Birmingham City unveil £1.2bn 62,000-seater stadium plans
The design released on Thursday features several large chimneys as an homage to Birmingham's industrial past
Birmingham City have announce their plans for a new 62,000-seater stadium which has been designed with an homage to the city's industrial heritage.
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The impressive new £1.2billion ground features several large chimneys, and chairman Tom Wagner has admitted that the massive jump in capacity from St Andrew's makes the club look like 'modest lunatics'.
Faced with questions about how they are going to fill a 62,000-seater stadium with a current average attendance of less than 30,000, the American businessman was bullish.
"We look, I think, like modest lunatics sitting in the Championship saying we're going to do this," he said.
"In our cup final at Wembley (Football League Trophy) last season we sold 50,000 tickets, and when the phone lines closed, we had 26,000 people waiting to purchase a ticket.
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"And so I think that illustrates that the fan base is sufficiently large enough to fill the stadium.
"But we've always been very much of a mind to build for the future, not the past, and build where we're going, not where we've been. And I think that's what this reflects."
Wagner was joined at the launch by co-owner Tom Brady and Blues legend Jude Bellingham.
Wagner says the club's proposed new home will provide a "great coming home story" for Bellingham.
The 22-year-old Real Madrid star began his career at St Andrew's and Wagner says the club's new home will provide a fitting platform.
The American said: "I think Jude is the greatest player on the planet today, and I think his potential is not even close...we haven't seen anywhere near his full potential yet, not just as a player on the pitch, but also what he can do for a community, what he can do as a leader.
"And so if we can provide him a platform to achieve his full potential, well then that's a great story.
"It's a great coming home story, it's a great Birmingham story. It's a great England story. So....yeah."
The proposed new stadium is located in Bordesley Green and is planned to be built in time for the 2030/31 season. It will have a retractable roof and changeable pitch, allowing it to host NFL games and concerts.
It will be called the 'Powerhouse Stadium' but will also have naming rights.
The surrounding area will include a new training centre, a new smaller stadium for Blues' women's team, affordable housing and a hotel.