Alexander Stadium
 Alexander Stadium | |
 | |
| Location | Perry Park, Perry Barr, Birmingham, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°31′49″N 1°54′20″W / 52.53033°N 1.90561°W |
| Operator | Birmingham City Council |
| Capacity | 12,700 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1975 |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Expanded | 2011 |
| Tenants | |
| Birchfield Harriers | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Alexander Stadium is an international athletics stadium located within Perry Park in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England, at grid reference SP065925. It has staged the Amateur Athletics Association Championships, and was the venue of the 1998 Disability World Athletics Championships. It hosted one England Monarchs game in 1998 with an attendance of 8,000. It hosts the annual British Grand Prix.
The construction of the stadium began in 1975 and it opened in 1976. It is the home of Birchfield Harriers, one of the best known athletics clubs in the United Kingdom, replacing their former home at Alexander Sports Ground.[1]
Structure
It has an eight-lane synthetic surface track with a ten lane straight. There are 7,000 covered seats in 3 separate stands called Main, Knowles (after Dick Knowles) and Nelson and a 5,000 seater main stand in the rear straight.
| Event type | Capacity |
|---|---|
| Sporting events | 12,700 (seated) |
| Live music events | Approx 20,000 |
Music event
The stadium has held many music events, including a one-day festival called Party in the Park run by BRMB radio that featured acts like Nelly Furtado, Westlife, Natasha Bedingfield, Blue, Sugababes, Girls Aloud and The Calling. The event was later moved to Cannon Hill Park where it was in a more central party of the city and so made it easier for people from south Birmingham to attend. This event, however, was later cancelled although it returned in 2010.
It has also played host to the well known BBC Radio 1's One Big Week End with acts such as Joss Stone, Razorlight and Natasha Bedingfield.[citation needed]
Expansion
Alexander Stadium has recently undergone a £12.5 million expansion and refurbishment, including the building of a 5,000 seater stand opposite the current main stand. This has taken capacity to 12,700.[2] The new stand has also become home to the offices of UK Athletics.[3]
The stand was completed in June 2011, in time to host the Diamond League British Grand Prix in July 2011.[4]
References
- ^ Alexander, William O; Morgan, Wilfred (1988). The History of Birchfield Harriers 1877–1988. Birchfield Harriers. ISBN 0-9514082-0-8.
- ^ "Alexander Stadium's bid to be UK Athletics base". BBC. 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ^ "UK Athletics heading for a grandstand view of the Alexander Stadium". Inside the Games. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ "Top athletes set for Birmingham Grand Prix Meeting". BBC. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
