‘Super stadium’ plans move forward as council approves major land deal
A 48-acre site in Bordesley Green is understood to have been acquired by Birmingham City FC, as part of plans to create a “super stadium”.
Birmingham City Council agreed to sell the former Wheel Park today (March 28) at a Cabinet Committee planning meeting and is set to complete the deal with the undisclosed buyer in the next week or two.
Council documents show that Blues’ plans for the site could create up to 3,000 jobs less than a mile away from the club’s existing St Andrew’s stadium.
The BBC has reported that talks for the deal have been ongoing for weeks with club chairman Tom Wagner, CEO Garry Cook and the council’s lead commissioner Max Caller, with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street mediating the discussions.
The sale forms part of the authority’s fire sale of £750m of assets that will pay back part of the £1.255bn received in Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the Government.
Funds will help to tackle an equal pay liability above £867m, an overspend on IT system Oracle of £136m and support a £100m redundancy scheme when it cuts 600 jobs.
American hedge fund manager Tom Wagner took over Birmingham City FC last May and unveiled ambitious plans for a ‘Sports Quarter’ in the city. Wagner has outlined his hopes of building a globally recognised sporting and entertainment space, to build Knighthead’s brand presence and expand its business interests in the UK, the US and across other global markets.
Wheels Adventure Park was a motor racing a go-karting attraction – but it closed in 2021. The council bought back the site in 2019.
Late last year, plans were submitted by Birmingham City Council to transform the site into more than 895,000 sq ft of industrial and commercial space.
