Birmingham City have chosen the designers for their new, 62,000 capacity stadium, and the creator of Peaky Blinders has been working with the winning bidders.
Last week it was announced that London-based architects Heatherwick Studio, in conjunction with Kansas City-based Manica, landed the gig for the £3bn project and have been speaking to Bluenose Steven Knight about what fans would like to see from the new venue.
Plans are not due to be released until next month, according to Tom Wagner, whose US-based Knighthead group owns the Championship club.
Wagner, who counts NFL legend Tom Brady as a co-owner, promised ‘something internationally special’ while Knight told a recent conference ‘it will be one of the most-talked about stadium designs ever’.
Only insiders have seen the plans so far but Daily Mail Sport understands that there may well be a ‘chimney theme’ in a nod to the city’s industrial heritage.
Only insiders have seen the plans so far for the proposed new stadium – despite the emergence of mock-up images online
Tom Wagner and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight are promising ‘it will be one of the most-talked about stadium designs ever’
At one point the tallest chimney in the world was located in Smethwick, with the Adams’ Soap Works Chimney taking the record between 1835 and 1842, standing at an imposing 312 feet.
The Second City played a key role in the Industrial Revolution and was known as a manufacturing and metalworking centre, with mills commonplace, along with 100 miles of canals.
Knighthead want the stadium to be at the heart of a vast new Sports Quarter and visible for miles away, and so such an addition would fit the bill.
The hope is for the Blues to be in their new home in 2030. While they have promised it will be football-centric, the desire is for it to have the ability to stage other events, including NFL matches.
