A powerhouse for the second city – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

Birmingham City is a club that has found new ambition fuelled by American ownership. For so long an under-achieving club, arguably the biggest not to have been crowned champions in England, they have just two major honours to their name and one of those Football League Cup wins came in 1963 when the competition didn’t matter too much. They have their eyes on winning a place back in the Premier League, which they left in 2011, but in order to do more than just survive, they know they have to return a very different club to the one relegated 14 and a half years ago. 

The new plans for a 62,000 stadium could be the springboard for Birmingham to join the elite or near-elite clubs in the land. The initial images suggest it will not be a stereotypical football arena but a building that is part power station, part religious temple and a little like a satanic mill. The red brick chimneys are supposedly a representation of the industrial landscape of the past, sitting alongside the murky canals and bridges. But they are not just a feature of the site, they also act as part of the proposed ventilation system of the stadium. Some people will undoubtedly question if reviving a past that also comprised choking coal fumes, dirty factories, poverty and slum dwellings is really the right thing to do. Bordesley Green, the location of both Birmingham’s current and proposed new ground, was one of the city’s most deprived areas 100 years ago. Today it is an ethnically diverse community with around a third of the population born outside of the United Kingdom.

The owners of the club have called City’s new home a “modern day colosseum” while others have labelled it a “beacon for excellence” and “a statement of intent”. These are grand proclamations, but they also underline how the role of the sports stadium is changing. For example, as well as food markets, restaurants and cafés in the vicinity, the ground itself will also have the highest bar in the city of Birmingham. Rather curiously, Manica, one of the architects involved in the project said the club is bringing the “US-style stadium experience to the UK”.

Manica are based in Kansas City and have on their CV some statement works, such as the Camp Nou and Moscow’s VTB Arena. Their partners in this particular venture are Heatherwick, who were involved in the impressive Coal Drops Yard scheme in Kings Cross, London, and the Google building in the same location. There’s little doubt that the stadium and the £ 3 billion “Sports Quarter” project will prove to be a milestone for Birmingham and the West Midlands and it is believed that it will contribute £ 760 million annually to the local economy. Birmingham has been facing challenges for some years; manufacturing, once the backbone of the city’s wealth, has fallen to just 10% of local employment and many roles are now in lower-paid service sectors. But it was a centre of innovation in the past – companies such as Cadbury, BSA, Norton, Lloyds Bank and Jaguar Land Rover all made their name in Birmingham. Moreover, many important inventions came from the city, such as gas lighting, the pneumatic tyre, the pen nib and the dental drill.

For the football club, a bigger home ground – St. Andrews has a capacity of 29,000 – will generate more income and make their ambitions more realistic. Above all, it will demonstrate that the current ownership is determined to leave something behind that provides Birmingham with a valuable asset for the future. Maybe fewer chimneys might be better?