Star comment: Come on Brum, play the Game
The Black Country has often viewed Birmingham's dominance in the wider West Midlands with suspicion, sometimes verging on resentment, especially when it comes to the investment and the attention it receives.
As Britain's second biggest city, Brum is a more glamorous proposition to the outside world than the Black Country.
However, we live in an era of the much-vaunted West Midlands Combined Authority and have the region's first ever elected mayor.
Just Sandwell appears to be getting something out of this huge inward investment with a new swimming and diving pool worth around £24m.
May we respectfully suggest to the Birmingham bid authors that the Black Country has much more to offer.
We have Wolves' Molineux stadium and facilities, the Banks's Stadium in Walsall, Aldersley athletics complex, the Hawthorns, as well as the less obvious venues such as Dudley Castle, Walsall Arboretum, and Sandwell Valley Park which could all be suitable hosts for some events in the bid.
Out of all seven areas that make up the West Midlands, Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, and to a small degree Sandwell, all get a share of the pie.
The commercial and prestige benefits in hosting Commonwealth Games events should certainly have been extended to Birmingham's Black Country neighbours.
Mayor Andy Street says the whole of the region will benefit and is talking of a Commonwealth business expo to promote investment and jobs.
May we suggest that this expo is staged somewhere in the Black Country?
Surely the underlying message to the Commonwealth countries should not be all about Birmingham but the wider West Midlands and the Black Country too.
One of Andy Street's promises when he became mayor was to speak for the entire West Midlands region.
We wish Birmingham's 2022 bid every success for all the benefits it will bring, but we urge those behind the campaign to give the Black Country its fair share.
We deserve not just the bronze of silver prize, but Commonwealth gold.
