2022 Commonwealth Games: Alexander Stadium revamp approved

Plans to almost quadruple the size of Birmingham's Alexander Stadium for the 2022 Commonwealth Games have been approved.

Permanent capacity will increase to 18,000, with temporary seating taking it up to a limit of 40,000 spectators.

New 400m relay and warm up tracks will be built, along with extra parking and bus provision.

The cost of the 11-day sporting event is £778m, with £184m paid by Birmingham City Council and partners.

There will also be a new throwing area, access road and office and teaching accommodation under the plans approved by the city council.

Birmingham was named as the host city for the games in December 2017, and it will be the UK's costliest sporting event since London 2012.

The stadium in Perry Barr, which currently has a 12,700 capacity, will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics events, which are expected to take place between 27 July and 7 August 2022.

The Labour-run council has said it wants to "create a legacy asset the city and its residents can be truly proud of".

The authority does not yet know how much of its share of the overall cost of the games would be paid by partners including West Midlands Combined Authority, local enterprise partnerships, other local authorities under the banner of the Midlands Engine, the NEC and others.

In June, the council's Tory opposition leader said he was concerned about how a £50m loan by the authority would affect residents in years to come.

The council said day-to-day services would not be affected.

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