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The Alexander Athletics Stadium is off the Walsall Road (A34) at Perry Park in Perry Barr. The stadium, which opened in 1976, is the home of Birchfield Harriers Athletic Club. It also hosts major athletics meetings such as the AAA Championships and has staged an England Monarchs American Football game before a capacity 8,000 crowd.
The stadium contains an 8-lane synthetic track with a 10-lane sprinter's home straight. There are three stands: the Main Stand, parallel to the home straight, and the Knowles Stand and Nelson Stand which flank the Main Stand at acute angles and so provide good views of the bends.
These three stands can hold around seven thousand spectators whilst an area of covered seating on the rear straight holds around six hundred.
High Performance Centre @ the Alexander Stadium
The High Performance Centre at the Alexander Stadium contains a 132-metre indoor hall with an eight-lane 110-metre running track, a throwing cage, pole vaulting area & jumping pits. Other facilities include a medical support centre, recovery area, gymnasium and sports science lab.
The centre, which opened in 2003, forms part of the England Institute of Sport. It coaches athletes of all ages and abilities. The indoor hall can be hired by schools, clubs and individual athletes.
Leisure @ the Alexander Stadium
The Alexander Stadium contains a municipal sports and leisure centre equipped with an athletics track, pulse point gym, power point gym, free weights gym, function & conference rooms, licensed bar & baby changing.
Activities include aerobics, athletics, boxercise, circuit training, studio cycling, starter fitness, weight watchers, bums, tums and thighs.
Links: Perry Barr Birchfield Harriers Website
Billesley Common is the home ground of Moseley RFC. The club, which moved there in 2005, sold their stadium at the Reddings in Moseley in 2001. In addition to the first XV pitch, there are pitches for colt, developmental and junior teams etc.
Fans can watch the first XV from the touchline or sit in a covered grandstand with a capacity of 650. There are 12 hospitality boxes that can each seat up to 12 spectators and a clubhouse with a licensed bar, a lounge that can hold 170, and a second function room that can hold 50.
Moseley currently compete in the RFU Championship which is the second tier of professional rugby; these facilities are probably inadequate for the Guinness Premiership which is the first tier; therefore, major improvements are planned including a new stand with a capacity of 5,000, 22 hospitality boxes and 10 changing rooms.
These improvements will increase the overall ground capacity from 1,000 to 7,500.
The Central Ground is on Coles Lane in Sutton Coldfield Town. It is the home stadium of Sutton Coldfield Town FC, an amateur football team that currently competes
in Southern Football League Division One Midlands which is the eight tier of English association football. The capacity is around 2,000.The ground is dominated by the Main Stand (circa 1930) whose steep wooden benches (without backs) provide seating for around 200. The remainder consists of terraces; some are covered whilst others are open with traditional crush barriers. There is a clubhouse, snack bar and car park at one end. Cars can actually drive into the ground and park a few yards behind one of the goals.
Links: Sutton Coldfield Town Sutton Coldfield Town FC Website
City of Birmingham Stadium (Index)
The City of Birmingham Stadium is a proposed new 55,000-seat stadium that could be built on the current site of the Wheels Adventure Park in Saltley.
The original plan was to create a sports village which, in addition to the stadium, would have included an Olympic-sized swimming pool, soccer dome, leisure park, indoor arena, supercasino, health and fitness centre, basketball courts, hotel, residential and retail units.
It was hoped that the City of Birmingham Stadium might replace Wembley as England's national football stadium but once this idea was rejected, it was thought that the new stadium might be shared by Birmingham City FC and Warwickshire Cricket Club.
However, plans for the super casino appear to have been blocked and as a result the sports village is now in doubt. It also uncertain to what extent Birmingham FC, under new ownership, and Warwickshire Cricket Club, who are redeveloping their existing ground, are still interested.
Links: Saltley
Edgbaston Cricket Ground (Index)
Edgbaston Cricket Ground in the Calthorpe area of Edgbaston has been the home stadium of Warwickshire County Cricket Club since 1886. The ground also hosts test matches and one-day internationals.
The most recognisable landmark is the Thwaites Memorial Scoreboard, now electronically operated, and the Eric Hollies Stand (circa 1980). However, large parts of the ground have become antiquated and a major redevelopment has commenced with a view to retaining test status.
In particular, the old pavilion will be demolished and replaced by a state-of-the-art design and some older stands will be rebuilt to modern specifications. The new stadium will include shops, offices and residential apartments; the capacity will be increased by 3,000 to 25,000.
Indoor Cricket Centre @ Edgbaston Cricket Ground
The Indoor Cricket Centre at Edgbaston Cricket Ground is a training facility for young, professional and developing cricketers that may be hired by schools and clubs; it was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2002.
The facilities include a main hall, seminar room, cricket shop, licensed bar, changing rooms and offices The main hall, which measures 41 metres by 31 metres, contains eight net lanes that can be retracted to make room for two six-a-side pitches.
The interior is illuminated by glazed north lights inserted in steel roof trusses and by fabric louvre blinds that admit natural light but diffuse direct sunlight. The front of the building is glazed and the side elevations are clad in white-coated steel.
Links: Calthorpe Warwickshire County Cricket Club Website
Hall Green Greyhound Stadium (Index)
Hall Green Greyhound Stadium is on York Road in Hall Green. The stadium, which is owned by the Greyhound Racing Association, opened in 1927 but has been extensively modernised; the capacity is 2,500.
The track circumference is 410 metres with an 85 metre straight to the first bend. The main stand, which overlooks this straight, contains outdoor terracing, fast food outlets and a bar.
