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Birmingham can't support pro sports- look at Memphis and the Grizzlies NBA ! they hardly fill the stadium but the locals are still bush league and are stuck in the mindset of Memphis State, er, "University Memphis" Tiger Basket ball ala "Penny Hardaway" legacy. Both cities are minor league cities.....(successful) PRO sports in bham ? are you kidding me ? laughable
Location: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, and Raleigh
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Originally Posted by Hahff-tck
Birmingham can't support pro sports- look at Memphis and the Grizzlies NBA ! they hardly fill the stadium but the locals are still bush league and are stuck in the mindset of Memphis State, er, "University Memphis" Tiger Basket ball ala "Penny Hardaway" legacy. Both cities are minor league cities.....(successful) PRO sports in bham ? are you kidding me ? laughable
Uh, there is a major difference between Birmingham and Memphis. Birmingham's DMA has nearly
50,000 more households than the Memphis DMA. Memphis has market area spanning 4 states and most counties there are extremely rural in those other states. Whereas, Birmingham's market area is focused exclusively on 18 counties in Alabama, and nearly half of them are considered apart of the metropolitan areas of either Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, or Anniston/Oxford. I could go on and on, but Memphis should have never landed a NBA franchise because they even knew their market wasn't even equipped to support on in the first place.
Uh, there is a major difference between Birmingham and Memphis. Birmingham's DMA has nearly
50,000 more households than the Memphis DMA. Memphis has market area spanning 4 states and most counties there are extremely rural in those other states. Whereas, Birmingham's market area is focused exclusively on 18 counties in Alabama, and nearly half of them are considered apart of the metropolitan areas of either Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, or Anniston/Oxford. I could go on and on, but Memphis should have never landed a NBA franchise because they even knew their market wasn't even equipped to support on in the first place.
I lived and worked in Birmingham about 30 years ago and since then have been involved in NBA coverage with a number of sports publications. The idea of the NBA in Birmingham isn't really farfetched if you look at some of the smaller metro areas in the league. The franchise in Oklahoma City has been wildly successful and the one in Salt Lake City has done well over the years. Milwaukee has supported an NBA team for 45 years and the metro population isn't that much larger than Birmingham's.
On the other hand, with the sale of the Sacramento franchise last year, there aren't any immediate candidates for relocation and the league doesn't seem interested in expanding at this point. And when a franchise does become available, Seattle is almost certainly first in line after its team bolted for Oklahoma City and it missed out on the Kings.
Not really knowing what the situation is now in Birmingham (aside from the fact that the area has grown steadily), the main questions I'd ask are the following:
Is there a local person or group willing/able to pay dearly for a franchise? The group that kept the Kings in Sacramento paid $534 million -- and that was for just 65 percent ownership of the franchise.
What's the arena situation? The Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center was very nice and certainly would've been fine for an NBA team when I lived there, but a typical NBA arena now seats 18,000-20,000 and is equipped with luxury boxes, club seats, HD scoreboards, etc. Can the city/county afford upgrades if they are needed, or even a new arena?
Last but definitely not least, is the market capable of supporting the team? Are people willing to pay $50 per game and up for 41 home games, not counting playoffs? Could Birmingham draw more than 15,000 fans per game like a typical NBA team does? And in the NBA's eyes, would the tepid support for the NBA team 140 miles to the east in Atlanta hurt a Birmingham bid?
It seems like a long shot (no pun intended). But if you told me 10 years ago that Oklahoma City would have one of the NBA's strongest franchises in 2014, I'd have given you a funny look.
this is a ridiculous discussion. Birmingham getting an NBA team is about as likely as tupelo, MS being named the new headquarters of Goldman Sachs.
However many people you consider to be in Birmingham's metro area, it's not very dense. So comparing it's metro area to a city like Milwaukee is silly. Milwaukee has 600k people in the city itself. How far away from Birmingham itself do you have to go for 600k people to be in it?
Additionally, middle class and especially upper middle class(which is mostly white) people make up the crowd at most nba games. This group of people in Birmingham aren't big nba basketball fans. The same group of people in a place like Milwaukee(white upper middle class) have a history of caring more about the nba. Hell even in Atlanta(a metro area that obviously dwarfs Birmingham), they struggle to bring enough of this crowd out. And let's not forget that Atlanta isn't 5 hours away- the small number of this crowd in the bham metro area that does crave nba basketball several times a year can always head down I-20 to get their fix.
Someone else mentioned the arena issue. You'd have to build a completely new arena at a cost of several hundred million. Good luck financing that. The idea that current facilities in bham can be simply remodeled a bit is laughable. Beyond laughable.
Hell look at the nba minor league in place, the nba d league. Several of the cities there are much more feasible options. A more reasonable question would be- could Birmingham bring a d league team to town? The answer is probably no.
Birmingham is a minor league sports city at best. And compared to other minor league sports cities of similar size, it's not a particularly good one.
I love how this topic brings such hate and vitriol from people who act like they have a vested interest in the NBA not coming here. Where can I go to short some Birmingham NBA team stock? Or is it on the board in Vegas? Im not as emotionally invested and I live here. So obviously some of you people must have money on the line they way you froth over it.
