Tom Wagner has new agreement worth at least £10m-a-year in his sights after latest Birmingham admission
Birmingham City are set to earn over £10million-a-year in naming rights for their new stadium after Tom Wagner admitted that the deal will go to the highest bidder.
Wagner has ambitious plans to transform Birmingham City into a powerhouse of English football in the years to come.
The first step of his plan was successful as they returned to the Championship last season while breaking the League One points record under Chris Davies.
Davies’ side have struggled to make their mark in the second-tier as yet, but the club is still ploughing forward with off-field proposals for a new 62,000-capacity stadium to be opened in 2029.
Football Insider have revealed that Birmingham’s stadium plans do not hinge on promotion to the Premier League, but such a return feels inevitable soon regardless, considering Wagner’s lofty ambitions.
Birmingham’s stadium naming rights set to bring in over £10m-a-year after Wagner reveal
In January 2024, Birmingham agreed a multi-year naming rights agreement with Shelby Companies Limited, which is majority owned by Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company.
Their current stadium is now officially called St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, and the club confirmed that the partnership was set to be worth £9,450,000 to Blues for the 2024-25 campaign and beyond.
Another naming rights deal will be in the pipeline for their new ‘Powerhouse’ stadium, and Wagner recently revealed that the arena’s naming rights “will go to the highest bidder” [Football Ground Guide].
The complex that Wagner plans to build could over £2billion to create, as they want it to be more than just a football stadium, with markets, cafes and restaurants around the ground and proposals to host other sporting and music events too.
Given that it is due to be a much grander and more expensive arena than that of St Andrew’s, their current £9.45m naming rights is surely set to be dwarfed by the potential figure that a company may pay to give their name to Blues’ new stadium.
Birmingham need to improve on the pitch as soon as possible or Davies could lose his job
Birmingham’s on-field progress will seemingly not make a difference to their stadium plans, but it is clear that Wagner wants the club to be in the top-flight by the time they move into the 62,000-seater arena.
While they breezed through League One last term, Davies’ side have been inconsistent on their return to the Championship and currently occupy 13th place after a run of one win in their last five games.
Football Insider revealed in October that Davies had two weeks to save his job after a poor start to the season, but they won two of their next three games by a 4-0 scoreline, and so he remains in charge in the present day.
Lee Carsley is the favourite to take over from Davies if he is relieved of his duties, and that decision may well be taken soon as Blues face a tough run of games over the Christmas period.