This weekend, one thing you should not hear from a fellow resident is, “There’s nothing to do in Birmingham, AL.” There are several large events happening on both Friday and Saturday evenings in the city’s greater downtown area. The BJCC issued a press release to unveil their plans for traffic management as they prepare to host three Garth Brooks concerts featuring Trisha Yearwood (one June 12 and two on June 13) and multiple performances of Menopause: The Musical. This also happens to be the first time the adjacent Uptown entertainment district will operate as an open-carry zone — on Friday and Saturday — since getting approval from the City Council in March. They’ll get a chance to check out the new signage marking the boundaries for the district in addition to finally seeing the BJCC Legacy Arena’s new signage.
But first, they’ll navigate the modified traffic pattern:
The highlights? You won’t be able to drive through the complex using Richard Arrington, Jr., Boulevard; it’ll be closed between 9th Avenue North and 22nd Street, North. By the way, 9th Avenue North will be operating as a one-way street heading westbound while 19th Street will be operating as a one-way northbound between 9th and 11th Avenues North.
Concert attendees and theater-goers may get a chance to rub elbows with those attending the kickoff of the 2015 Art on the Rocks! after-hours series at the Birmingham Museum of Art, attendees of the Y’all Connect digital storytelling concert looking for a bite to eat, baseball fans heading to Regions Field to watch the Barons take on the Chattanooga Lookouts, or moviegoers heading to the Alabama Theatre to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
… and then there’s Saturday.
Barons fans will be milling about downtown and Parkside once again (first pitch is at 6:30 p.m.), as will those attending the Deontay Wilder WBC Heavyweight Title bout against Eric Molina at Bartow Arena. UAB has released the parking plan posted above in advance of Saturday’s event to help folks know where they can and cannot park.
