Birmingham City Council is supposedly sidestepping the will of the people and have designs on building a domed stadium. I'll believe it when it happens, but it has been a goal of the Birmingham government for about the last decade. If they got that amusement park built, I'm convinced they'll eventually get this thing off the ground.NashvilleTider said:I was in Memphis during the last NFL expansion efforts. Everyone thought we were a lock to get a team. The fan base was there. All the prior sub-NFL teams had drawn well there. We had a billionaire owner. Everyone agreed that Memphis fans would support an NFL team. Didn't happen. It's all about the money. Nothing else matters to the NFL. Now Birmingham needs, must have, a new stadium,
Along with Charlotte, Birmingham is the banking capital of the southeast. AmSouth, Southtrust, Regions, etc. all have massive operations there and it's THE corporate HQ for several of those. I'm sure you add in the massive Birmingham based companies like Liberty National,Bruno's, companies like Vulcan Materials, EBSCO Industries. SAKS Incorporated is run out of Birmingham. I'm between B'ham areas businesses and those around Huntsville, Montgomery, etc. that they could sell massive amounts of corporate boxes.NashvilleTider said:but are there enough corporations there to buy out the skyboxes and pay the "seat licenses" to make some fat cat owner even richer?
It's not the best deal in the world certainly, but I think it'd be a big boost for Birmingham both financially as well as mentally.NashvilleTider said:I love the Titans and they are definitely an asset to Nashville. But Titans owner Bud Adams has a virtual stranglehold over the public financed stadium. Do you want that?
I'm sure that's probably true (I don't know how old you are though1FitToBeTide said:Not in my lifetime, in my opinion. Or maybe yours, either....
As successful as the soccer games in Birmingham have been (and there's another coming March 30, 2005) I think that interest is in the US National Team. I'm not sure it would transfer over to a pro team week in and week out. An MLS team currently needs an average attendance of around 15,000-18,000, a stadium owned by the team and a serious investor to turn a profit. The league has been around 9 years and it took until the 7th year for a team to turn a profit. Most of them are becoming financially stable, and the league is expanding (this year to Salt Lake City and a 2nd team in Los Angeles), but some teams have struggled in much bigger cities than Birmingham. As much as I'd love to have MLS in Birmingham (and I would seriously move back immediately if they landed a team), but I think it is a long way off from being able to support pro soccer long term.PlayerUA said:For some reason, Birmingham has had good success in hosting US soccer matches in the past. I think a MLS team would be more realistic and serve as a proving point to the real major leagues. I just don't see the NFL EVER coming to Alabama.
That's true.The Titans have a very strong grip on the Huntsville market and I'm sure both they and the Falcons would protest such a move.
]Alanbama27 said:Birmingham would and has always supported it's semi-professional teams and would be a HUGE draw for an NFL Franchise. With that said, I too believe that if it happens it wouldn't be for several years...maybe 10 or so. The main reason is that it will take at least 5 for "the" stadium to be built, if it's built and then another 5 lobbying for a team. As for money, that's NOT AN ISSUE in Birmingham. B'ham has many VERY wealthy men who have and would gladly step up to the plate and fund an NFL Franchise.
Many of you are likely not aware, but two Birmingham men and a small group of outside investors just purchased the Alladin Casino in Las Vegas...the original cost to build it was WELL OVER A BILLION DOLLARS! My guess is that they're getting a deal on it, but the cost is still more than an NFL Franchise!
Don't squash the fun of theory with the dreary reality. :biggrin:Ramah Jamah said:Lets say by some miracle that B'ham got an indoor stadium. Then what team do they get. The NFL has already said that they will not be expanding.
On the contrary, the Birmingham teams have been some of the best supported in these leagues. It's usually the league that goes belly up before the Birmingham squad:drsmithofga said:If you go back to the early seventies until now (Birmingham Americans, Vulcans, Stallions among some others), the teams fielded have always been competitive and fun to watch. That is not the problem. The problem has always been fan support. Each of those team went down in flames for financial reasons, if I'm not mistaken. Birmingham and surrounding areas have provided abismal fan support to these teams. Anyone who would want to start a new team (NFL,NBA,NHL whatever) would have to be a masochist.
Despite quality franchises in Birmingham, Memphis, Florida, and Southern California, other teams were floundering, moving to other cities mid-season or folding all together.
WLAF (Birmingham described as one of more financially successful town in flames for financial reasons, if I'm not mistaken. Birmingham and surrounding areas have provided abismal fan support to these teams. Anyone who would want to start a new team (NFL,NBA,NHL whatever) would have to be a masochist.Two of the more successful WFL franchises, Birmingham and Memphis, strong on the field and finanically, applied for expansion in the NFL. The NFL, which already planned for expansion in Tampa Bay and Seattle in 1976, declined the offer.
Despite quality franchises in Birmingham, Memphis, Florida, and Southern California, other teams were floundering, moving to other cities mid-season or folding all together.
WLAF (Birmingham described as one of more financially successful teams):Two of the more successful WFL franchises, Birmingham and Memphis, strong on the field and finanically, applied for expansion in the NFL. The NFL, which already planned for expansion in Tampa Bay and Seattle in 1976, declined the offer.
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