Birmingham City hope to complete the stadium in the Sports Quarter, The Powerhouse, by 2030
11:35, 07 May 2026Updated 12:34, 07 May 2026
A view of The Powerhouse from the HS2 line in Birmingham(Image: BCFC)
Birmingham City will formally submit their planning application for the Sports Quarter to Birmingham City Council in March 2027, head of infrastructure Nick Smith has confirmed.
Blues can’t start building their 62,500-seater stadium, The Powerhouse, before planning is approved.
But Smith envisages an extremely quick application process due to the relationship Knighthead have built with the council in the last few years.
Knighthead have held monthly meetings with the council to keep them informed of plans and designs for the Sports Quarter.
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Smith believes that will shorten what is usually a lengthy process and allow building work to start later in 2027.
In the meantime, the land that Knighthead have bought up in East Birmingham will be prepared so that building can start as soon as the green light arrives from the council.
The aim is for The Powerhouse to be built inside three years but that is cutting it fine for it to open in time for the 2030/31 season. Smith is now projecting that Blues will play their first match at their new home in 2031.
Explaining the process, Smith said: “We’re going to submit our planning in March next year. We visit the council every single month showing them these designs so that it’s not a surprise in March.
“What would normally take a year to determine is going to be a lot shorter.
“We’re going to start preparing all the land before we get planning. The council know this. We’re doing a lot of the work, adding value to the land, and we’re going to do all the preparation, the cutting and the filling to get all the land ready so when we get planned we can start straight away.
“That gives us three years to build and all the contractors that we’ve spoken to believe they can build it in three.
“Obviously we need nice winters and summers and we need resources to arrive – lots of things can happen, it’s a complex project – but everyone is telling us we can do it in three and that takes us to 2030.
“Then we have to have testaments, we have to make sure it’s safe for all of you to enjoy and we do that in the first part of 2031, then start the season 31/32.”
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