Where Birmingham City’s new stadium could rank vs Midlands rivals in huge Tom Wagner statement

Birmingham City’s potential new stadium could put them ahead of all of their midlands rivals in what is an exciting time off the pitch for the club.

It is understood that the club have secured a deal to buy the site that was formerly Wheels Park from the council. Plans are to turn the space into a multi-sports venue, as new owners Knightsbridge, led by Tom Wagner, continue to look to grow the club.

There is not yet much detail as to what any potential stadium could look like for Blues. But it could see them move away from St Andrew’s which has a capacity of 29,409 into a much larger stadium with more infrastructure around the site in a huge statement of intent for the club.

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Birmingham saw a plan of a 50,000-plus seater stadium at the site of Wheels Oark fall through after plans were turned down by an advisory panel at the council. Presuming that the latest plans would be of a similar size, it will see the Blues play in the biggest stadium in the Midlands.

Here’s how it will compare to other venues in the region, and some of the plans other clubs have to increase their capacity.

Aston Villa, Villa Park - Capacity 42,640

Aston Villa did have plans to redevelop the stadium to increase the capacity to 50,000, but those have since been put on hold. Instead, there are now plans to increase capacity by 2,000 to 3,000 with a seating layout change in some areas of the stadium.

Coventry City, CBS Arena - Capacity 32,609

Coventry have returned to their home for the last few seasons after having some seasons away from it, due to a disagreement with owners Wasps. Some of that period they spent playing their home games at St Andrew’s.

Wolves, Molineux - Capacity 32,050

Wolves released plans to expand Molineux to a capacity of 50,000 back in 2019. But in 2022, it was confirmed that they were on the ‘backburner’.

West Bromwich Albion, The Hawthorns - Capacity 26,688

Plans to increase the stadium’s capacity were put on hold last year. The club confirmed that they were looking for a bigger demand in ticket sales for the plan to go ahead.

Moving slightly further afield into the East midlands;

Pride Park - Capacity 33,597

Planning was submitted for an extension to Pride Park in 2017. However, it has since gone quiet on any development. Derby County spent over a year in administration before a takeover from David Clowes in the summer of 2022.

King Power Stadium - Capacity 32,262

Leicester are another team who have plans in place to redevelop and expand their stadium. Back in December, the club announced that they had received formal approval from the council to increase the capacity to 40,000, as well as building a fanzone, an entertainment arena, a hotel, a residential tower, and new club retail space on the site.

However, the club’'s relegation to the Championship may have impacted on plans. Work is yet to start on the development.

City Ground - Capacity 30,445

Nottingham Forest have plans to increase the capacity to 38,000. Approval was given from the council was given in 2022, but it came with some conditions, and work is yet to start on the plan.