The National Exhibition Centre is set to begin a new chapter as an emergency coronavirus hospital from this weekend.
It is expected the facility in Solihull will initially have 124 beds available with new bed space in the Nightingale Hospital to be created as needed, up to a capacity of 4,500 beds.
It comes as there is continuing concern about the high rate of covid-19 coronavirus infections in the Midlands with Sunday's figures showing 6,913 confirmed cases in the Midlands, higher than in any regions outside of London.
The NEC is usually used to host thousands of major leisure, consumer and business conferences and events every year such as Crufts, The Clothes Show and The Cycle Show.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said over the weekend that he had been in talks with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street about the virus.
Mr Street said: "Our hospitals are currently coping with demand and the region's hospitals trusts and their staff deserve enormous praise for managing the situation this far.
"However, it is clear the Midlands is second on the curve behind London and, as the number of cases continues to rise, we will need extra capacity to help us tackle the virus.
"We are expecting this need to come sooner rather than later which is why the new Nightingale hospital at the NEC is scheduled to open this weekend."
The Nightingale Hospital at the NEC is due to open on Saturday but this could be moved forward to Friday.
The facility is being overseen by Dr David Rosser, chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs a number of hospitals in Birmingham and Solihull.
An NHS Nightingale hospital has also been created at the Excel Centre in London with others planned in Manchester, Harrogate and Bristol.
A coronavirus testing centre has also opened at Edgbaston cricket ground.
