Now that the BJCC has officially been chosen as the location for the future Birmingham Dome, Mayor Langford has announced his proposed funding plans.

“The plan presented to the board includes having $22 million from the city and $14 million in taxes and fees from the BJCC to pay for the multi-purpose facility by 2010.

Bond payments would be required for about 30 years.

Langford said he is scheduled to discuss the plan with the City Council on Saturday. The City Council could vote on the funding plan in two weeks, he said.

A timeline calls for the design of the facility to begin in January, with the bid process beginning in August 2010, and bonds being issued by the BJCC in November 2010.

The facility, which BJCC officials estimate will cost about $500 million, would be completed by January 2013.”

Hopefully, this ball will continue to roll toward Birmingham growth and development. Whatever you currently think of the dome plan, you have to admit that this part of downtown was in some desperate need of funds to improve the area and make it more attractive to future events. Langford also mentioned that, along with the dome, he had plans for repaving the streets of downtown and implementing his trolley car system.

All things being equal, I would much rather have the dome here in 2013 than the Olympics in 2020.

link - Al.com

“Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford requested a study earlier this year to choose the best site among the BJCC, land near the Birmingham Race Course off John Rogers Drive and Legion Field. The Birmingham Business Leadership Group recommended the BJCC after Langford advised them to seek the best location as if they were looking for a site for their own business.”

This is exciting news for a few reasons. First, this is the location that everyone, other than Mayor Langford, knew was the best choice for the city. A dome in the heart of downtown will revitalize the area much more than a dome that is halfway to Trussville. Secondly, now that the study has been performed and completed, maybe we can go ahead and actually start the design and construction. There has been plenty of ‘Dome talk’ for the past 15 years. Enough is enough; let’s get down to business.

link - Birmingham Business Journal

Homewood Park’s skateboarding area is being dismantled today as the result of a Park and Recreation meeting held last night. According to some, the skate park had been a place of ill-repute for some time now, attracting kids that reportedly had fights and sprayed graffiti around the city. By this move, city officials hope to remove the unwanted element from the upper-class suburban park and make the area more family friendly. It remains to be seen, however, if actions such as these have any affect on the community they are trying to preserve. Some are predicting an increase in skateboarders moving to more public places in a city already short of appropriate places to skate as it is.

Even more curious is why places home to much more serious offences, namely Banana Joe’s, remain open while city parks are now being targeted as crime hotspots. Some citizens also complain about not having enough activities and places for young people to hang out while at the same time wanting these very same places shut down. It seems clear that the kids of today need somewhere to go as long as it isn’t in our own back yard.

link - ABC33/40 (via - BhamLinks.com)

The Birmingham City Council today delayed voting on paying Alabama Sports Festival $250,000 to implement a plan to bring the 2020 Summer Olympics to the city, with council members saying they needed details.

When I first heard of these plans I laughed. Then I got excited. Our mayor certainly has a great vision for this city and is looking well into the future. I really like plans that involve growing Birmingham into a destination town. I also really like Mayor Langford’s appetite for progress.

“Go Big or Go Home”, eh Larry?

However, I’m afraid even as a Birmingham progressive, that this plan may be just a tad too far reaching. I mean, it’s a great dream; it’s just a very very expensive dream that won’t provide the return that we are looking for. Unless, of course, Mayor Langford succeeds and we wind up hosting the world here in Bham in 2020.

Otherwise, let’s start with a dome and a decent NCAA bowl game.

link - al.com

This transition will drastically affect the overall magnitude of this bowl and its effect on Birmingham. Having any SEC team grace Legion Field with its presence is much more welcome, in this author’s opinion, than any possible team in the C-USA. This move makes so much sense that it is surprising that it wasn’t this way from the start.

• The SEC is headquartered here in Birmingham.
• Birmingham is practically the physical epicenter of the entire SEC.
• Birmingham was the traditional home of both the Iron Bowl and the SEC championship.
• With the amount of SEC fans in Birmingham, the bowl game should see a drastic increase in attendance and support.
• I will actually watch/attend this year.

link - PapaJohns.com Bowl (wikipedia)

So, as a service for the downtown residents and workers I threw together a Google Maps version of the downtown Dart bus routes. Save your money, save your environment and try Birmingham’s version of a mass transit system.

