8 responses so far ↓

• 1 Dystopos // Dec 13, 2007 at 8:09 pm

  I wouldn’t put much faith in a newly-fabricated “feasibility study” which is kept secret when there are numerous completed, transparent studies and plans which call for a covered multi-purpose facility as part of an expansion of the BJCC.

  I’d call this a $500 million question since that it the amount of public investment, the debts for which would be serviced by the $19 M/yr revenue ordinance.

  I’d also say that for $500 million you should be able to transform Legion Field, the BJCC, the RR Reservation Park, the Birmingham Zoo, Sloss Furnaces, Rickwood Field, Red Mountain Park, the McWane Center, the Carver Theater/Jazz HoF, the Lyric Theater AND the Civil Rights Institute into a grand-slam package of top of the line, vastly improved attractions and facilities.

  Or you could build a boondoggle of a white elephant on John Rogers Drive next to Milton McGregor’s dog track and throw so much of what we already have away after it.

• 2 Christian // Dec 13, 2007 at 8:48 pm

  The dome should be located downtown. It has more to offer conventioneers; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, McWane Science Center, food, lodging, entertainment, the sights and sounds of a city.

  Conventioneers should be directed to spend their money in the city’s center through mass transit, preferably a train, from the Birmingham International Airport. We should shuttle our visitors to the dome and entertainment district downtown. Adding streetcars and trolleys downtown will allow visitors to get around without renting a car. Showing visitors what the City of Birmingham has to offer.

  Building a domed stadium at the Birmingham Race Course will force visitors to rent a car and spend their money in Trussville. Many conventioneers would never make it downtown and may never come back.

• 3 Curtis // Dec 13, 2007 at 10:18 pm

  I know… put it down at the Hoover Met and let Birmingham annex enough land (perhaps down te middle of some railroad tracks) to scoop it up. JK!!

  Seriously, a location WITHIN the boundaries of the downtown freeway system make sense… maybe shoe-horn it into the “piano” in the southeast quadrant of where I-65 and I-20/59 meet. That would keep within striking distance of the theatre district and the business distict and its hotels. It’s not too far from the BJCC and other downtown amenties that Christian mentions. Plus, it would be a whole lot easier to access from the freeway system for the suburbanites who will be needed to make the project financially viable.

  Regardless of the location, the entertainment areas will be a reason to keep them downtown but we need to *start* with a location that they can zip in and out of… get them comfortable with that first and then build on other reasons to remain.

• 4 Jeremy // Dec 15, 2007 at 3:51 pm

  I have lived here 7.5 years and have never even been to the dog track. Building a dome away from the existing BJCC would definitely hurt its chances of success.

  Downtown is also more convenient to the airport for those traveling from out of town.

  Besides, how would anyone get to the dome through all the sheriff car’s making their regular raids of the dog track?

• 5 steph // Dec 17, 2007 at 4:19 pm

  I agree with Dystopos - that money could be much better spent on existing facilities!

  And Birmingham money should be spent in Birmingham, not Trussville or Irondale (whichever that is). The Mayor of Birmingham should know that. What a slap in the face to his supporters (and the rest of us).

• 6 Jarrod // Dec 19, 2007 at 5:17 pm

  City Center is the obvious choice.
  The owner of the land is Milton McGregor. He contributed to the campaigns of Langford and Carole Smitherman. Pretty much out of the blue Smitherman and Langford are pushing for the dome to be built on McGregor’s land. Doesn’t smell fishy to me at all.

• 7 Paige Patterson // Dec 19, 2007 at 11:09 pm

  Important concept to consider: momentum!
  Downtown residential and commercial real estate has been moving forward for years. To consider the biggest ‘facelift’ of our region miles and a many-minute commute from all this hard work doesn’t make sense to me. We’re making progress ‘climbing this mountain’ — I hope our officials do not jump off this one to start from scratch on another.

• 8 Beth FLoyd // Jan 4, 2008 at 3:59 pm

  Downtown between the BJCC and Carraway Hospital

Leave a Comment