Joys and Sorrows were proud to be invited to attend this event at Club 111 in person last night. Kev couldn’t make it so I was pleased to step in on his behalf.
There isn’t much I need to say that can’t be found out for yourself by following the Youtube link here:
First and foremost – I thought it was a great gesture to invite so many of us to attend in person, but – likewise – to stream it live so no Blues fan was left out. The attended atmosphere meant it was more of a live spectacle, and meant the Q&A was less ‘managed’. Questions weren’t vetted beforehand and seemingly anybody was free to ask anything.
It’s very difficult not to like Tom Wagner and his persona comes across as very polished and approachable, but it would be understandable for anybody to ask the question, “Is it all for show? Is he attending matches as a PR exercise?” He addressed this very issue last night, and I have to say, the more matches he attends, the more of these events he does in person and the more governmental meetings he attends (six, he suggested, from memory) to do with the Sports Quarter, the more you have to suspect it’s a little to do with PR, a little to do with looking after his investment and a lot to do with a love for the sport and for Birmingham City. So much of what he does could have been done remotely, or only when it’s not raining, or when it’s not far from the private jet port. Etc. I’m sold. Watch the YouTube (and the Prime mini series) and make your own mind up.
The highlights:
We’re a month away from the precise 150 year anniversary of the club.
We’re now 15th in terms of social media impressions in the English football pyramid, up from 35th in 22/23, yet still have the 5th most affordable season ticket in the championship.
King Edward VI Balaam Wood (see previous blog) is now the 5th most improved school in the country!
Players are donating a % of their win bonuses to the Birmingham City Foundation, “unheard of in football”.
12,000 fans on the season ticket waiting list, yet no plans to raise season ticket prices for the foreseeable (including 2030 when we open up the new stadium) beyond inflationary rises.
There was a plea from the club to utilise ‘Ticket Exchange’ if you have an unused ticket for a match as you will get some money back and a fan can use your ticket.
Tom Wagner said he was “Happy with where we are…excited, confident, comfortable…we have an extraordinary amount of momentum…we’ll be knocking on the door of the big 6, perhaps 6th or 7th in terms of revenue if we get to the Premier League with the Sports Quarter”
The new stadium will have men’s stadium for 60k+, ladies’ stadium for 10-15k (possible the first, purpose built ladies’ stadium in the country), an arena for non-sporting events, and the Sports Quarter will also include new housing, office space and hotel facilities.
The new design will be unveiled – with zero press leaks – on 20th November, across all media.
When asked about the transfer policy, Chris Davies said – far from new players not being utilised being a negative – it was seen that new arrivals had ensured existing players “elevated themselves as a result of who we’ve brought in.”
Andrew Shanahan, data strategy, said the club spends £1m yearly in electricity on computer modelling alone, adding that the club was ‘scarily accurate’ on last year’s date predictions and modelling.
When asked about the naming of the new stadium, Tom Wagner said, “It will have a name and it will go to the highest bidder.”
Awkward questions used to be about hot water in the ladies toilets (see blogs passim) but tonight I felt would be more likely about car stripping and Neumann/Klarer. Neither were dodged.
From the Millwall game, more ‘bobbies will be on the beat in the targeted areas’ and as for the Neumann/Klarer rumour, I have always felt it was just that – a rumour, but like most people you have to wonder if there’s even a grain of truth in it, when Neumann was at Wembley ahead of his formal unveiling and yet didn’t seem to feature too much. His goalscoring return seemed to suggest he should have been playing all along.
Worth persevering to see Chris Davies himself address it specifically, with Tom Wagner joking about ‘the fight’ and CD saying Klarer would have won any fight and that – if there were one – he’d have loved to have seen it.
In a nutshell, the rumour – which he suggested he hadn’t even heard – was rubbish.
Ending on a pleasant note, it was confirmed that all tributes, stones and plaques, including (obviously) the Trevor Francis statue and the J421 plaque will be taken across to the new stadium.
KRO.
Russ
I think you got it spot on. Any investor can simply put the money in. And sit back with the cash register ticking over. Tom Wagner wears his heart on his sleeve, it seems. He’s a long way from being us, as in BCFC. But he miles away from an American soccer fan, and you can sense he intends to KRO, till the end of Our Road.
Thanks Element. My thoughts precisely. The little things, like Harry Moseley’s bracelet, stand out.