The proposed £4 billion Birmingham Sports Quarter would include a 62,000 capacity ground for the Championship club.
US sports specialist Manica is currently working with Foster + Partners on a replacement for the San Siro stadium in Milan.
The club’s chief executive Tom Wagner told a government-backed regional investment summit in Birmingham yesterday (21 October) that Heatherwick and Manica would design a ‘truly extraordinary [stadium], recognisable around the globe, yet rooted in the history of Birmingham’.
The AJ understands that other architects in the running for the job were Populous, Herzog & de Meuron, Zaha Hadid Architects and AECOM, whose global director of sports is Everton stadium architect Dan Meis.
Heatherwick Studio founder and design director Thomas Heatherwick said: ‘This is going to be an incredible piece of city built around the passions of the Blues fans and the community. Not another spaceship dropped in a car park, which feels dead when there’s not a match, but somewhere that’s alive, connected, grown from the site and from the history of Birmingham itself. We couldn’t be prouder.’
Manica Architecture president David Manica added. ‘We’re thrilled to partner with Heatherwick Studio to design an extraordinary new home for Birmingham City Football Club. This new stadium will not only usher in a new era for Birmingham fans but will honour the club’s passionate supporters and storied history.’
Wagner, who became chief executive of Birmingham City in July 2023 after acquiring the club, first unveiled his vision for a sports quarter in east Birmingham in January 2024. The new home would replace the side’s existing St Andrew’s stadium, which seats 27,500.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has supported the plans and, in June, announced £2.4 billion in funding for a West Midlands Metro extension from Birmingham city centre to the planned sports quarter.
Although Birmingham City has not revealed further details of the Heatherwick-Manica proposals, the sports quarter is expected to include sports facilities, a football academy, community football pitches, commercial and leisure spaces, and residential buildings.
The AJ understands images of the proposals will be made public in November.
Speaking to BBC BBC Radio West Midlands following the announcement, Wagner said: ‘We had phenomenal presentations from a number of different, high profile, architects. The designs from start to finish were just unbelievable. This one just happened to stand a bit apart and we felt celebrated not only the history of the club, but more importantly the history of Birmingham and ties together what we’re trying to do in the future and the incredible past of the City of a Thousand Trades.’
Stephen Haines, Birmingham City’s chief commercial officer, added: ‘Thomas Heatherwick and his team, I think, are the best architects in the world anyway. They’re British and I think Tom [Wagner’s] choice to choose British is really important.
‘What this stadium will do is grow out of the ground, it will be part of the tradition of the club. It’s not a spaceship that’s landed and then you throw events around it. Its to do with where we come from, where we’ve been, and what the club is going to be. It’s going to be very impressive, state of the art, and modern as hell, but it’s going to nod to the past.’
Birmingham Sports Quarter would be Manica and Heatherwick Studio’s first project in Birmingham. Heatherwick previously designed a new riverside stand for Premier League side Fulham, before Populous took over on the project.
Manica has been working with Grimshaw on the YTL Arena in Bristol, converting former aircraft carriers for Concorde into a new music venue, which is due to open in 2028. Practice founder David Manica previously worked on London’s O2 Arena as an employee of HOK Sport (now Populous).