2007 domed stadium proposal

The idea of constructing a Domed stadium in Birmingham has been discussed for decades.

Early discussion

Birmingham Barons owner Art Clarkson introduced the idea of building a domed stadium in Birmingham in 1983.

Discussion of expanding or replacing Legion Field was kick-started in 1993 when the Southeastern Conference decided to move the SEC Championship Game to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, two years into a five-game contract with the city. In 1995 Birmingham mayor Richard Arrington, Jr had city staff evaluate potential sites for a new stadium, including the idea of erecting a roof over Legion Field.

About the same time, officials in Alabaster began discussing the possibility of purchasing a former limestone quarry and building a domed sports stadium in it. The Alabaster Dome proposal was halted because of difficulties in obtaining the needed land, but it did spur a bill in the Alabama Legislature, sponsored by John Rogers, which set up a commission to acquire and operate a stadium in the Birmingham area. The version of the bill that passed, however, removed the commission's power to direct the use of state revenues for the project.

The 1997 Southeastern Regional NCAA Basketball Tournament, held at the BJCC Arena, was predicted to be the last regional tournament that could be held in Birmingham without a larger venue. Figures like the SEC's Roy Kramer and Gene Hallman of the Alabama Sports Foundation were already looking forward to a study for expanding convention and event facilities in Birmingham. A steering committee headed by Hallman and Larry Lemak commissioned a study to determine what type of facility might suit Birmingham's needs.

MAPS

The result of the study was the Metropolitan Area Projects Strategy campaign of 1998. It was modeled after a similar program which was passed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1993, but planned to more closely resemble the 67,000-seat Trans World Dome in St Louis, Missouri along with its associated Cervantes Convention Center and St Louis' MetroLink transit system.

The proposal contained, along with several other initiatives, a proposal for a "multi-purpose convention and entertainment facility", which was projected to cost under $300 million. The overall package of capital projects, to be funded by a 1-cent increase in sales taxes as well as larger increases in lodging taxes, was put to a referendum of all Jefferson County voters. Opponents of the plan, notably the group known as "RAPS" (for "Real Accountability, Progress, and Solutions"), promised an alternative means of funding the same slate of projects. The vote had a high turnout and the plan was defeated by a margin of 57 to 43 percent, with "no" votes coming primarily from outside Birmingham proper. The "RAPS" group never produced any alternative schemes. Despite the other aspects of the MAPS plan and the rhetoric of both sides in the debate, the vote has been commonly viewed as a referendum on a publicly-funded domed stadium.

BJCC expansion plans

Proponents of building a dome regained steam over the next decade. The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Authority considered a covered multi-purpose event facility central to their long-range expansion plans. A multi-purpose facility adjacent to the BJCC was incorporated into the City Center Master Plan, presented in 2003 and efforts continued to secure commitments of funding from the City of Birmingham, Jefferson County, and the State of Alabama.

The city agreed to the request, but the county, reeling from a sewer construction scandal, increasing debts, and uncertainty about the future of the occupational tax, would not commit. Governor Bob Riley said the State's support would only be given once local leaders presented a unified plan. The BJCC decided to explore alternatives and to focus on the development of an entertainment district on the land they had already purchased.

The debate over domed stadium plans continued in the run-up to the 2006 elections. Once again, suburban voters made a stand, putting a new Republican majority on the commission which promised greater fiscal responsibility and specifically rejected the notion of lending their support to having a domed stadium as part of any expansion to the BJCC. Other locations for a stadium were floated, including the Alabaster quarry site and another undeveloped site in Forestdale. Birmingham City Council president Carole Smitherman called for designing a fabric roof over Legion Field as a cheaper alternative.

Meeting in Salt Lake City in February 2007, the BJCC authority, including Birmingham mayor Bernard Kincaid and Jefferson County Commission president Bettye Fine Collins, voted unanimously to pursue a $505.5 million expansion, including $380 million for a 40,000 seat arena which could be used to provide 175,000 square feet of exhibition space. For a time it appeared as if the smaller stadium proposal enjoyed broad support, but criticisms sprung up regarding its inability to house potential tenants such as the Magic City Classic (or a possible NFL team). Conflicting reports of private backing came and went, with State Representative John Rogers and County Commissioner Larry Langford periodically stating that a full-scale dome in one or another location, built with private money, was a "done deal."

The dome remained a hot topic during the 2007 Birmingham mayoral election. All nine candidates expressed some support for building a dome, or at least for putting it to another referendum. In a forum in Smithfield, candidates addressed a question about the future of Legion Field. William Bell said he hoped to build a domed stadium in its place. Larry Langford proposed turning into a park like New York's Flushing Meadows and building a new stadium at Fair Park. As Langford's status as a front-runner emerged, he promised to make building a dome a priority for his administration and that he would propose a way to pay for it without help from the state or county within his first 30 days in office.

