Latest news with #TomWagner
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Birmingham aim to reach Premier League next year
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner says the club are targeting successive promotions and reaching the Premier League next year "is certainly the goal". The League One champions broke the EFL record for most points in a season in 2024-25, and the American businessman told BBC Sport he wants the club to return to the top flight "as quickly as we can". Advertisement With plans for a new stadium handed a major boost on Tuesday, after the government confirmed investment in local transport links, Wagner believes the Blues will be "highly competitive" in the Championship. And he says that is because the club's commercial revenues will be "very close to, if not in line with" those of rivals in receipt of parachute payments. Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town will each benefit from almost £50m next season, having been relegated from the Premier League. Birmingham spent £25m after dropping down from the Championship last year, and Wagner vowed to be "very active in the transfer market" this summer in a bid to build on the progress under "exceptional" manager Chris Davies. Advertisement He added he is open to the idea of clubs playing some cup matches overseas as a means of growing an international fanbase. 'Unique opportunity' A "thrilled" Wagner was speaking after his hopes for a new 62,000-seat stadium to replace St Andrews took a significant step forward, with government funding for a new tramline to a planned £3bn 'Sports Quarter' in the east of the city. The club's owners, US investment firm Knighthead Capital - which Wagner founded - wants to build a 125-acre sports and leisure complex on abandoned land in Bordesley Green, and have been trying to persuade ministers to grant the West Midlands billions of pounds to fund new transport links for the regeneration project. Advertisement Now that has been achieved, he says the aim is for the "transformative" Sports Quarter - which will also include a 20,000-seat arena, hotel and training complex for the club's men's, women's and academy teams - to be open by 2030. "We needed the transport links to ensure the site was viable," said Wagner. "This will be an entertainment venue unlike many others in the world." "We have a unique opportunity. If you look across western Europe you'd be hard pressed to find another city with that much land available... where a project of this magnitude could be created. Advertisement "This will be a venue that is used 365 days a year, we'll create 8,500 jobs... the goal would be to host a whole range of international events, not solely football but American football, rugby." Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is a minority owner of Birmingham City. When asked if there was a risk that the new stadium would result in higher ticket prices for supporters, Wagner said: "If you price out the fans that are here you have different people sitting in the stands, you lose the singing, you lose the passion and then you've lost your product. "We have to remember this is a club of the people and that means the solution for growing commercial revenue is not solved through ticket prices, it's solved through making a better product." Advertisement Last year, Birmingham City's former chief executive Garry Cook said it would be "a great idea" if they played a league match against fellow US-owned club Wrexham on American soil. "I don't think that it makes sense to do it necessarily with regular-season matches," said Wagner. When asked what he thought about potentially playing some domestic cup matches in the US, he said: "It's something that has to be thought of. "When you think about the top-tier clubs in the Premier League, they're competing globally, which means that they have to have global fans and global-scale revenue, and if that means playing some matches overseas to create more following and revenue for the club I think that's a good thing. Advertisement "You have to find a way to do it that doesn't take away from your local community, so it's very much a balancing act. There's a very fine line that needs to be walked there, but I think for the top clubs it's something that has to be seriously considered. "Perhaps there's a different tournament, or something that happens that allows for that, maybe at a different point in time in the season. There's a whole series of ways that could be pursued beyond simply the pre-season tours." When asked what assurances he could give to fans concerned about the number of English clubs now controlled by US investors, Wagner said: "The reason Americans are drawn to investing here is because it's English football. "If we 'Americanise' it, then it's lost everything that drew people here in the first place."