Other facilities include a glass-fronted carvery and restaurant, a suite of executive boxes, a 48-bedroom hotel (the Lodge), a snooker club with twenty-one full-sized tables, track & tote betting and parking for 600 vehicles.
Dog races are held over 258, 480, 645, 670, 820 and 892 metres. Meetings generally take place on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings and on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
Links: Hall Green GRA Website (Love the Dogs)
The LG Arena is at the National Exhibition Centre, barely 100 metres beyond Birmingham's eastern boundary in the Municipal Borough of Solihull.
The LG is an indoor arena that has recently been upgraded to accommodate 16,000 spectators; it is now the 3rd largest arena in the UK after the O2 in London Docklands and the MEN in Manchester which can both hold around 23,000.
The LG mainly stages showbiz events but also hosts some sporting competitions, including the Horse of the Year Show and the British Open Showjumping Championships.
Links: NEC Group Venues LG Arena Website
The National Indoor Arena on King Edwards Road in the Convention Quarter stages major sporting events. It is a flexible venue with flat floor, lower tier and upper tier seating. The upper tier seats are fixed but the remainder can be reconfigured. The maximum capacity is around 13,000.
The arena hosts a broad range of sporting events including the British Basketball League Cup Final, the British Open Showjumping Championships, the European Gymnastics Championships, Grand Prix athletics, Davis Cup tennis, Premiership Darts and the All England Badminton Championships.
Community Hall @ the National Indoor Arena
Community Hall is a sports hall at the National Indoor Arena which serves as a warm-up area for elite athletes and a pay & play facility for the general public.
The hall is 72.5 metres long and 20.5 metres wide. It can accommodate 8 badminton courts or 4 indoor cricket bays. Other sports such as basketball, volleyball, hockey, indoor bowls and five-a-side football can be played there.
The facilities include cardio equipment (treadmills, steppers, rowers etc), resistance equipment (peck decks, leg extension machines), loose weights (dumb bells, bar bells etc) and a sauna.
Activities include women-only and 50+ gym sessions. The hall can be hired for exhibitions, sports tournaments & birthday parties. Corporate packages are available
Links: Convention Quarter National Indoor Arena Website
Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium (circa 1929) is on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr. It is the former home of Birchfield Harriers Athletics Club; their emblem of a leaping stag, sculpted by William Bloye, still has pride of place.
The stadium, which is now owned by the Greyhound Racing Association, has a capacity of 1,500. It contains a glass-fronted grandstand & skyline restaurant, executive suites, trackside bars, food outlets and betting facilities.
The track circumference is 434 metres; greyhound races are held over 275, 480, 660, 710 & 895 metres, generally on Friday and Saturday nights and Tuesday and Sunday afternoons.
The stadium is shared with the Birmingham Brummies speedway team.
Links: Perry Barr GRA Website (Love the Dogs)
Saint Andrews Football Stadium (Index)
Saint Andrews Football Stadium in Small Heath has been the home ground of Birmingham City FC since 1906. The stadium was named after a Victorian church on Saint Andrews Road that was demolished in 1984.
Saint Andrews is an all-seater stadium with a capacity of roughly 30,000. It is bounded by Tilton Road at its eastern end and the Camp Hill Freight Railway at its western end.
The Gil Merrick Stand behind the goal at the Railway End was built in 1999. It is a two-tier stand with an overhanging upper gallery and a capacity of 7,500. Visiting fans sit in the lower tier of this stand, segregated from home supporters by plastic netting.
The stand behind the goal at the Tilton Road End was built in 1994. It is a single-tier L-shaped stand with a capacity of 17,000 that also runs alongside the entire length of the south touchline and which replaced a terrace known as the Spion Kop where home supporters traditionally stood. There is a rear row of executive seating and a VIP enclosure.
The Main Stand on the north touchline, which faces the Spion Kop, was built in 1955; it is the oldest part of the ground and has a capacity of 5,500.
Links: Small Heath Birmingham City FC Website
The Vale Stadium is located on Farnborough Road in Castle Vale. It is the home ground of Castle Vale FC who are an amateur football team that play in the Midland Combination League.
The stadium contains a stand with a clubhouse and boxes on one side; the other three sides are lined by boards, rails and hard standing. Most spectators simply stand on the touchline.
The stadium was built for Paget Rangers in the mid-1990's; Paget were a Southern League Club that were established in 1938 but which ceased to exist in 2003.
Links: Castle Vale Castle Vale FC Website
Villa Park has been the home stadium of Aston Villa FC since 1897 when it was built on the former site of an amusement arcade in the lower grounds of Aston Park. It is a UEFA Elite stadium with an overall capacity of around 43,000.
The stadium is flanked on its eastern side by Witton Road and on its western side by Trinity Road which runs alongside Aston Park and a hill on which Aston Hall was built by Sir Thomas Holte.
The Holte End is behind the goal nearest Aston Hall; it was traditionally the home kop, but its terraces were replaced by a two-tier stand with 13,500 seats in 1994.
The opposite Witton End features the two-tier North Stand (circa 1977) with its distinctive AV seating pattern and two rows of executive boxes. The North Stand can seat around 7,000 fans. Away supporters used to sit here but have recently been moved to the Doug Ellis Stand.
The Doug Ellis Stand is on the touchline parallel to Witton Road; it is a two-tier stand that was built in 1995 and has a capacity of around 9,000; away supporters generally sit in both tiers.
The opposite touchline, which runs parallel to Trinity Road, is occupied by a three-tier stand (circa 2001) with a capacity of 13,000 whose upper tiers extend above Trinity Road.
The new Trinity Road Stand replaced a splendid 1920's art deco stand whose three storey pavilion has been preserved in the south-west corner of the ground.
Links: Aston Aston Villa FC
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