Mayor Langford's proposal

Once he was sworn-in, Langford needed only a few days to prepare a 1-page summary of a plan to pay for a domed stadium and other projects. His Birmingham Economic and Community Revitalization Ordinance called for a 1-cent increase in local sales tax and a doubling of business license fees. The revenue from increases in business licenses would provide, according to the proposal, enough to fund a $500 million bond issue for a "Dome Stadium". The City Council approved the funding measures on December 4, 2007.

More details about the Langford's proposal for the dome were released in late November. A compromise was reached on the size of the stadium with a $434 million, 57,500-seat stadium planned, expandable to 65,000. The facility would provide 160,000 square feet of floor space for trade shows or conventions, and would be designed to accommodate basketball and concerts at less-than-full capacity.

Though he said in an Operation New Birmingham meeting that the BJCC expansion site was the only feasible location for the dome, Langford mentioned only Fair Park and John Rogers Drive as potential sites in a December 5, 2007 interview on WBRC 6. In later interviews he expressed his view that, despite "drawings and schematics" indicating otherwise, that the downtown site was too small and that only the John Rogers Drive site was large enough for the project.

That announcement sparked criticism, fueled in part by the fact that Birmingham Race Course owner Milton McGregor, whose Jefferson County Racing Association owns the property, was a big contributor to both Langford's and Carole Smitherman's mayoral campaigns. Langford lashed out at his detractors, dismissing them as "haters" who didn't want to see Birmingham make progress, but he did agree to seek and follow the recommendation of an independent site evaluation, which would be commissioned by a business group unaffiliated with his administration or with the BJCC authority.

In March, Birmingham Business Leadership Group created a panel to commission a study of three potential sites: the site adjacent to the BJCC, the Legion Field site, and the John Rogers Drive site. The panel consists of business leaders John Johns, CEO of Protective Life, co-chairman of the sub group, along with Alagasco President Dudley Reynolds. Also on the panel are J. Mason Davis Jr, a partner with law firm Sirote & Permutt; Ann Florie, executive director of Leadership Birmingham; Don Logan, an owner of the Birmingham Barons and CEO of Time Warner Cable; and Reynolds Thompson, CEO of Colonial Properties Trust. Langford asked the panel to evaluate the proposed sites as if the dome were their own company's project. A report is expected by late summer 2008.

Notable proponents and opponents

Several local figures have become known as strong proponents of the idea of building a domed stadium in Birmingham:

• Gene Hallman, sporting event promoter (Alabama Sports Foundation, Bruno Event Team)
• Larry Lemak, chairman, Alabama Sports Foundation
• John Rogers, state legislator
• Larry Langford, former County Commissioner and now Mayor of Birmingham
• Jack Fields, BJCC executive director
• Richard Arrington, Jr, former Mayor of Birmingham
• Richard Scrushy, former CEO of HealthSouth
• Elmer Harris, former CEO of Alabama Power

Others are known primarily for their opposition to building a dome:

• Jimmy Blake, former Birmingham City Council member and leader of "RAPS"
• Kamau Afrika, community activist who sued to stop the MAPS election
• Jim Carns, Jefferson County Commission

References

• Williams, Roy, Bob Blalock and Doug Segrest." (February 24, 1994) Atlanta gets SEC game." Birmingham News.
• Nabbefeld, Joe (July 11, 1995) "City weighs dome sites, including Legion Field." Birmingham News.
• White, David (August 1, 1995) "Legislators take first step to get domed stadium." Birmingham News.
• Scarbinsky, Kevin (March 20, 1997) "This may be last hurrah for BJCC: Civic Center becoming too small as NCAA turns toward larger arenas for Sweet 16." Birmingham News.
• Segrest, Doug (August 10, 1997) "Arrington: Timing good for stadium." Birmingham News.
• Bright, Taylor () "The Dome Debate: Will a multi-purpose facility and entertainment district make magic for the city?" Birmingham Post-Herald
• Howell, Vickii (February 22, 2000) "Rogers: Domed Stadium Basically Done Deal." Birmingham News
• Chandler, Kim and Stan Diel (November 25, 2007) "Langford's dome plan takes form." Birmingham News
• Geiss, Chuck (December 27, 2007) "Naked Birmingham." Black & White.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (January 6, 2008) "Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford wants study on site for proposed dome stadium." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (March 15, 2008) "Birmingham business leaders to study possible dome locations." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. {March 26, 2008) "Birmingham's dome location study under way, to be completed by late summer." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (March 26, 2008) "Birmingham's dome location study under way, to be completed by late summer." Birmingham News

External links

• BirminghamDome.com weblog
• Four dome sites to be considered. Google Map created by the Birmingham News