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Birmingham aim to reach Premier League next year
Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner says the club are targeting successive promotions and reaching the Premier League next year "is certainly the goal".The League One champions broke the EFL record for most points in a season in 2024-25, and the American businessman told BBC Sport he wants the club to return to the top flight "as quickly as we can".With plans for a new stadium handed a major boost on Tuesday, after the government confirmed investment in local transport links, Wagner believes the Blues will be "highly competitive" in the he says that is because the club's commercial revenues will be "very close to, if not in line with" those of rivals in receipt of parachute payments. Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town will each benefit from almost £50m next season, having been relegated from the Premier spent £25m after dropping down from the Championship last year, and Wagner vowed to be "very active in the transfer market" this summer in a bid to build on the progress under "exceptional" manager Chris added he is open to the idea of clubs playing some cup matches overseas as a means of growing an international fanbase. 'Unique opportunity' A "thrilled" Wagner was speaking after his hopes for a new 62,000-seat stadium to replace St Andrews took a significant step forward, with government funding for a new tramline to a planned £3bn 'Sports Quarter' in the east of the club's owners, US investment firm Knighthead Capital - which Wagner founded - wants to build a 125-acre sports and leisure complex on abandoned land in Bordesley Green, and have been trying to persuade ministers to grant the West Midlands billions of pounds to fund new transport links for the regeneration that has been achieved, he says the aim is for the "transformative" Sports Quarter - which will also include a 20,000-seat arena, hotel and training complex for the club's men's, women's and academy teams - to be open by 2030."We needed the transport links to ensure the site was viable," said Wagner."This will be an entertainment venue unlike many others in the world.""We have a unique opportunity. If you look across western Europe you'd be hard pressed to find another city with that much land available... where a project of this magnitude could be created."This will be a venue that is used 365 days a year, we'll create 8,500 jobs... the goal would be to host a whole range of international events, not solely football but American football, rugby."Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is a minority owner of Birmingham asked if there was a risk that the new stadium would result in higher ticket prices for supporters, Wagner said: "If you price out the fans that are here you have different people sitting in the stands, you lose the singing, you lose the passion and then you've lost your product."We have to remember this is a club of the people and that means the solution for growing commercial revenue is not solved through ticket prices, it's solved through making a better product."Last year, Birmingham City's former chief executive Garry Cook said it would be "a great idea" if they played a league match against fellow US-owned club Wrexham on American soil."I don't think that it makes sense to do it necessarily with regular-season matches," said asked what he thought about potentially playing some domestic cup matches in the US, he said: "It's something that has to be thought of."When you think about the top-tier clubs in the Premier League, they're competing globally, which means that they have to have global fans and global-scale revenue, and if that means playing some matches overseas to create more following and revenue for the club I think that's a good thing."You have to find a way to do it that doesn't take away from your local community, so it's very much a balancing act. There's a very fine line that needs to be walked there, but I think for the top clubs it's something that has to be seriously considered."Perhaps there's a different tournament, or something that happens that allows for that, maybe at a different point in time in the season. There's a whole series of ways that could be pursued beyond simply the pre-season tours."When asked what assurances he could give to fans concerned about the number of English clubs now controlled by US investors, Wagner said: "The reason Americans are drawn to investing here is because it's English football."If we 'Americanise' it, then it's lost everything that drew people here in the first place."
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
‘A huge step forward' – Championship club get update on new £3billion stadium as incredible concept video is released
FANS are hailing "monumental" progress in a Championship club's £3bililion scheme for a new stadium and community hub. Birmingham City released a concept video of a massive complex - as NFL legend Tom Brady 's dreams in a different version of football moved a step closer to reality. 5 5 5 5 Minority shareholder Brady and Blues' owners Knighthead plan to follow an incredible season on the pitch with jaw-dropping developments off it Birmingham romped back to the second-tier by amassing 111 points as big-spending League One champions. That was 19 points clear of Ryan Reynolds ' Wrexham in second place. Now the club have released a clip with awesome transport links to a futuristic 62,000-seat stadium likened in the past to a "spaceship". One side of a blue-walled, smoothly-curved stadium is shown, with sweeping views of tree-lined walkways and rail links. One viewer claimed on X: "People will be coming from all corners of the country to take in the view." Another veteran supporter posted: "After 70 years of suffering mainly heartache it's just my luck to be on the downward slope now that #BCFC are finally on the way to the top with the best owners in its 150 year history. Today's funding confirmation has given me a purpose in life. Thanks TW." 5 Those initials are a reference to Knighthead's co-founder and Blues' chairman Tom Wagner, who has described the go-ahead for travel connections as a "huge step forward for the Sports Quarter". An estimated £2.4bn Government investment in local transport will be used to extend the area's Metro to the proposed new venue. Tom Brady tells owner rival Rob Mcelhenney 'shame on you' after giving away his touching gift That's kickstarted the whole £3bn scheme, with the first phase set to be finished by 2029. Meanwhile, the club say "the extension of Birmingham City Centre to East Birmingham will help unlock the future of the development" - including creating around 10,000 jobs. Fans seem thrilled by the transport links. And after seeing the club's video, one supporter wrote: "Love the stadium design as well guys it's gonna look mint." Wagner said: 'The Chancellor's undertaking to upgrade transport links in East Birmingham is a huge step forward for the Sports Quarter. "It gives us the springboard we need to advance this transformative project at pace, bringing huge benefits to the people of East Birmingham and the wider region in the shape of jobs and opportunities, as well as economic growth that will be felt across the whole of the UK.' Last month Wagner had also unveiled plans to provide outstanding training facilities for the club's academy players "unlike any other that exists in European football". And Blues' interim CEO Jeremy Dale spoke of "creating jobs, building infrastructure for our local community, and creating a world-class sporting venue that will put Birmingham on the map".
