The Magic City Classic!!! (hotels, neighborhoods, pros and cons)

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Tourian

I admit I was nervous at first. I went with some coworkers and there was only one other black guy with me among us. Once we sat down the people around us that werent with us would ask us who our favorite driver was, who we wanted to win, how we were doing etc etc. They kept wanting to check in on us to make sure we were having a good time.

I think he and I made it through about a quarter of the race before the heat and the monotony got to us and we went and watched the rest of it in the hospitality tent our company provided.

I like racing but im not a big fan of NAscar. I just cant sit in those little buckets they call seats and stand up and scream every time every lap when those cars come around 600 times. Press box - Yeah.

I'm with you on the monotony thing. I know there's some nuance I'm missing, but to me it's 500 miles of left-hand turns. I worked on a marketing team that sponsored a race car, so I went to several races. Mercifully, I spent those times in the press box.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Tourian

so many people think college football and the south in general (not saying you bluebeard) are too low brow to be worthy entertainment or even looking in to. Heck, ive even been to 'Dega once.

I have nothing against football. I just don't care much about it.

I grew up with NASCAR, sprint cars, drags, super bike races, classic car shows, etc (believe it or not, NASCAR races are absolutely packed there). I know dega is well-known and all, but I definitely would prefer the Bay Area tracks (Sears Point/Sonoma for NASCAR, Laguna Seca for others) because they're not oval/circle tracks.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

I'm with you on the monotony thing. I know there's some nuance I'm missing, but to me it's 500 miles of left-hand turns.

Yes that's exactly what I'm talking about. At Sears Point you can walk around to different turns and places.

[bluebeard]

This is tangential to the OP, but relevant to the nascar discussion:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/sp...er=rss&emc=rss

[raj kapoor]

Give me Barber's any day over 'dega. (any type of racing)

But I don't mean to argue with a hundred and fifty thousand people over this.

raj

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by PortCity

I attended AAMU and the stadium is too small and I don't think Huntsville could host it . The area near the stadium could not support the tail gating mob. Montgomery on the other hand could be a host but B- ham has more to offer though so why change?

I attend the AAMU and the area around the stadium and A&M can support a lot of that crowd. Montgomery won't because ASU has no land surrounding it. Also, both schools' stadium are similar sizes.

[mcalumni01]

63,113 attend the game, 3rd highest total since 2008 with another 30-35K outside the stadium tailgating. this year was the last game under the old contract, renewed for another 5 years this year and more than likely to be extend to 2025 after that from reports. so it's not going anywhere anytime soon. it's the biggest HBCU football game/week in the country.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by mcalumni01

63,113 attend the game, 3rd highest total since 2008 with another 30-35K outside the stadium tailgating. this year was the last game under the old contract, renewed for another 5 years this year and more than likely to be extend to 2025 after that from reports. so it's not going anywhere anytime soon. it's the biggest HBCU football game/week in the country.

So basically you had around 100,000 people in and around Legion Field, that is great. Birmingham needs a new facility, or make major renovations to Legion Field to potentially make this event even bigger than what it already is.

[mcalumni01]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

So basically you had around 100,000 people in and around Legion Field, that is great. Birmingham needs a new facility, or make major renovations to Legion Field to potentially make this event even bigger than what it already is.

Agree. not to say that with an event like that, not to sound in anyway, but the people that attends the game on Saturday and camp out throughout the week are not complaining that much about legion field or the neighborhood it sits in, Smithfield. I pretty sure If people could park in a parking lot surrounding the stadium and not in people yards or in front of their houses, it would a lot better. But imagine with a brand new facility that holds 70K plus and also can expand upwards of 15-20K more would make half the people on the outside come in. I mean it's elbow to elbow, camper to camper on the outside of the stadium, people just walking around and tailgating. but a new facility in a more comfortable area, wow!

DUE THE MULTI-FACILITY NOW!!!!!

[Tourian]

See I think the opposite. Refurb Legion field. Make it so it holds around 85k. Put in luxury boxes. Get another title sponsor to replace BBVA Compass for the bowl game. Let UAB build a cozy little 35k horseshoe on the southside to play in. Use LF for the classic, the Bowl and try to get every third Iron Bowl.

build convention center for conventions, rodeos, circus, monster truck rallys, gun shows, concerts, rasslin', etc...