Alexander Stadium is an athletics stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is the largest athletics stadium in the United Kingdom.[1] The stadium has four stands with a total seated capacity of 18,000. The stadium site has four buildings which include the Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre (GMAC), High Performance Centre, East Stand and newly built West Stand.[2][3] Original construction began in 1975, and the stadium opened in 1976.[4][5] It is owned and operated by Birmingham City Council.[6]
 Alexander Stadium during Birmingham 2022 | |
 | |
| Full name | Alexander Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Perry Park, Birmingham |
| Coordinates | 52°31′49″N 1°54′20″W / 52.53033°N 1.90561°W |
| Owner | Birmingham City Council |
| Operator | Birmingham City Council |
| Capacity | 18,000 30,000 (2022 Commonwealth Games) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1975 |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Expanded | 2009 GMAC
2011 East Stand 2020 West Stand |
| Tenants | |
| UK Athletics Birchfield Harriers England Monarchs (NFL Europe) (1998) Birmingham City University Midlands Hurricanes | |
| Website | |
| www www | |
In May 2020, the stadium underwent a £72 million redevelopment which was completed in April 2022 ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[7] The venue hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics and para-athletics competitions of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[8] The main stadium has a nine lane category 1 IAAF certified track. The stadium has an additional 6 lane warm up track and separate throws field.[9] The West Stand offers 6 hospitality boxes, hospitality lounge with a capacity of 450 with track views and a multitude of track level spaces for hire.
Other events held there include the annual British Grand Prix between 2011 and 2019 and in 2022, the Amateur Athletics Association Championships, the 1998 Disability World Athletics Championships, and the English Schools' Athletics Championships. The Stadium also hosts Midlands Hurricanes rugby league team from 2023. It is the home Stadium of Athletics Club Birchfield Harriers replacing their former home at Alexander Sports Ground.[10]
Capacity
editThe stadium currently has a seating capacity of 18,000. Seating capacity is split between Lower, Upper and VIP Box Level seating of the West stand, Lower and Upper seating in the East Stand and Lower Seating stands in the North and South.
Before redevelopment, there were 7,000 covered seats in three separate stands called Main, Knowles (after Dick Knowles), and Nelson (after Doris Nelson Neal OBE), and a 5,000-seater stand on the rear straight.
| Event type | Capacity |
|---|---|
| Sporting events | 18,000 (seated) expandable to 40,000 for major events. |
| Live music events | Approx 20,000 |
Commercial Venue
editSince May 2023 Alexander Stadium has offered a wide range of rooms to hire for corporate, community and sporting events.
Private Hire is available for the following spaces:
| Room Name | Capacity | Layout |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Box 2 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Box 1 & 2 combined | 34 | Boardroom |
| Box 3 | 8 | Boardroom |
| Box 4 | 8 | Boardroom |
| Box 5 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Box 6 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Annex | 50 | Theatre |
| Hospitality Lounge | 450
350 |
Banqueting |
| South Lounge | 70 | Café |
| Track Level Rooms | Various | Various |
Hire can be organised by via the Stadium Website
Leisure Facilities
editAlexander Stadium is open to the public as a Birmingham City Council run Leisure Centre. Alexander Stadium offers a range of activities such as Fitness Classes, Martial Arts, Athletics and Gymnastics. Leisure access is available:
Monday to Friday: 7:00am to 9:00pm Saturday and Sunday: 8:30am to 5:00pm Classes can be booked via the website or contacting the Stadium directly. Birmingham City Council also offer a variety of memberships and free activity sessions inline with government initiatives such as Be Active and Passport to Leisure for lower income households within Birmingham
Diamond League
editSince 2011 Alexander Stadium has hosted the prestigious world athletics Diamond League tour until 2019 ahead of the redevelopment. Birmingham held the 2nd series of the 2022 tour on 21 May 2022.[11]
Music events
editThe stadium has held many music events, including a one-day festival called Party in the Park run by BRMB (now Free Radio Birmingham) radio that featured acts including Nelly Furtado, Westlife, Natasha Bedingfield, Blue, Sugababes, Debbie McGee, Girls Aloud and The Calling. The event was later moved to Cannon Hill Park where it was in a more central part of the city and so made it easier for people from south Birmingham to attend.
