New plans for the £70m ($89.2m/€78.3m) redevelopment of Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium have been revealed.
Designs for the main venue for the 2022 Commonwealth Games show an increase in capacity from 12,700 to 18,000, allowing up to 40,000 during the event through temporary seating.
Alexander Stadium will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in addition to the athletics programme. Birmingham City Council has also indicated it is looking beyond the Games to create a legacy asset for the area.
The arena will feature new tiered seating to the north and south, as well as a new western stand replacing the Main, Knowles and Nelson stands. It also plans to add a new warm-up track and will relay the competition track.
There will also be improved parking, with additional landscaping and signage, as well as a new access road to be used for event and maintenance use only.
The plans also indicate there will be an installation of new stadium lighting and the addition of a practice throwing field.
Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We’re now in an exciting phase of the design process where we would like to share our plans for the future with the community and hear their thoughts.
“The team has designed a redeveloped stadium which will meet the needs and aspirations of the community for generations to come. This is about creating a destination venue, shaping a legacy beyond the Commonwealth Games.
“We are making lots of information and detail available, so I encourage as many people as possible to come along, have a look at the designs and provide their feedback.”
Public consultation events took place this past weekend at the stadium, with attendees able to meet members of the project team and provide feedback prior to the submission of a planning application in autumn.
The deadline for providing feedback via a paper questionnaire and online is on July 12, 2019.
If the project is given planning permission, the redeveloped stadium will reportedly be ready ahead of the Games, which will take place between July 27 and August 7, 2022.
Image: Birmingham City Council
