stadium. "That was the thinking behind how and why we invested in this space. A lot of people have asked me, ‘Why are you spending money on this when you’re going there?’ And that’s it. You have to go on the journey. “Because if you don’t you get to it and go, bang, here’s a thousand pound seat in hospitality it’s ‘Bloody hell, I’ve been spending £100!’. You can’t do it like that.” Knighthead haven’t revealed what will happen to St Andrew’s once the new stadium opens, but Wagner has suggested the site could incorporate some housing. He said: “There’s a development broadly within that region where we would hope to encompass some housing on this site (St Andrew’s) depending on what we end up doing here.” Where are we at? Knighthead have a plan of the site, but the appointed architect will design the stadium. Interviews for that position are now taking place. The planning application will be submitted in January and Wagner is hopeful that will receive the green light by the end of next year. “We’re in the process of interviewing architects to put together the design," he said. "The site plan is well advanced and, as that is happening, there are quite a few people working on the planning application that will be submitted in January. “Hopefully it takes a year or less to get approval and the day we get approval is the day we start digging.”