Birmingham City Football Club have announced that international consultancy and construction company, Mace, has been appointed as Construction Manager with immediate effect.
The project that the club have been working on was the stadium’s Tilton and Kop stands that have been partially shut since 2020 due to asbestos damage. Due to finance issues from both the club and the previous contractor Buckingham Group, this construction work is still in progress.
This change to Mace as manager is a required change for Birmingham City to make, because Buckingham Contracting Group collapsed into administration which put the whole project on hold and with an uncertain future.
The completion of this project will be a huge welcome boost for the club as the Lower Tilton safe standing area will be home to more than 3,000 Blues fans and The Kop Lower Stand will accommodate an additional 3,600 fans. The capacity of St. Andrew’s Stadium will be close to 30,000 after completion.
Birmingham City Chief Executive Officer Garry Cook explained the decision to appoint Mace in a club press release.
“On behalf of all Blues fans I would like to thank the Mace team for stepping forward and helping us in our time of need. By appointing Mace to the construction management role we have ensured we will be in a position to achieve our goal of having close to 30,000 Blues fans, in person at St. Andrew’s, supporting the team later this autumn,” he explained via press release.
“Sub-contractors who have worked so hard to get us to this point will now have the opportunity to finish the work they have started. More than 50% of our sub-contractors live in and around Birmingham so it is important that we have been able to get them back to work so quickly,
“I would like to thank the Buckingham Group team members for their commitment and passion to the Birmingham City project. They are professionals who find themselves in a challenging situation. Our hope is that they all find new and rewarding opportunities in the very near future.”
Mace Consult Dan Easthope discussed what the plan was for Mace in the upcoming weeks, adding via Birmingham City press release:
“Over the coming weeks, Mace will be drawing on our global expertise in stadium and venue delivery, working closely with Birmingham City Football Club and all of the suppliers currently supporting the project to ensure that the remaining work can continue with the minimum of disruption.” he said.
“Although the circumstances are unfortunate, we’re pleased that Birmingham City have put their faith in us. We’re confident that we have the right team in place to deliver the outstanding work in a timely manner and ensure that as many fans as possible will be able to support the Club at St. Andrew’s this autumn.”
Work on the lower Tilton and Kop Stands had been due to be complete by September 15, however this was not possible due to the recent circumstances. The project is now expected to be completed before the end of November 2023.
In this new era under American owners, Birmingham City are pushing up the table in the Championship and moving in the right direction off the field with the completion of this stand construction.
