Birmingham City football club (FC) chairman Tom Wagner has unveiled his plans to build an underground tunnel to transport fans to the club’s new football stadium in the West Midlands.
The plan involves building a 1.5-mile (2.5km) tunnel beneath existing railway lines and includes a connection to the HS2 rail line, which will link Birmingham and London.
The proposed tunnel project entails a £20m investment, a part of a broader £3bn investment for establishing a sports and entertainment hub in East Birmingham.
It will connect the New Street station, a central hub of the British railway system, with the new sports complex, planned to be built in the Bordesley Green area.
The club would use electric buses in the tunnel to transport large numbers of fans between the city centre and the stadium.
Tom Wagner told the media: “Subways are very expensive and complicated to develop.
“We thought of an idea to simply tunnel under the existing rail lines and connect New Street station to the sports quarter and use electric buses running underground. It could transport thousands of people an hour. We think it would cost roughly £20m.
“I’m the ‘crazy American’ talking about this, but we need more local voices with the right accent talking about why this is a good idea. The funds are there nationally, and it’s a tiny percentage of those funds that we’re asking for.”
Wagner, who co-owns the club with former NFL player Tom Brady, said that extending the city’s tram network has been their preferred solution.
However, he urged for the tunnel project to be considered as a practical alternative.
According to Wagner, local and regional authorities support the project, but it requires the central government funding.
Furthermore, the FC chairman said that the investment would provide a critical transport link and contribute to the regeneration of the surrounding area.
In a separate development, US-based investment firm Knighthead has invested £100m into East Birmingham, to create new jobs and opportunities in the West Midlands region.
Knighthead acquired Birmingham City FC in 2023 and purchased the 48-acre Wheels site in Bordesley Park and surrounding land for around £60m.
The US company plans to develop the area into a multi-purpose sports and entertainment district, with infrastructure improvements as a key component of the project.
Knighthead co-founder and Birmingham City Football Club chairman Tom Wagner said: “Birmingham and the West Midlands have huge untapped potential for growth, and we intend to seize that opportunity.
“With the support of government, the Sports Quarter can be a catalyst for regeneration, transforming the prospects for people in of one of the poorest parts of the UK and crowding in interest and investment from around the globe.”
