I think major Edgbaston Stadium revamp is great news for Birmingham - here are the two main benefits

Birmingham City Council gave the green light to venue bosses to demolish Priory and Raglan Stands at Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s home and replace them with a new 3,191-seat facility and a 146-bed Raddison Red hotel.

The hotel is set to boast views over the outfield as well as a coffee shop and restaurant/bar, which would be open to the public on non-matchdays.

The proposals were previously described as part of a larger redevelopment of the stadium, which aimed to create a destination combining “elite sport, conferencing and events” with community use.

But the design proved divisive at this month’s decision-making planning committee meeting, with Coun Martin Brooks describing it as “not particularly good”.

Responding to such comments, planning chair Lee Marsham said: “As with all things with design, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

“Edgbaston Stadium is one of the crown jewels of the city and I think this development will further the success of the local club, the England cricket team and Birmingham itself.”

Stadium to become community asset - West Midlands economy and jobs

Work on the £42 million scheme – including an £18 million loan from the West Midlands Combined Authority – will start in September and is expected to be completed in time for the Ashes Test against Australia in summer 2027.

The club employs around 1,000 people and the development will see around 600 jobs during the construction phase and around 100 extra permanent staff once it is completed.

Stuart Cain, chief executive of the club, said the development is part of a transformation the ground has been undergoing for years.

Check out the latest developments in Brum and the West Mids

He said: “It’s great news for us. We’ve been trying to turn the stadium into a community asset.

“In recent years, we opened Xccelerate – the learning and development centre trying to create career opportunities for youngsters. That’s been operating for about a year and a half now. The hotel is the next step of that. When we build the hotel, 146 rooms, there will be around 600 jobs to build it and around 100 permanent jobs afterwards, bringing about £5 million economic benefit to the region.

“The city needs high quality bed stock doesn’t it really. If you look around, there’s some nice hotels around in Birmingham but there are not many that are 4/5 stars with parking outside that are easily accessible from the city centre.

“So we’re bringing something the city needs but if you also look around Edgbaston, you’ve got the Midlands Arts Centre across the road, you’ve got the police headquarters, the university, the QE Hospital, Priory Tennis Club where they hold LTA tournaments. There is quite a lot in this part of the city but there isn’t really a lot of hotel stock to support it.”

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He added: “The stands are really important. Raglan and Priory stand were built back in the 1950s.

“In their own right, they need replacing so what this does is we build a new stand, new facilities with the hotel and bars and restaurants which adds a different dimension to the stadium as well as giving people a great day out.

“We deliver about a £35 million impact to the city generally each year and with the hotel it will be about £40 million. We’ve got the India test match here, then the West Indies ODI and then the Hundred in the summer. So in September this year we will start to knock the old stands down and it’s an ambitious build – 18 months – so by Summer 2027 we’ll have it finished in time for the Ashes.”

Cricket club’s future to be secured

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker added: “It’s such an important sports venue internationally and for cricket in the region and it will help not only attract thousands more visitors but it will help sustain the venue for test cricket hopefully for decades to come.

“It’s a really important investment and we’re really keen and very delighted to support the cricket club in the investment they’re making and what it will secure for the future.

“The region’s sports venues are enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people and across those venues the owners of those clubs and those running them are making very significant commitments and investments themselves.

“I want to support what they are doing. It attracts visitors, it helps grow our economy and equally importantly they’re helping to create thousands of jobs.”

The planning committee ultimately agreed to approve the proposals at today’s meeting.

Craig Flindall, Edgbaston Strategy Director, said they were grateful to the city council for sharing their vision “to bring increased economic and social benefits to the region through international sport”.

“Cricket will always stay at the heart of our thinking,” he said.

“But it’s important we develop a stadium that operates all year round, supporting new jobs in this part of the city and creates wider community opportunities.

“We are creating a mixed-use destination that will combine elite sport, conferencing and events and residential and hotel accommodation with community facilities that will improve education, employment and social cohesion in the area.”

The proposed hotel would have 146 bedrooms, which would comprise of the following:

• 36 per cent standard guest room (plaza view)
• 46 per cent superior guest room (pitch view)
• 12 per cent premium guest room – convertible (pitch view)
• 6 per cent accessible guest room (plaza view)