Curious about Birmingham Dome (layoffs, high school, taxes)

[Southernbill]

High all I was just curious about the Birmingham domed stadium project, whats the status of it. How will it affect Birmingham's future. Are you for or against it.

[cpg35223]

I'm actually for it, as long as it can serve multiple uses and is tied in with the convention biz. Birmingham's convention center is coming up on 40 years old now. That means it's getting long in the tooth and needs an upgrade badly.

Birmingham has actually shown an ability to attract quality athletic events, from the Davis Cup to World Cup qualifying rounds to NCAA basketball tournaments. However, for it to do even better, it needs to have a facility that's of quality, and Legion Field just isn't cutting it. The place is falling down.

Now, this is where you hear the usual, "It will cost too much" arguments. To me, it costs us far more by not building the facility in terms of lost revenue and lost business. If you build a $400 million dome, and amortize the cost over 30 years, you're looking at total expenditures of $24-$26 million annually. My guess is that our lodging taxes from additional events would more than cover that. Events such as:

Alabama high school football/basketball playoffs
UAB games
Exhibition Pro football/basketball games
Bowl games (Right now the Birmingham Bowl alone produces $10 million in economic impact)
Tournaments (SEC and NCAA basketball)
Bass Masters (Laugh all you want, but it's a huge pull)
Events
Conventions

And the list goes on and on. To me, it's simply a matter of investment.

[cpg35223]

As a matter of fact, check out this new article in the BBJ. Birmingham is currently 84th among world wide venues. Why not invest to give us even more prominence?


BJCC ranks 84th among worldwide venues | Birmingham Business Journal

[Southernbill]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

As a matter of fact, check out this new article in the BBJ. Birmingham is currently 84th among world wide venues. Why not invest to give us even more prominence?


BJCC ranks 84th among worldwide venues | Birmingham Business Journal

Thanks for the info.

[Tourian]

I mainly hear a lot of negative thoughts about because people can only think about football, but what people don't realize is that so many other conventions and events can use the facilities like cpg has said. I had also heard that the BJCC lost a few big shows to other cities like a gun, boat or RV or outdoor show because the facilities just aren't up to snuff.