Populous to doll up Birmingham Sports Quarter

Article posted by Coliseum, January 9^th, 2026

Image: Populous

Knighthead announces next step in Birmingham Sports Quarter development with award of training centre project to Architects Populous.

‘Populous’ stated that Populous will take forward development of the Birmingham Sports Quarter training centre following a competitive tender process

The centre will house the Men’s, Women’s and Academy teams in facilities adjacent to the main stadium and women’s stadium in East Birmingham.

The training complex will house state of the art facilities, delivering elite level support to every member of the Birmingham playing and coaching staff throughout their careers.

On December 23^rd 2025 Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, on behalf of certain of its affiliates (‘Knighthead’) awarded responsibility for developing the Birmingham City Football Club training centre at the Sports Quarter to Populous following a competitive tender process.

The training centre will bring all the necessary facilities for the Men’s, Women’s and Academy teams onto a single site, in a one campus model, adjacent to the main stadium.

This is a unique opportunity to create a beacon of sporting excellence that is also rooted in the community.

‘Populous’ further stated that true to an ethos of allowing individuals to flourish from “street to elite”, the intention is to ensure that the Birmingham City team members enjoy the same uncompromising level of support whether they are fresh into the academy or performing at the highest levels of the game.

Populous will be responsible for designing all necessary elements from the training centers that house state of the art gyms, treatment and recuperation areas, office and administration spaces through to a full range of training pitches and the groundskeeping facilities.

Noted Nick Smith, Head of Infrastructure at Birmingham City Football Club, “This is another important step as we press ahead with the delivery of the Sports Quarter. We are convinced that Populous will help us set new standards in sports infrastructure. Together we can create a beacon of excellence that will inspire and support our local communities as well as setting the club up for success on the pitch.”

Added Declan Sharkey, Senior Principal and Global Director at Populous, “We are extremely proud to be designing the new training centre for Birmingham City FC. Our aim is to combine our global expertise in elite training facility design with a bespoke approach, providing the Club with an innovative, sustainable performance training environment and holistic environment for all of its teams and the staff who will use it.”

Populous is a global architectural and design practice with regional headquarters in Kansas City (US), London (UK) and Brisbane (Austalia) specializing in sports, facilities, arenas and convention centers as well as in the planning and design of major special events.

Knighthead Capital Management was co-founded in 2008 by Tom Wagner and Ara Cohen and has grown to become a diversified asset management platform with an experienced team of investment professionals specializing in fundamental analysis, operational and financial turnarounds and risk management. Knighthead’s long-term objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its clients while emphasizing the preservation of capital. Knighthead manages assets across a variety of investment vehicles including insurance asset management, real estate lending and closed and open-ended vehicles.

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