Alexander Stadium is a track and field athletics stadium in Perry Park, Birmingham, England. It hosted the athletics and opening/closing ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Other events held there include the annual British Grand Prix between 2011 and 2019 and in 2022, the Amateur Athletics Association Championships, 1998 Disability World Athletics Championships, and English Schools' Athletics Championships. The Stadium will also host the Midlands Hurricanes rugby league team from 2023 onwards. Original construction began in 1975 and the stadium opened in 1976. It is owned and operated by Birmingham City Council. Birchfield Harriers use it as their home stadium, replacing their former home at Alexander Sports Ground. The stadium underwent a renovation between 2019 and 2022, to prepare it for hosting the Commonwealth Games. Structure The stadium has a nine-lane synthetic surface track with a blue surface. Before redevelopment, there were 7,000 covered seats in three separate stands called Main, Knowles (after Dick Knowles) and Nelson (after Doris Nelson Neal OBE), and a 5,000-seater stand on the rear straight. Diamond League Since 2011 Alexander Stadium has hosted the prestigious world athletics Diamond League tour until 2019 ahead of the redevelopment. Birmingham held the 2nd series of the 2022 tour on May 21, 2022. Music events The stadium has held many music events, including a one-day festival called Party in the Park run by BRMB (now Free Radio Birmingham) radio that featured acts including Nelly Furtado, Westlife, Natasha Bedingfield, Blue, Sugababes, Debbie McGee, Girls Aloud and The Calling. The event was later moved to Cannon Hill Park where it was in a more central part of the city and so made it easier for people from south Birmingham to attend. Expansion 2011 In 2011 Alexander Stadium underwent a £12.5 million expansion and refurbishment, including the building of a 5,000-seater stand opposite the current main stand. This took the capacity to 12,700. The new stand has also become home to the offices of UK Athletics. The stand was completed in June 2011, in time to host the Diamond League British Grand Prix in July 2011. 2017–present In June 2017, during the preparation of the Birmingham bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Birmingham bid committee proposed to renovate Alexander Stadium and use it for hosting the athletics and ceremonies of the Games. On 11 April 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that £70 million (approx. USD $90 million) of investment