Alexander Stadium
Alexander Stadium is an international athletics stadium located within Perry Park in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England, at grid reference SP065925. It has staged the Amateur Athletics Association Championships, and was the venue of the 1998 Disability World Athletics Championships. It hosted one England Monarchs game in 1998 with an attendance of 8,000. It frequently hosts the English Schools' Athletics Championships, alternating every few years with Gateshead. 2019 will be the last year the ESAA Championships will be held there due to its demolition and rebuild for the commonwealth games.[1] It hosts the annual British Grand Prix and will be the main athletics venue of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
 Alexander Stadium | |
| |
| Location | Perry Park, Perry Barr, Birmingham, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52.53033°N 1.90561°W |
| Operator | Birmingham City Council |
| Capacity | 12,700 Planned to expand to 40,000 for the Commonwealth Games |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1975 |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Expanded | 2011, (proposed 2019–2021) |
| Tenants | |
| Birchfield Harriers England Monarchs (NFL Europe) (1998) Birmingham City University | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The construction of the stadium began in 1975 and it opened in 1976. It is the home of Birchfield Harriers, one of the best known athletics clubs in the United Kingdom, replacing their former home at Alexander Sports Ground.[2]
Structure
It has an eight-lane synthetic surface track with a ten lane straight. There are 7,000 covered seats in 3 separate stands called Main, Knowles (after Dick Knowles) and Nelson (after Doris Nelson Neal OBE) and a 5,000 seater main stand in the rear straight.
| Event type | Capacity |
|---|---|
| Sporting events | 12,700 (seated) |
| Live music events | Approx 20,000 |
Music event
The 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 like Nelly Furtado, Westlife, Natasha Bedingfield, Blue, Sugababes, 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. This event, however, was later cancelled although it returned in 2010.
Attempted murder case
On 22 March 2016 transgender fell-runner Lauren Jeska attacked UK Athletics official Ralph Knibbs at the stadium, stabbing him multiple times. Jeska had feared her records and ability to compete in women's events would be investigated due to the unfair advantage she had from being born male. She later plead guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.[3][4]
Expansion
2011
In 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.[5] The new stand has also become home to the offices of UK Athletics.[6] The stand was completed in June 2011, in time to host the Diamond League British Grand Prix in July 2011.[7]
2017–present
In June 2017, during the preparation of the Birmingham bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Birmingham bid committee proposed to renovate the Alexander Stadium and use it for hosting the athletics and ceremonies of the Games.[8] But in August 2017, former UK Athletics (UKA) Chief Ed Warner proposed the London Stadium in London to host the athletic events while Birmingham and West Midlands to host the rest of the sporting events of the Games. The London Stadium hosted the athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics as well as the 2017 World Athletic Championships and Para Athletics Championships. Ed Warner claimed that enough funds could be saved by using the London Stadium rather than renovating the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.[9]
On 11 April 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that £70 million (approx. USD $90 million) of investment will be earmarked to transform the Alexander Stadium into a world-class athletics venue for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[10] In October 2018, British engineering and designing firm Arup was chosen by the Birmingham City Council to redesign the stadium.[11] British construction firm Mace was chosen to manage the stadium renovation project.[12]
In February 2019, Councillor Paul Tilsley claimed that the refurbished Alexander Stadium would become a white elephant after the Games as no long-term tenant for the stadium was identified. He was also concerned about the funding arrangement of the Games and claimed that spending funds in organizing the Games could put the council into very heavy debt.[13][14] On 21 June 2019, the 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. The council claimed that the stadium could become the permanent home for the UKA and host major athletics events such as the Diamond League meeting which is currently held at the London Stadium.[15] But former UKA chief Ed Warner claimed that moving the main athletic events from London to Birmingham would be unattractive for the UKA both financially and in terms of the sport's profile. A UKA spokesperson also told the Press Association Sport that the UKA had no plans to take athletics events out of London Stadium.[16]
On 30 January 2020, the Birmingham City Council's planning committee approved the renovation plans of the Alexander Stadium which would cost £72 million.[17][18][19] In March 2020, the Birmingham City Council chose the Northern Irish firm McLaughlin & Harvey to redevelop the stadium.[20]
References
- "English schools 2019". ESAA.
- Alexander, William O; Morgan, Wilfred (1988). The History of Birchfield Harriers 1877–1988. Birchfield Harriers. ISBN 0-9514082-0-8.
- Lauren Jeska jailed for Alexander Stadium stabbings - BBC News
- Fell-runner Lauren Jeska tried to kill British athletics official because she feared the body would revoke her titles over transgender status
- "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.
- "Commonwealth Games 2022: Liverpool & Birmingham should use London Stadium - Ed Warner". BBC Sport. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 21 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.
- "Mace to project manage Birmingham Commonwealth Games stadium". Infrastructure Intelligence. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- Dare, Tom (18 February 2019). "Alexander Stadium will be £75m white elephant, claim". birminghammail. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- "Alexander Stadium will be £75m white elephant, claim". Genesis Radio Birmingham. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- "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.
- "Warner's "white elephant" warning about redeveloped Alexander Stadium". York Press. Retrieved 1 February 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.