Downtown Dart Bus Routes

Is this a positive step for the city? I think so. Even though it was sad to see the city lose another establishment there is no use of letting the prime real estate remain wasted. Much like the Parliament House, which was razed earlier this year, Birmingham seems to be trying to regain some of its lost ground. Hopefully by taking steps like this we can create our very own “stimulus package” for the area’s waning economy.

As I have been trying to listen to the voice of the city on radio shows, local newscasts and various blogs and forums, it seems that the majority of people here genuinely do NOT want Birmingham to grow or even survive. Each time the city is given an opportunity to raise our status in the nation’s eyes it seems that we fall over our own feet in an attempt to make a magically mediocre experience for all those involved.

For the NCAA tournament, Birmingham was only one of two cities that didn’t sell out their tickets. Why? Perhaps it is because we had insufficient lodgings around the BJCC, insufficient restaurants and attractions around the BJCC, and insufficient publicity for the entire event. I feel like I’m a reasonably plugged in guy as far as Birmingham media goes and do you know the number of commercials I saw/heard advertising the tournament in our town? Zero. In the weeks after the tournament it has been rumored that this was our last shot at hosting the tournament. According to the radio stories I heard, the NCAA “appreciates the work the city has done but feel that it’s time to give other cities a chance to host”. That means “Bye bye NCAA tournament.” It’s kind of like “Bye bye SEC championship”, “Bye bye XFL, USFL, and SteelDogs”.

If we are offered a chance to host an event or institution (SixFlags, International Airport, etc) we need to take advantage of the situation and not foul it up. The powers-that-be who want to keep Birmingham a small town and let all the money and jobs and sporting events move to Atlanta or Nashville need to wake up. We can’t keep Birmingham “the way it was” by burying our heads in the sand. If we do, then even what we have will be gone before long.

-Johnny Birmingham 

This was a submitted editorial and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of BirminghamDome.com. To submit an editorial for publishing please send it to our email address.

” ‘With the Papajohns.com Bowl being the highest-rated event on ESPN2 during the month of December for two consecutive years, we think continued support of the bowl makes great business sense for us as we continue to strengthen our leadership position in online ordering and our connection with college football fans,’ said Chris Steinberg, the senior vice president in charge of communications at Papa John’s.”

Hopefully, this good news will continue with the renewal of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament being hosted here as well. Birmingham is a great place for spectator sports, at least for one-off events. The question is: “Can we be a regular season city?” If the powers that be can grow support and belief that we ARE such a city then surely a dome will have no problem. However, the answer to this important question is yet to be found.

source Al.com

The All American Football League is the newest concept in a long line of professional sports leagues to come to Birmingham. Building on the deep traditions of college football here in Alabama, the AAFL is hoping to attract Alabama and Auburn fans out to games to see some familiar faces. Former in state college football stars that were unable to go to the NFL have found a home in the new league. Instead of disappearing into oblivion, these players are giving it one last shot with a fan base that’s already familiar with their names. Alabama alumni like Reggie Myles, Marcus Spencer and Alonzo Ephraim are teaming up with the likes of Tre Smith and Cody Bliss from Auburn to form the unfortunately named Team Alabama (whose colors are even more unfortunately red and white).

You may not know it, but amongst the Birmingham sports scene, the AAFL has been getting a great deal of press. The powers that be are really doing their best to make sure this isn’t another XFL, WFL, or *FL failure. Their games will be played at the illustrious Legion Field until either A) the league collapses due to lack of fan support, or B) the Birmingham Dome is built to house the team permanently. Obviously, I hope for the latter, as this league actually shows some creativity on the part of the management. Many fans would love to see Alabama college heroes battle the likes of Chris Leak and the Florida team. Also, unlike previous failed leagues, those in charge seem to really be doing things the right way. They are starting small by building teams in only a few cities. But eventually they plan to build teams around every major NCAA school.

At the very least, this team could supplement the ticket sales for the future dome when UAB isn’t playing.

source - Team Alabama