This is the first in a series of reports examining the feasibility of a domed multi-purpose facility for downtown Birmingham.
To dome or not to dome? That is the question Birmingham has grappled with for better than a decade now. Whether you think it’s an essential component to our long-term viability or a pie-in-the-sky idea, the time has come to make a call on it one way or the other: Should a 65,000 seat domed stadium facility be built in downtown Birmingham?
Over the next few weeks, Upon Further Review will present the pitches of both dome proponents and detractors in hopes that you the reader will finally be informed enough to choose one camp or another. This week, I sat down with Jack Fields, the executive director of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and a strong proponent of the domed facility.
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Birmingham Weekly: Let’s start with the obvious question. Are you in favor of a multi-purpose facility being built in downtown Birmingham?
Jack Fields: “That’s the key phrase – ‘multi-purpose facility.’ Yes, as long it is attached to the BJCC.”
Why do we need a facility like this?
“Many times, we don’t have the space to accommodate both a convention and a consumer show at the same time. That’s we’re the “multi-purpose” comes in. If we had that facility connected to us and we the additional 160,000 square feet of flat floor space, then we could handle a large consumer show and at the same time be setting up for an exhibition or consumer show in one of the spaces. Right now, if we have a consumer show that’s taking up our spaces, then we don’t have room for the exhibitions that would be a part of a convention.
“Part of our mission statement here is to bring in as many people as we can and be an economic generator. How we do that is by providing the facilities that would draw people into Birmingham. They would spend the night in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and buy gas and all that goes along with traveling. The key is to be able to hold multiple events on our exhibition floors simultaneously and, in order to do that, I need space availability. The bottom line is: If you don’t have the space, you’re not a player.
“As far as the arena is concerned, for some types of events, you need to be able to seat about 19,000 to 20,000. Right now, we are seating in the lower 16,000 to 17,000 range. For instance, the SEC basketball championship, we had that here for its first three years. I met with {SEC Commissioner] Mike Slive a number of times and it’s very evident that we will not get it back because we just can’t provide enough seats. The indication has been that if we had a facility that seated in the high 20,000s, then we’d be a player for that. Right now, we are confined to the first round list of the NCAA Tournament. We won’t host a regional anymore because of lack of seats.”
What role would the BJCC take in operating such a facility?
“From our perspective, the new facility would just be an additional component of what we have now. Just like we have the arena, the concert hall, the theatre, the exhibition halls, the meeting rooms, the hotel, the medical forum, the parking facilities – this would just be another component of that. It would be managed by the BJCC staff that’s already in existence here.”
Now, I know the key phrase is “multi-purpose”, but this is essentially a football stadium we are building, right?
“The ultimate use of it would be as a major stadium, whether it would be for football, soccer, band competitions or motocross. But you still have certain events where there will be 50,000 to 60,000 in attendance that’s not just for football. It takes a varied use that would allow it draw in various segments of the population.
“You say ‘Hey, we don’t have a football team, then why are we building a football stadium?’ Well, we have UAB, which gives us about five games a year. We have the premier historical black college football game in the United States, the Magic City Classic. We have the SWAC Conference Championship. We have the PapaJohns.com Bowl. So we have an eight-game season of college football that would be here. If we look back, that attendance varies from 20,000 to roughly 60,000. So certainly there is a football grouping that would utilize the space.
“Beyond that, it would allow us to pursue soccer games and allow us to expand our motocross and monster truck series. Outside of football, the biggest attended event at the Georgia Dome is motocross. They put 60,000 people in there. Now, we put 29,000 in the BJCC Arena, but we had to do that over three shows in January. Those are the types of events that would require large-scale seating.”
Is UAB on board?
“We have continued to have dialogue with UAB, and when we get to the point of designing, then UAB will certainly have a voice at the table.”
One reason I think people are reluctant to support this project is because we’ve only seen one option: the 65,000-seat facility. Have you explored any other alternatives, like, say, a smaller dome or a convention center with a new arena?
