£200m stadium on the cards for Birmingham

Birmingham City Football Club (BCFC) has revealed designs for a 70,000sq ft (6,500sq m) multi-use, multi-sport stadium which could be coming to Wheels Park in the east of the city, thanks to a £200m investment from Las Vegas Sands.

The stadium, the first of its kind in the UK to hostboth rectilinear and oval pitch sports, Premiership football, international cricket and world-class athletics, is expected to attract 3.1million visitors a year.

Plans for the project, which include a mix of bars, restaurants and a casino, plus a stadium with moving roof and moving seating tiers for 50,000 patrons, have the support of 6,000 local people and now need the agreement of Birmingham City Council.

BCFC chief executive, Karren Brady, said it would be a tragedy for the city if the council rejected the designs because of the application for a casino. Details: www.bcfc.com