<p>Tom Brady, Tom Wagner and the rest of the ownership group of Birmingham City are pushing through with updating their facilities by buying land for a new stadium. St. Andrew’s is one of the oldest stadiums in England, having opened in 1906. Therefore, Knighthead, the <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/news/american-businessman-buys-45-stake-in-birmingham-city-20230508-WST-432097.html">club’s ownership group</a>, purchased a 48-acre site to build a new venue. Initial plans are preparing for a stadium with a capacity of 60,000. </p>



<p>The major hurdle for that is that Birmingham City is threatening relegation to League One. The prospect of dropping into the third tier has major ramifications for the club. For one, the finances would take a hit as broadcast deals would be less valuable in League One. Likewise, interest in the club from a wider audience dwindles in League One compared to the <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/championship-tv-schedule/">Championship</a>. </p>



<p>Regardless, Knighthead CEO Tom Wagner says his group’s ‘multi-billion-pound’ investment does not change after one season. While avoiding relegation is still the top priority this season, the goals the for group’s investment last year are far more widespread. </p>



<p>“What happens in the next five games is going to have no impact on what we’re pursuing and our vision for the next decade,” Wagner said. “You can’t talk about making a multi-billion-pound investment and worry about the next two fixtures.”</p>



<h2>Birmingham City new stadium would revamp facilities</h2>



<p>What Wagner <em>can</em> worry about is the lack of attendance at the current venue. St. Andrew’s can host 30,000 fans. Yet, in this difficult season for the club, the stadium has only been about two-thirds full, according to Sky Sports. That does not stop Wagner from planning a stadium that is double that capacity. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="670" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20240409_WST_500285_St-Andrews-Stadium-1200x670_0407c84d.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=670" alt="" class="wp-image-500292" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/St-Andrews-Stadium-1200x670.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/St-Andrews-Stadium-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/St-Andrews-Stadium-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/St-Andrews-Stadium.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></figure>



<p>“In a perfect world, that’s exactly what we’d shoot for,” said Wagner. “That puts a lot of pressure on us to achieve our objectives and put a product on the pitch for our fans to have that many people showing up.”</p>



<p>While it does include training facilities for the different teams in the Birmingham City ranks, Wagner’s ideal stadium caters to a wider audience. For example, one of the co-owners of Birmingham City, <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/news/tom-brady-becomes-minority-owner-of-birmingham-city-20230803-WST-447328.html">former NFL quarterback Tom Brady</a>, may be pleased to see Wagner discuss American football games in Birmingham.</p>



<p>“What we’d like to do is build something that will enable us to host international sporting events. It would be ideal to host NFL events. There’s many other options – Euro football, World Cups, rugby events. All those revenues from increased usage are for the benefit of the club.”</p>



<p>That explains why Wagner is not overly concerned about the prospect of relegation. The profits a stadium can bring in, particularly one with a 60,000-seat capacity, are high. If the stadium is a world-class option, the England national team would be likely to play friendlies or competitive games there.</p>



<h2>Focusing on this season</h2>



<p>While a new stadium is a sensible choice for Birmingham City, the fans will want things fixed in the present. Risky decisions by this new ownership group led to the sacking of John Eustace when the club was sixth in the Championship. Wayne Rooney took over to a massive failure, and the club plunged to 20th in the table. Now, it is 22nd in the league table and in the relegation zone. That came off the back of one point in seven games from late February through March. </p>



<p>A recent win over Preston has the club hopeful, but it needs more points to survive in the second tier. </p>



<p><em>PHOTOS: IMAGO</em></p>

Birmingham owners and Tom Brady buy land for new stadium

The Birmingham City ownership group is pushing through with updating facilities by buying land for a new stadium despite on-field struggles.


<p>Tom Wagner, an American hedge fund manager agreed to <a href="https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/club-statement-ownership-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">buy 45.64%</a> of Birmingham City under his group Shelby Companies Limited. For reference, 24% of those shares come from Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited. The other 21.64% is from Oriental Rainbow Investments and Achiever Global Group. As a result, Wagner also takes full control of the club’s ground, St. Andrew’s Stadium. </p>



<p>Wagner wrote <a href="https://www.bcfc.com/news/all/a-letter-from-thomas-wagner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a letter to the club’s fans</a> that lays out his priorities and ambitions with the club. Much of that revolves around the stadium, which he now owns in its entirety. </p>



<p>“The first step&nbsp;in the transition&nbsp;is to ensure St. Andrew’s is fit for purpose,” Wagner wrote. “The fans, players and our partners deserve an improved St. Andrew’s. We plan to work in partnership with the City Council to explore all options available to us to transform our physical infrastructure. Regardless of what the future holds, St. Andrew’s will remain part of our community, and our history.”</p>



<p>Wagner plans on bringing in commercial partnerships and infrastructure improvements to increase revenue. That is the central part of American Wagner’s plans with Birmingham City. Much of the club’s identity is developing youth talent. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/09/27/england-cant-win-the-world-cup-without-jude-bellingham/">Jude Bellingham</a> would be the club’s most recent highlight export. That will continue, but so will investment into the club’s men’s and women’s squads to improve the on-field product.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔵 New Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner is in the building! 🔵<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BCFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KRO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KRO</a> <a href="https://t.co/OZcYLuiol1">pic.twitter.com/OZcYLuiol1</a></p>— Birmingham City News (@BCFC_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCFC_News/status/1655577629875945472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2>Birmingham City is latest to fall under American ownership</h2>



<p>In the Premier League, there are <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/bournemouth-becomes-10th-us-owned-premier-league-club-20221213-WST-412193.html">10 clubs</a> that have at least some American ownership. The major contributors to that are Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. While each of those clubs is certainly larger than Birmingham City, Wagner’s acquisition of the club represents the growing trend of US ownership of English clubs. After all, clubs like Millwall, Swansea and Burnley in this season’s Championship also have American owners. </p>



<p>There was no amount of money specified in Wagner’s purchase of the 45.64% of Birmingham City. Both deals are subject to approval from the EFL and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. That is where Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited is listed publicly.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Pro Sports Images</em></p>


There is another American gaining ownership of an English club, with a hedge fund owner taking over at Birmingham City.

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Birmingham owners and Tom Brady buy land for new stadium

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American businessman buys 45% stake in Birmingham City