Birmingham City unveiled plans Thursday to build a 62,000-seat stadium that would put the second-division club and city on a «trajectory towards greatness» in a project costing at least £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion).
The Championship team, which counts NFL great Tom Brady as a minority shareholder and U.S. financier Tom Wagner as chairman, said the venue would be the «beating heart» of Birmingham.
The proposed Birmingham City Powerhouse Stadium would feature 12 giant chimneys and be built in Bordesley Park, East Birmingham, in time for the 2030-31 season.
«Together we are putting the city and the club on trajectory towards greatness,» Wagner said at the unveiling at Digbeth Loc Studios in Birmingham. It would be a «beacon of excellence for Birmingham on the global stage,» he added.
The stadium’s price tag would be £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion), Wagner said. Other costs are related to infrastructure upgrades.
A promotional video to unveil the plans included Brady and former Birmingham City player Jude Bellingham.
«Wow» was the Real Madrid star’s response when shown images of the stadium.
Brady said fans are «in for a blast» and that the stadium would attract the «biggest music stars.»
Birmingham currently plays in the second tier of English soccer. But the stadium plans point to the owners’ ambitions.
They were last in the Premier League in 2011, the same year they won the English League Cup — one of two major trophies the club has captured in its 150-year history.
The stadium was designed by Heatherwick Studio in collaboration with Manica Architecture.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
