After decades of discussions and strategic planning, Birmingham’s $200 million project to build a state-of-the-art venue in Protective Stadium finally came to fruition earlier this year.
The 45,000-seat multi-use stadium serves as an attractive venue to host competitive sporting events along with an array of other entertainment opportunities. The Birmingham metropolitan area stands to experience vast economic benefits due to Protective Stadium’s existence, something local leadership expected from the decades-long undertaking.
With Fox Sports knocking at the door, Birmingham is on the verge of landing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be the central hub of the newly-launched United States Football League (USFL).
If a deal materializes, the city would play host to 43 nationally televised games that would garner tremendous publicity for Alabama’s Magic City. Fox Sports estimates that the overall economic impact for Birmingham sits in the ballpark of $21 million, with $16 million in direct impact and $5 million in media exposure value.
By way of hosting the league’s entire first season, Birmingham would see over 43,000 hotel room nights worth of accommodations. The USFL’s direct spending in the city would be $6 million for hotel rooms, $1.4 million for team dining and $500,000 for medical services, resulting in the league doling out $7.9 million in direct expenditures.
Given that Fox Sports has presented a tourism industry professional’s dream scenario, local stakeholders must now fulfill their end of the deal by pooling funds together to cover operational costs which will be incurred by the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) in hosting league activity.
The BJCC has estimated the total cost to host the league to be nearly $3.7 million. Once local officials are able to collaboratively secure funding to cover overhead costs, the deal will be finalized, marking one of the most significant accomplishments in the city’s 150-year history.
It is important to note that no local funding or incentives will be provided to the USFL or Fox Sports. All monies appropriated by local entities will be utilized locally to cover BJCC’s projected costs.
The Birmingham Park and Recreation Board has approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding for Legion Field to play host to USFL activities. Yellowhammer News has learned that the board will call for a special meeting to officially approve a binding memorandum.
The Birmingham City Council met Tuesday to discuss potential funding numbers. However, at Mayor Randall Woodfin’s request, the council opted not to act on the matter. At the time the meeting was held, the BJCC had yet to release its estimated costs.
The Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau will meet on Thursday to discuss the BJCC’s funding proposal. State Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia Hills), a vocal proponent of the city hosting the USFL, holds a seat on the board and called for the meeting to take place.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) offered his assessment to Yellowhammer News of the unique opportunity that sits before Birmingham and Alabama as a whole in becoming home to the USFL.
“There’s not a better area in the country that would support and loves college or professional football,” said Tuberville. “Birmingham and the area has tremendous ratings every time football games are played. So, I hope they do their research on this. I was at Protective Stadium last week, what a great venue.”
Tuberville, the former Auburn University head football coach, noted the need for a league in which players can develop their skills to eventually have the opportunity of being signed by an NFL team.
The senator added, “I think it would be great for the city of Birmingham and the state of Alabama to possibly to do this and we’ll see how the talks go.”
All eyes are on local officials as an eager city awaits to see if stakeholders will take advantage of the unprecedented offer from one of the most prestigious brands in network television.
Birmingham locals are all too familiar with the city losing out on a major opportunity such as the one before it. The Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in 2019 had its sights set on the city, only to have local leadership display its inability to secure the deal.
Had Birmingham officials been able to take advantage of the opportunity, the $10 million youth baseball and softball academy would have served as a strong support system for local youth.
Presently, the city has a golden opportunity that many believe would serve to act as a springboard for Birmingham to elevate its status to that of other U.S. cities in the likes of Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta and others.
Time will tell if Birmingham leadership will be able to land Fox Sports’ proposal to bring the nation’s premier alternative football league to the state of Alabama.
Yellowhammer News will continue to monitor developments as new details emerge.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
