Jude Bellingham is thriving at Real Madrid, but Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner hopes plans for a new stadium will set the stage for a great homecoming story.
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner said the club’s proposed new stadium would be a “great homecoming story” for Jude Bellingham. The Blues unveiled plans for their grand new £1.2 billion 62,000-capacity venue on Thursday, with Bellingham featured at the promotional launch.
The 22-year-old Real Madrid sensation began his career at St Andrews and Wagner believes the club’s new headquarters will provide him with the platform he deserves. Bellingham appeared in a launch video revealing the club’s plans, and was caught on camera shouting “Oh my god” when shown its full size.
“I think Jude is the greatest player on this planet today, but I don’t think his potential is even close to that. We haven’t seen anywhere near his full potential yet, not just as a player on the field, but in terms of what he can do for the community and what he can do as a leader,” Wagner said.
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“And if we can give him the platform to fulfill his potential, it’s a great story. It’s a great homecoming story, it’s a great Birmingham story. It’s a great England story.”
The proposed new ground will be located at Bordesley Green and is expected to be completed during the 2030/31 campaign. It features a retractable roof and adjustable pitch, allowing it to stage NFL games and musical performances.
It will be called “Powerhouse Stadium,” but naming rights will also be granted. The surrounding development will include a new training facility, a new small ground for the Blues’ women’s team, affordable housing and a hotel.
Wagner admits he looks like a “low-key lunatic” for announcing such an ambitious proposal while Birmingham are struggling in the Championship, but insisted that his vision reflected future aspirations rather than their current situation.
The American entrepreneur remained defiant when asked about filling the 62,000-seater venue, considering the current average audience size is less than 30,000.
He added: “I think we look like some modest lunatics sitting in the Championship saying we’re going to do something like this. Last season’s cup final at Wembley (Football League Trophy) we sold 50,000 tickets and when the phone lines closed there were 26,000 people waiting to buy tickets.”
“I think this shows that our fan base is big enough to fill a stadium. But we’ve always been very focused on building for the future, not the past, and building for where we’re going, not where we’ve been. And I think that’s what this reflects.”
Mr Wagner claimed the proposed ground would be “probably the most environmentally friendly stadium ever built” and would serve as a multi-purpose facility in the city centre.
He added: “This will allow us to host not just football, but just about every event under the sun, from the world’s biggest touring concerts to boxing matches to the NFL.”
“Next when the NFL opens, we want to compete for the rights to host NFL events. We also want to compete for the rights to host international football, all kinds of world football competitions, men’s and women’s. It’s on par with modern stadiums in the UK and around the world.”
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