“We’ve looked at a 200,000 square-foot exhibition hall, but then that doesn’t help us in our arena situation. If we went out and built a new arena in the 20,000 to 22,000-seat range, those are running almost $300 million. If we went out and built 200,000 square feet of convention space and meeting rooms, then we’re looking at roughly $160 million. So just to accommodate those two needs that we have, we’re already at the cost of the multi-purpose facility and you’re still sitting out there with old Legion Field. So the best bang for our buck, from a community standpoint and to fulfill those three needs is to have a very functional multi-purpose facility that would be able to accommodate 60,000 for the Magic City Classic or 28,000 for the SEC basketball championship. Or we could have a boat show going on in one space and a convention going on in the other. So that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”
Another common argument we hear against the dome is that it’s too expensive, especially considering the current economic environment. How do you rebut that?
“This is a heck of a competitive business we’re in. There are cities that are doing everything they possibly can to attract more conventions, more shows. ‘Come to our town, spend your money in our town.’ So, we are in a very competitive industry. It’s just that ours is on a much broader scale; we’re not competing with the guy across the street, we’re competing with some of the other cities in our state, as well as across the country. Other cities in Alabama have upgraded their facilities, and although they don’t have the size that we do, we might not be the automatic choice anymore for events in this state.
“Then we have to fight for the regional business and the national business. In order to continue to be competitive, in order to draw in those people that will bring economic stimulus to the area, then you’ve got to have the space availability. We need the flat floor space, we need the space above what we already have in the arena and we need to replace what we have at Legion Field. We can get all three in one building. You have all of that with one operating cost, which is crucially important. And that operating cost is merged into our already existing complex. We would just operate it as we do the rest of the complex we have, and it will work and work nicely. It would give us such an additional marketing opportunity that really is somewhat limited at times now because of the space and size that we have right now.”
Do you think Birmingham’s future as a viable, competitive metropolitan area depends on this facility being built?
“It does, but it can’t be built and stand there alone. It has to be connected to [the BJCC] and also we’ve got to have two supporting elements: hotel rooms and entertainment.”
How soon do we need it?
“We need it now. Once you get off of people’s radar, it’s very hard to get back on. Having a facility of this nature makes a statement that we are preparing for the future and our preparation is something that’s going to be pretty darn nice.”
To dome or not to dome? That is the question Birmingham has grappled with for better than a decade now. Whether you think it’s an essential component to our long-term viability or a pie-in-the-sky idea, the time has come to make a call on it one way or the other: Should a 65,000 seat domed stadium facility be built in downtown Birmingham?
Over the next few weeks, Upon Further Review will present the pitches of both dome proponents and detractors in hopes that you the reader will finally be informed enough to choose one camp or another. This week, I sat down with Jack Fields, the executive director of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and a strong proponent of the domed facility.
***
Birmingham Weekly: Let’s start with the obvious question. Are you in favor of a multi-purpose facility being built in downtown Birmingham?
Jack Fields: “That’s the key phrase – ‘multi-purpose facility.’ Yes, as long it is attached to the BJCC.”
Why do we need a facility like this?
“Many times, we don’t have the space to accommodate both a convention and a consumer show at the same time. That’s we’re the “multi-purpose” comes in. If we had that facility connected to us and we the additional 160,000 square feet of flat floor space, then we could handle a large consumer show and at the same time be setting up for an exhibition or consumer show in one of the spaces. Right now, if we have a consumer show that’s taking up our spaces, then we don’t have room for the exhibitions that would be a part of a convention.
“Part of our mission statement here is to bring in as many people as we can and be an economic generator. How we do that is by providing the facilities that would draw people into Birmingham. They would spend the night in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and buy gas and all that goes along with traveling. The key is to be able to hold multiple events on our exhibition floors simultaneously and, in order to do that, I need space availability. The bottom line is: If you don’t have the space, you’re not a player.
“As far as the arena is concerned, for some types of events, you need to be able to seat about 19,000 to 20,000. Right now, we are seating in the lower 16,000 to 17,000 range. For instance, the SEC basketball championship, we had that here for its first three years. I met with {SEC Commissioner] Mike Slive a number of times and it’s very evident that we will not get it back because we just can’t provide enough seats. The indication has been that if we had a facility that seated in the high 20,000s, then we’d be a player for that. Right now, we are confined to the first round list of the NCAA Tournament. We won’t host a regional anymore because of lack of seats.”
