Tom Wagner reveals potential stumbling block in major Birmingham City development | OneFootball

The Blues chairman has warned about an issue facing the club's biggest project.

Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner has revealed that plans for the club's multi-billion pound 'Sports Quarter' development in the city could be scuppered if local transport can't be improved.

There aren't many things when it comes to City that aren't currently trending in the right direction. Even with their little hiccup against Charlton Athletic which handed them their first loss of the season, they are still firm favourites to win League One and make a swift return to the Championship.

Fears existed over whether the same level of backing would be provided for the Blues after their relegation. Those doubts were squashed pretty quickly by a summer of mass spending.

The product on the pitch isn't the only place where heavy investment is going on at Birmingham. Plans for a brand-new facility in the City - a 'Sports Quarter' - have been in the works for a while now.

Wagner, the club's chairman, estimated in April that it would cost £2-3 billion to build, with a new stadium, training ground and academy facility all set to be erected on the 48-acre plot of land that the club's owners have acquired.

He wants to see the work on the old Birmingham Wheels site finished in time for the 2029/30 season, but he has now revealed that there are some factors that could de-rail these plans.

Tom Wagner reveals potential issue with Birmingham City's 'Sports Quarter' plans

The proposed blue rejuvenation of the disused site will create thousands of jobs and also more housing in the area, according to Wagner. But he has now stated that there are some changes that need to happen in order for him and his investment group to go ahead with their current plans.

Speaking to ITV at the UK's International Investment Summit on Monday, he said: "I think the key things [to getting the Sports Quarter built] are faster planning, certainty of reasonably priced energy and, ultimately, better transport.

"It's very difficult to get to our existing stadium, St Andrew's at Knighthead Park, and I think when we look at bringing double the capacity, and then having people live there, having folks work there, having people stay in a hotel when they visit Birmingham, you've got a lot of activity going on at the site that we're constructing, so you need much better transport infrastructure in the local community to make that work.

"It makes it very difficult to do [if the transport isn't improved]. So we need to make those things come to fruition."

Birmingham supporters should be worried by the latest Sports Quarter update

This project would bring a multitude of positives to Birmingham. Firstly, the huge spending. The city's local council effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023, so this huge amount of private investment into an area of Birmingham could be revolutionary.

There are the obvious benefits that it should bring to the football club. They certainly look set to be a very competitive side for years to come. The prospect of this project could further help to attract top talent to the club, and if/once the Sports Quarter is built, that could be an even better aid in trying to recruit as they climb the English footballing ladder.

All of those pluses could be gone because of a lack of available transport, as per Wagner.

Now, there are some pre-existing transport links around the old Wheels site. Adderley Park Station isn't too far from where the proposed Sports Quarter will be, and you can get there via train from Birmingham New Street Station. Adderley Park isn't a massive station, so accommodating the expected capacity on its own would be a big ask, but it's better than nothing.

Supporters have just got to hope that these issues can resolve themselves and that the plans go ahead because it will be such a boost to the local area if/when it's completed.