Recently, the Birmingham club announced plans to build a new stadium. Chairman Wagner hopes that the new stadium can provide Bellingham with a "perfect homecoming story."
The total cost of the new stadium project is 1.2 billion pounds. The stadium can accommodate 62,000 people. Bellingham also participated in this promotion. Bellingham, 22, began his career at St Andrews and Wagner said the club's new home would provide a suitable platform for a possible return.
Wagner said: "I think Bellingham is the greatest player in the world today, and his potential is far from being realized... We have not seen his full potential, not only on the court, but his impact on the community and his role as a leader."
"If we can provide him with a platform to realize his full potential, , that will be a wonderful story. It is a wonderful story about coming home, and a wonderful story about Birmingham. It is a wonderful story about England."
The new stadium, called "Power Stadium", is expected to be completed by the 2030/31 season. It will have a retractable roof and a variable pitch, and can host NFL games and concerts, as well as naming rights.
The area around Birdsley Green will include a new training centre, new small pitch for the women's team, affordable housing and a hotel. Wagner admits announcing such ambitious plans in the Championship makes them look like "humble lunatics" but says such ambitions are indicative of the future, not the past.
Faced with questions about how to fill a stadium of 62,000 people with an average of less than 30,000 spectators currently, the American businessman appeared very confident: "We look like humble lunatics announcing such a plan in the English Championship. Last season we won the cup final at Wembley. 50,000 tickets were sold during the game, and when the phone lines were closed, there were still 26,000 people waiting to buy tickets. "
"This shows that our fan base is large enough to fill this stadium, but we have always looked to the future, not the past, to build our future goals. Rather than past achievements. That's what this project reflects."
Wagner said the new stadium will be "probably the most environmentally friendly stadium ever built" and will be a multi-purpose venue in the city center: "It can host not only football matches, but also various events. From the biggest concert tours in the world to boxing matches to the NFL, we hope to compete for the right to host NFL events and also hope to have the opportunity to host international football matches, whether it is men's or women's games, this stadium will definitely be comparable to modern stadiums in the UK and the world."
source:7m com vn