What role would the BJCC take in operating such a facility?
“From our perspective, the new facility would just be an additional component of what we have now. Just like we have the arena, the concert hall, the theatre, the exhibition halls, the meeting rooms, the hotel, the medical forum, the parking facilities – this would just be another component of that. It would be managed by the BJCC staff that’s already in existence here.”
Now, I know the key phrase is “multi-purpose”, but this is essentially a football stadium we are building, right?
“The ultimate use of it would be as a major stadium, whether it would be for football, soccer, band competitions or motocross. But you still have certain events where there will be 50,000 to 60,000 in attendance that’s not just for football. It takes a varied use that would allow it draw in various segments of the population.
“You say ‘Hey, we don’t have a football team, then why are we building a football stadium?’ Well, we have UAB, which gives us about five games a year. We have the premier historical black college football game in the United States, the Magic City Classic. We have the SWAC Conference Championship. We have the PapaJohns.com Bowl. So we have an eight-game season of college football that would be here. If we look back, that attendance varies from 20,000 to roughly 60,000. So certainly there is a football grouping that would utilize the space.
“Beyond that, it would allow us to pursue soccer games and allow us to expand our motocross and monster truck series. Outside of football, the biggest attended event at the Georgia Dome is motocross. They put 60,000 people in there. Now, we put 29,000 in the BJCC Arena, but we had to do that over three shows in January. Those are the types of events that would require large-scale seating.”
Is UAB on board?
“We have continued to have dialogue with UAB, and when we get to the point of designing, then UAB will certainly have a voice at the table.”
One reason I think people are reluctant to support this project is because we’ve only seen one option: the 65,000-seat facility. Have you explored any other alternatives, like, say, a smaller dome or a convention center with a new arena?
“We’ve looked at a 200,000 square-foot exhibition hall, but then that doesn’t help us in our arena situation. If we went out and built a new arena in the 20,000 to 22,000-seat range, those are running almost $300 million. If we went out and built 200,000 square feet of convention space and meeting rooms, then we’re looking at roughly $160 million. So just to accommodate those two needs that we have, we’re already at the cost of the multi-purpose facility and you’re still sitting out there with old Legion Field. So the best bang for our buck, from a community standpoint and to fulfill those three needs is to have a very functional multi-purpose facility that would be able to accommodate 60,000 for the Magic City Classic or 28,000 for the SEC basketball championship. Or we could have a boat show going on in one space and a convention going on in the other. So that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”
Another common argument we hear against the dome is that it’s too expensive, especially considering the current economic environment. How do you rebut that?
“This is a heck of a competitive business we’re in. There are cities that are doing everything they possibly can to attract more conventions, more shows. ‘Come to our town, spend your money in our town.’ So, we are in a very competitive industry. It’s just that ours is on a much broader scale; we’re not competing with the guy across the street, we’re competing with some of the other cities in our state, as well as across the country. Other cities in Alabama have upgraded their facilities, and although they don’t have the size that we do, we might not be the automatic choice anymore for events in this state.
“Then we have to fight for the regional business and the national business. In order to continue to be competitive, in order to draw in those people that will bring economic stimulus to the area, then you’ve got to have the space availability. We need the flat floor space, we need the space above what we already have in the arena and we need to replace what we have at Legion Field. We can get all three in one building. You have all of that with one operating cost, which is crucially important. And that operating cost is merged into our already existing complex. We would just operate it as we do the rest of the complex we have, and it will work and work nicely. It would give us such an additional marketing opportunity that really is somewhat limited at times now because of the space and size that we have right now.”
Do you think Birmingham’s future as a viable, competitive metropolitan area depends on this facility being built?
“It does, but it can’t be built and stand there alone. It has to be connected to [the BJCC] and also we’ve got to have two supporting elements: hotel rooms and entertainment.”
How soon do we need it?
“We need it now. Once you get off of people’s radar, it’s very hard to get back on. Having a facility of this nature makes a statement that we are preparing for the future and our preparation is something that’s going to be pretty darn nice.”
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