Field star set to track stadium progress in reporter role

Nathan has been appointed as the council’s official Stadium Redevelopment Correspondent – and has started the assignment with an introductory video available via the Birmingham City Council YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and Twitter channels.

The eight-time British champion, who trains at the stadium and its High Performance Centre, has competed at the Perry Barr venue many times during his long career, and was keen to tell the story of the site’s redevelopment ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Nathan said: “The revamped Alexander Stadium will be an amazing facility. I wanted to find a way that I could tell the story of how things are improving to as wide an audience as possible.

“Social media is a great way to engage with people, whether they have been athletics fans for years, are interested in the upcoming Commonwealth Games, live in Birmingham or been to the stadium in the past.

“Over the coming months, I’ll be taking a look behind the scenes and speaking to people who have worked or performed at the venue. I hope the buzz and excitement of the stadium redevelopment and upcoming Games is something I can get across to people who see the vlogs.”

As well as his triple jumping and an enthusiasm to enter the world of vlogging, Nathan has always had a passion for performance psychology which led him to achieve a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science (Psychology) from Loughborough University.

Nathan is a certified Peak Performance and Resilience Coach, NLP Practitioner and has been trained in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy at Oxford. Nathan combines his expertise alongside the team at 7Futures to help their corporate clients to build a culture of wellbeing and high performance.

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of venue owner Birmingham City Council, said: “It’s great to have such a well-respected athlete as Nathan on board for this assignment - I know he is excited by the bold ambition we have for the Alexander Stadium as the centrepiece of leisure, health and wellbeing activity in a regenerated Perry Barr.

“These videos will help inform and excite people in a fun way about the fantastic progress that has been made over the last 12 months on the project and what is going on ahead of the Commonwealth Games.”

To find out more about the Alexander Stadium redevelopment, visit the city council’s Perry Barr Regeneration webpages.

To find out more about Nathan, please visit his Twitter, Instagram or Facebook pages.

Background notes

About the Alexander Stadium redevelopment

Funding for the Alexander Stadium Redevelopment comes from three sources: Birmingham City Council (£27.4million), the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (£20million) and West Midlands Combined Authority (£25million).

About Perry Barr Regeneration

This development is part of a £500 million+ investment in Perry Barr led by Birmingham City Council. The Perry Barr regeneration programme will see the delivery of new homes, improvements to public transport, walking and cycling routes, new community facilities and lively public spaces to make it the most well-connected area in the region.

About WMCA

The West Midlands Combined Authority is made up of 18 local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships working together to move powers from Whitehall to the West Midlands.

About GBSLEP

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership Limited (GBSLEP) is a partnership of business, public sector and further and higher education leaders. Its mission is to drive inclusive economic growth across the city-region, creating jobs and improving the quality of life for everyone.

Since 2010, the government has awarded GBSLEP £433 million to invest in a range of projects to grow the local economy. These include transport infrastructure, skills development, business support, innovation, and cultural and creative assets. The GBSLEP Growth Hub provides direct business support and has helped over businesses to help realise their growth potential.