Birmingham City facing same issue as rivals Aston Villa as off-field problems continue

Birmingham City’s new owners have battled against relegation from a crumbling stadium and a gloom-ridden playing squad to breathe fresh life into St Andrew’s.

But not everyone, it seems, has got the memo.

Since assuming control 18 months ago, Knighthead Capital has financed the rebirth of to the tune of £60m-plus, regenerating a tired club into one that is fit to lead an assault back into the second tier.

But their short-term ambition has caught people on the hop. So much so, in fact, that public transport infrastructure is struggling to cope - and so are west Midlands’ police.

Train travel to and from the nearest serviceable station, Bordesley, was stopped last Saturday after the 1-1 draw with Northampton, forcing thousands of supporters to make the one-and-a-half-mile trek into the city centre themselves.

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Services have been routinely cancelled, leaving regular match-goers to use their cars instead, adding to the stadium's traffic chaos. Logjams after the final whistle in a densely-populated area add an hour onto the homeward journey, fuelling frustration.

To help, the club has stepped in to provide its own bus service - at a cost of £600 per vehicle - to ferry fans to St Andrew’s from the city centre. And it is planning another route from further afield - from Solihull - to help alleviate further problems.

However, what is adding to the issues blighting any supporter wanting to see what all the fuss is about under new boss Chris Davies is a spate of car-stripping during matches. Fans leave their cars on the nearby side streets, only to see body panels, wheels, bonnets, boots, and sometimes even the whole vehicle itself vanish when they return two hours later.

A source said: “The club is trying to do its’ best to get supporters to and from the stadium - and is asking for some help. There is a shuttle bus that the club is paying for - but it’s designed to complement the public transport system rather than replace it.”

It is an issue that is blighting West Midlands football, with both the Blues - and rivals Aston Villa - suffering. While Bordesley - which is rumoured to be closing when HS2 is up and running - has its problems, so too does the station at Aston.

Huge queues form on Lichfield Road outside the station following every match at Villa Park and, informally, the inability to service a potential uplift in capacity to 50,000 has been blamed on the inability of the public transport infrastructure to cope.

One season-ticket holder described travel to matches at the Hawthorns as ‘a living nightmare’. Last week, during Coventry’s match against Derby at the Coventry Building Society Arena, a message midway through the second half relayed that there wouldn’t be any trains running from the Arena back to the city centre.

Given the prestige and economic value football adds to the region, it is to be wondered - especially as Villa have occupied the same site since the 19th century - quite what the policymakers are doing.

As for Birmingham City, it is all casting a shadow over the American investors’ long-term vision and stakeholders within the club are beginning to pose a bigger question.

A sports quarter - worth up to £3bn in development cost - is being planned. For it to receive the green light, the American owners must have buy-in from the West Midlands’ Combined Authority - and national government too - over transport infrastructure.

If they cannot service fans attempting to watch a game in the third tier of English football in front of 30,000 people, how on earth will they cope in a stadium housing twice that capacity?

West Midlands Combined Authority were contacted for comment.

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