Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner has revealed his groundbreaking plans to build a tunnel under the city to help connect supporters to their proposed new £3billion stadium complex.
The Blues, who are currently top of League One following relegation last season, were taken over by Wagner's Knighthead Capital Management in 2023, with NFL icon Tom Brady involved with the group as a minority owner of the club.
Wagner has previously outlined his desire to build a new 62,000 capacity stadium in the city to replace St Andrew's - which can hold 29,409 fans but had suffered from dereliction before the US hedge fund executive's arrival.
Wagner claimed it is his 'dream' to revitalise the East Birmingham area with a new stadium and surrounding complex, and the League One side are planning to develop a Sports Quarter in a 60 acre area of land the club have already acquired.
And now, the Blues chief has expanded further on these plans and revealed he wants to build a one-and-a-half mile long underground tunnel to transport fans from Birmingham New Street station to the proposed complex in the Bordesley Green area of the city.
As per The Sun, he told a meeting: 'Subways are very expensive and complicated to develop.
'We thought of an idea to simply tunnel under the existing rail lines and connect New Street station to the sports quarter and use electric buses running underground.
'It could transport thousands of people an hour. We think it would cost roughly £20million.'
Wagner, who has also urged the UK government to support his plans, claimed that local and regional authorities are in favour and called on his idea to be given proper consideration.
'I'm the "crazy American" talking about this,' he added. 'But we need more local voices with the right accent talking about why this is a good idea.
'The funds are there nationally, and it's a tiny percentage of those funds that we’re asking for.'
The proposed Sports Quarter, which is expected to cost £3billion, will include a new stadium and training ground, with Wagner likening the stadium design to a 'spaceship'.
There are also plans for office spaces, social hubs and restaurants to help regenerate the surrounding area, while a hotel and fan park are likely to be added.
Wagner's commitment to the city of Birmingham was highlighted further last week when Knighthead acquired a 49 per cent stake in the Hundred franchise Birmingham Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Wagner's group have not only invested heavily in infrastructure, but they've spent big in the transfer market, with Birmingham having an outlay of around £35m in the summer window.
This included the initial £15m signing of forward Jay Stansfield which smashed the previous League One record transfer fee of £3.4m when Sunderland signed Will Grigg from Wigan in 2022.
The Blues, who haven't been back to the Premier League since they were relegated in 2011, return to action on Saturday when they take on Newcastle in the FA Cup fourth round, while they are in the semi-finals of the EFL Trophy.