Alexander Stadium
Alexander Stadium is an athletics stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is the largest athletics stadium in the United Kingdom. The stadium has four stands with a total seated capacity of 18,000. The stadium site has four buildings which include the Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre, High Performance Centre, East Stand and newly built West Stand. Original construction began in 1975, and the stadium opened in 1976. It is owned and operated by Birmingham City Council.
In May 2020, the stadium underwent a £72 million redevelopment which was completed in April 2022 ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The venue hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics and para-athletics competitions of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The main stadium has a nine lane category 1 World Athletics certified track. The stadium has an additional 6 lane warm up track and separate throws field. The West Stand offers 6 hospitality boxes, hospitality lounge with a capacity of 450 with track views and a multitude of track level spaces for hire.
Other events held there include the annual British Grand Prix between 2011 and 2019 and in 2022, the Amateur Athletics Association Championships, the 1998 Disability World Athletics Championships, and the English Schools' Athletics Championships. The Stadium also hosted Midlands Hurricanes rugby league team from 2023 to 2025. It is the home Stadium of Athletics Club Birchfield Harriers replacing their former home at Alexander Sports Ground.
The stadium will host the 2026 European Athletics Championships, the first time the continental championships will be held in the United Kingdom.
Capacity
The stadium currently has a seating capacity of 18,000. Seating capacity is split between Lower, Upper and VIP Box Level seating of the West stand, Lower and Upper seating in the East Stand and Lower Seating stands in the North and South.Before redevelopment, there were 7,000 covered seats in three separate stands called Main, Knowles, and Nelson, and a 5,000-seater stand on the rear straight.
| Event type | Capacity |
| Sporting events | 18,000 expandable to 40,000 for major events. |
| Live music events | Approx 20,000 |
Commercial Venue
Since May 2023 Alexander Stadium has offered a wide range of rooms to hire for corporate, community and sporting events.Private Hire is available for the following spaces:
| Room Name | Capacity | Layout |
| Box 1 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Box 2 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Box 1 & 2 combined | 34 | Boardroom |
| Box 3 | 8 | Boardroom |
| Box 4 | 8 | Boardroom |
| Box 5 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Box 6 | 15 | Boardroom |
| Annex | 50 | Theatre |
| Hospitality Lounge | 450 350 | Theatre Style Banqueting |
| South Lounge | 70 | Café |
| Track Level Rooms | Various | Various |
Hire can be organised by via the
Leisure Facilities
Alexander Stadium is open to the public as a Birmingham City Council run Leisure Centre. Alexander Stadium offers a range of activities such as Fitness Classes, Martial Arts, Athletics and Gymnastics. Leisure access is available:Monday to Friday: 7:00am to 9:00pm
Saturday and Sunday: 8:30am to 5:00pm
Classes can be booked via the or contacting the Stadium directly. Birmingham City Council also offer a variety of memberships and free activity sessions inline with government initiatives such as Be Active and Passport to Leisure for lower income households within Birmingham
Diamond League
From 2011 Alexander Stadium hosted the prestigious world athletics Diamond League tour until 2019 ahead of the redevelopment. Birmingham held an event of the 2022 tour on 21 May 2022.Music events
The stadium has held many music events, including a one-day festival called Party in the Park run by BRMB radio that featured acts including Nelly Furtado, Westlife, Natasha Bedingfield, Blue, Sugababes, Debbie McGee, 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.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. The new stand has also become home to the offices of UK Athletics. The stand was completed in June 2011, in time to host the Diamond League British Grand Prix in July 2011.2017–present
In June 2017, during the preparation of the Birmingham bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Birmingham bid committee proposed to renovate Alexander Stadium and use it for hosting the athletics and ceremonies of the Games.On 11 April 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that £70 million of investment would be earmarked to transform the Alexander Stadium into a world-class athletics venue for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, during which it will seat 40,000 spectators. In October 2018, British engineering and designing firm Arup was chosen by the Birmingham City Council to redesign the stadium. British construction firm Mace was chosen to manage the stadium renovation project.
On 21 June 2019, 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.
On 30 January 2020, Birmingham City Council's planning committee approved the renovation plans of the Alexander Stadium which would cost £72 million. After the games, the temporary stands around the track bends were removed, leaving the two permanent stands seating 18,000, with the option of extending to 40,000 for major events. In March 2020, the city council chose the Northern Irish firm McLaughlin & Harvey to redevelop the stadium.