Birmingham Wheels Park
Birmingham Wheels Park, originally known as Wheels Adventure Park, was a wheeled-sports park in Adderley Road South, Bordesley Green, Birmingham. Opened in 1963, it offered a short-track oval motor racing circuit, an MSA‑approved kart circuit, drifting arenas, an off‑road rally stage, and an outdoor speed-skating arena.
The park was run by a charitable company and controlled by Birmingham City Council. It has since closed and was sold to Birmingham City Football Club to make way for a new 62,000-seat stadium as part of a wider Birmingham Sports Quarter development. The site was formerly operated by the West Midlands Probation Service.
Birmingham Brummies speedway team raced at Wheels Park in 1985 and 1986 after Perry Barr Stadium closed, with their last home fixture on 26 September 1986. The stock-car arena is a 330‑metre oval with spectator stand around two corners; it originally had a cinder surface and was later resurfaced with tarmac after 1986.
Racing on the oval was run by Incarace until 2019. In 2006, plans for a City of Birmingham Stadium raised questions about the park’s future, but those plans changed as government decisions evolved. A government inspector in 2017 confirmed that the council must allow the sporting facilities to continue, either relocated or built within regeneration plans. The council later secured about £15 million to level the land for housing and related development, and the park closed in October 2021.
On 9 April 2024, Birmingham City announced it had acquired Wheels Park to help create a new Sports Quarter, including a state‑of‑the‑art stadium and training facilities for the city’s teams. The project is expected to create more than 3,000 local jobs, with the stadium aimed to be completed by August 2029 at an estimated cost of £2–3 billion. It is hoped to host future international events such as the Euros and NFL matches.
Drifting began at the venue in 2006, helping popularize the sport in the UK. In 2012, Drift Allstars held a major event there, and the site later hosted Drift Academy activities. After a period of change, Learn2drift Ltd took over drift training on site in 2020, including programs for disabled drivers. In 2021, a driver trained at Wheels Park earned a Pro2 British drift license at age 13.
The park also housed a 970‑metre international kart circuit where Nigel Mansell began his racing career, with junior and practice circuits and regular events at the Grand Prix Karting center. The short‑circuit oval hosted stock car races on Saturday evenings, including BRISCA Formula 1 and Formula 2 rounds. The site has hosted filming shoots over the years and features six arenas in total.
The Wheels Park has been a landmark for local sport and community groups, known for its diverse wheeled activities and for supporting athletes, families, and disabled participants.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:14 (CET).