Some facts that wont go away no matter how you spin: Our TV market is bigger then some current NBA teams and they are all Alabamians as jero pointed out. That goes a long way in determining a loyal fanbase that can identify with the home team. There are over 600k people in Jefferson county alone so no one gives a flip about our density.
Our city has reversed a decades long trend of decline and has a renewed since of civic pride particularly at its core. Which means young and old (white) people with money moving downtown.
Our mayor is going to announce a plan to replace our largest sporting venue later this year. A multi purpose facility has been on the table for years.
Whether that means a possible shot at an NBA franchise remains to be seen. I wont be disapointed either way because the city is still moving forward and something like that could be revisited later. Regardless it is smart money to bet ON Birmingham rather then against it these days.
I love how this topic brings such hate and vitriol from people who act like they have a vested interest in the NBA not coming here. Where can I go to short some Birmingham NBA team stock? Or is it on the board in Vegas? Im not as emotionally invested and I live here. So obviously some of you people must have money on the line they way you froth over it.
Some facts that wont go away no matter how you spin: Our TV market is bigger then some current NBA teams and they are all Alabamians as jero pointed out. That goes a long way in determining a loyal fanbase that can identify with the home team. There are over 600k people in Jefferson county alone so no one gives a flip about our density.
Our city has reversed a decades long trend of decline and has a renewed since of civic pride particularly at its core. Which means young and old (white) people with money moving downtown.
Our mayor is going to announce a plan to replace our largest sporting venue later this year. A multi purpose facility has been on the table for years.
Whether that means a possible shot at an NBA franchise remains to be seen. I wont be disapointed either way because the city is still moving forward and something like that could be revisited later. Regardless it is smart money to bet ON Birmingham rather then against it these days.
lmao....I have no vested interest in Birmingham getting or not getting an nba team. It would be cool if it happened I suppose. It would also be cool if I married Jessica alba or won powerball. Neither have any chance of happening.
If Birmingham wants pro basketball, the D league *may* be feasible. Maybe. But look at the franchises in the d league. Most are in cities that don't have an nba team. Many have larger populations than Birmingham and then others have a long history of supporting basketball. If Birmingham isn't even a great position to make a bid for a d league team, why in the world anyone would think they are somehow a contender for an nba team is absurd.
Why don't you google this issue and see what cities have been discussed over time as possible nba destinations. You'll see the same names- St Louis, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and of course Seattle. You can find dozens of such national sources/articles speculating on those cities. You wont find the same for Birmingham....because the idea is just not realistic in any way. When I google the idea I get a few articles about the nba in Birmingham.....from Birmingham based writers lmao.
Honestly, how in the world would Birmingham be a better place for an nba team than say....Kansas City? They have a much larger metro area. They have a very nice expensive arena with all the bells and whistles already. They have more passion for basketball in the area. They have the OKC model to piggyback off. Frankly, the idea that Birmingham would get a franchise above Kansas city is delusional.
There are literally maybe 8 cities that would be in a mix for any nba team in the next 10-15 years. Obviously most of these 8 won't get one. Best guess would be seattle and maybe 2 others in franchises moving. But Birmingham isn't one of these 8 or so. Birmingham isn't even one of the next 8(that aren't in the mix). Hell Birmingham probably isn't even one of the next 8...or the next 8 after that. There are probably literally 25-30 cities who have a more realistic chance than bham to get an nba franchise.
a quick list of cities that would clearly be better positioned for an nba franchise than Birmingham: Seattle, Kansas City, Vancouver, San Diego, Anahiem, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Tampa Bay, Nashville, Jacksonville, San Jose, Cincinati, Montreal, Columbus, Louisville, Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach
that's just off the top of my head. Im sure Im missing some. Not to mention there are probably 25 or so other cities which would be just as well positioned(or perhaps slightly moreso) than Birmingham. Why would Albuquerque, for example, be less likely to get a team than Birmingham? Hell, by any reasonable objective measures Albuquerque would be much better positioned than Birmingham for an nba franchise. And that's not even one of the above 20 or so cities I listed.
Honestly, how in the world would Birmingham be a better place for an nba team than say....Kansas City? They have a much larger metro area. They have a very nice expensive arena with all the bells and whistles already. They have more passion for basketball in the area. They have the OKC model to piggyback off. Frankly, the idea that Birmingham would get a franchise above Kansas city is delusional.
There are literally maybe 8 cities that would be in a mix for any nba team in the next 10-15 years. Obviously most of these 8 won't get one. Best guess would be seattle and maybe 2 others in franchises moving. But Birmingham isn't one of these 8 or so. Birmingham isn't even one of the next 8(that aren't in the mix). Hell Birmingham probably isn't even one of the next 8...or the next 8 after that. There are probably literally 25-30 cities who have a more realistic chance than bham to get an nba franchise.
Size doesn't matter in this case. Why did OKC get a team instead of Kansas City, St. Louis, and the 25-30 other cities. How do you measure basketball passion?
Frankly, you seem a wee bit delusional.
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