Expansion
edit2011
editIn 2011 Alexander Stadium underwent a £12.5 million expansion and refurbishment, including the building of a 5,000-seater stand opposite the current main stand. This took the capacity to 12,700.[12] The new stand has also become home to the offices of UK Athletics.[13] The stand was completed in June 2011, in time to host the Diamond League British Grand Prix in July 2011.[14]
2017–present
editIn June 2017, during the preparation of the Birmingham bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Birmingham bid committee proposed to renovate Alexander Stadium and use it for hosting the athletics and ceremonies of the Games.[15]
On 11 April 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that £70 million (approx. USD $90 million) of investment would be earmarked to transform the Alexander Stadium into a world-class athletics venue for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, during which it will seat 40,000 spectators.[16] In October 2018, British engineering and designing firm Arup was chosen by the Birmingham City Council to redesign the stadium.[17] British construction firm Mace was chosen to manage the stadium renovation project.[18]
On 21 June 2019, Birmingham City Council released the images and plans for renovating the Alexander Stadium and claimed that it would create a legacy asset for the Perry Barr area.[19]
On 30 January 2020, Birmingham City Council's planning committee approved the renovation plans of the Alexander Stadium which would cost £72 million. After the games, the temporary stands around the track bends were removed, leaving the two permanent stands seating 18,000, with the option of extending to 40,000 for major events.[20][21][22] In March 2020, the city council chose the Northern Irish firm McLaughlin & Harvey to redevelop the stadium.[23]
2022 Commonwealth Games
edit
Alexander Stadium was the main venue for athletics, para-athletics as well as holding the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[24] The redeveloped stadium included temporary seating and facilities to accommodate the Games.
2026 European Athletic Championships
editFollowing the awarding of the 2026 European Athletics Championships to Birmingham, Alexander Stadium will serve as the venue for the championships.[25]
Incidents
editOn 22 March 2016 fell-runner Lauren Jeska from Lancaster attacked UK Athletics official Ralph Knibbs at the stadium, stabbing him multiple times. Jeska had feared her records in women's events would be quashed due to her transgender identity. She later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.[26][27] She was also convicted of causing actual bodily harm to two bystanders who tried to defend Knibbs.[26]
References
edit- ^ "Homepage". Birmingham Alexander Stadium. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Council, Birmingham City. "Gymnastics & Martial Arts Centre (GMAC)". www.birmingham.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Eastside, Birmingham (30 November 2022). "New performance centre for elite athletes to open at the Alexander Stadium". Birmingham Eastside. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "History of Alexander Stadium". Birmingham Alexander Stadium. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Anjum, Husna (3 January 2022). "From POWs to Tom Jones - the colourful history of Alexander Stadium". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Council, Birmingham City. "Alexander Stadium". www.birmingham.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Anjum, Husna (10 May 2022). "Alexander Stadium officially handed over to Birmingham 2022 organisers". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Alexander Stadium". Commonwealth Games - Birmingham 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ DHD. "Alexander Stadium, Birmingham". McLaughlin & Harvey. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Harriers, Birchfield. "Stadium - Birchfield Harriers". birchfieldharriers.com. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Diamond League | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Alexander Stadium's bid to be UK Athletics base". BBC. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ "UK Athletics heading for a grandstand view of the Alexander Stadium". Inside the Games. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
- ^ "Top athletes set for Birmingham Grand Prix Meeting". BBC. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ^ "Stadium expansion at heart of 2022 bid". BBC News. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ "PM announces £70 million to transform Birmingham stadium for 2022 Commonwealth Games". GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ Marshall2018-10-25T09:39:00+01:00, Jordan. "Arup wins design contract for £70m revamp of Commonwealth Games stadium". Building. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Mace to project manage Birmingham Commonwealth Games stadium". Infrastructure Intelligence. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Birmingham targets taking athletics off London as £70 million Alexander Stadium redevelopment plan for 2022 Commonwealth Games unveiled". www.insidethegames.biz. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ "Alexander Stadium revamp gets green light". AW. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games stadium revamp approved". BBC News. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ "Birmingham approves proposals for Alexander Stadium redevelopment". Verdict Designbuild. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ Rogers2020-03-13T06:00:00+00:00, Dave. "Winner emerges on 2022 Commonwealth Games stadium". Building. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Alexander Stadium". Commonwealth Games - Birmingham 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ "UK ATHLETICS AND BIRMINGHAM TO HOST EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2026". British Athletics. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Lauren Jeska jailed for Alexander Stadium stabbings". BBC News. 14 March 2017.
- ^ Willgress, Lydia (22 September 2016). "Fell-runner Lauren Jeska tried to kill British athletics official because she feared the body would revoke her titles over transgender status". The Telegraph.
External links
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