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
West Midlands 'economic transformation' with £2.4bn funding
Mayor Richard Parker said plans are already in place to deliver metro links in Birmingham, as £2.4 billion investment for the West Midlands was announced by Chancellor Rachel funding, announced before the government's spending review next week, will go towards extending services from the city centre to the new sports Parker told the BBC that the money, matched with the £3 billion investment from private investor Tom Wagner, will help create links to the city for some of its most deprived areas. He said it would create up to 8,000 jobs as part of an "economic transformation" that he has always been committed to delivering. Mr Parker told BBC Radio WM: "Its fantastic news, it's a great day for the city and for the region."We've been to number 10 Downing Street, we've met with the Transport Secretary, and we put the case forward with conviction."The new transport link will connect the community to where the opportunities are, where the jobs are - this is just the start of it."He also said the investment would "unlock" the transport commitments he's made, adding: "It'll be paying for itself three or four times over, and the uplift will be given to some of our most disadvantaged communities in East Birmingham."The BBC understands a further £250 million will be awarded by the government next week. Speaking on the timeline of the plans - which would connect the city centre to the HS2 at Curzon Street, through Digbeth and up to the sports quarter - Mr Parker said the work on planning has already agreement with HS2 is already in place to begin tunnelling under Curzon Street to move the metro from the city centre, he the project is "a couple years away from significant progress", Mr Parker said there was no shortage of "commitment or conviction". An outline planning application is due to be submitted in the autumn. Mr Parker said: "There's going to be action on a multiple number of fronts to deliver the project as fast as possible."Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said the announcement reflected a "welcome shift" toward a city region-led said: "Investment in the transport networks of our city regions is a critical step toward boosting local economies, by helping people access jobs and education opportunities more easily." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
How US-owned clubs have learnt to win 20 years after Glazers' arrival at Man Utd
Next season's Premier League will feature 13 clubs with an American shareholder and after dominant season across top three tiers, the "Thanks but no yanks" era has become ancient history It is 20 years on from the Glazers' controversial arrival in Manchester and 15 since the 'Thanks but no yanks' campaign at Liverpool. But now US-backed clubs are coming off the back of an unprecedented season. For American owners, success was always going to shrink the stigma. The top two in the Premier League, Championship and League One were all at least part-backed by Americans. So too FA Cup winners Crystal Palace, while Chelsea last week secured a first bit of silverware for their great disruptors from across the Atlantic. But with 65 per cent of next season's Premier League clubs owned by them and the domino effect extending to more than a quarter of clubs in the EFL, is it the law of averages or have several cracked the code? 'I don't know if it's causation or correlation,' says New York-based David Gandler, the latest arrival having recently completed a majority takeover of Leyton Orient, who then lost the third-tier play-off final to another US-financed team in Charlton. 'But you can see, in the UK, football is life, religion and tradition. It's very difficult not to get caught up in the excitement. That's the draw here.' That is a feeling shared by Tom Wagner's Knighthead Capital group at Birmingham, which also includes NFL legend Tom Brady, and Wrexham's Hollywood heroes Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – League One's top two. Both have concertedly bedded into the communities that sustain their clubs – perhaps realising from the missteps of those who have gone before. Earlier this season Wagner told the Wall Street Journal that the success is down to 'a set of professional sports owners that are taking a very intentional approach to building businesses.' But another factor for those operating down the pyramid is that, beyond the super rich, they have been priced out of purchasing teams in closed shop leagues at home. Even for those succeeding there are still tension points off the pitch – not least around the so-called matchday experience and sharp-rising ticket prices at several clubs. But for those flying high on the grass there are some commonalities. Arsenal and Liverpool are harvesting the rewards of being among the first to embrace data. And it is no coincidence that their owners have tentacles planted deep in American sports where those analytical models originated. Crucially they have developed a structure of experts to separate the signal from the noise. As former midfielder Joe Cole said, when evaluating the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly stewardship of Chelsea, 'the best approach is data-driven, expert-led.' Another theory is that those with pre-existing backgrounds in American sports that have long worked with salary caps and luxury taxes have been better at adapting to the now more strictly-applied financial fair play rules. Triumphing on the pitch, however, is yet to translate into making many of these clubs profitable. Before sealing a third consecutive promotion, Reynolds described investing in Wrexham as 'like lighting money on fire except it doesn't keep you warm.' Which means a crunch point will come. The vast majority are here to make money, whether by taking over distressed assets in the lower leagues and building them up or finding new revenue streams at established giants such as Chelsea. 'For some it's just diversification of portfolio, for others it's the allure of sport,' Gandler adds. 'But everyone thinks they can win and that's contagious.'
