Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

Downtown Baseball stadium proposals in the works..no secret but a long road ahead. Either lead or go sit down

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Mayor Tommy Battle, wearing a Huntsville Stars' cap, sits 10 rows behind the visitors' dugout at Regions Park, peeling the aluminum foil back from a chicken wrap.

He can see around him a stadium two-thirds full, being serviced by a large, professional staff of employees.

He can see the skyline of UAB buildings over the right field wall, and beyond them Red Mountain and a silhouette of the Vulcan, resting under an eerie laundry pile of black and orange and gray clouds.

He can see, in his imagination, a lovely view from a downtown ballpark in Huntsville.

Battle is joined here by a delegation provided a behind-the-scenes tour of Birmingham's spectacular new stadium, to gain some ideas, insight and inspiration should a new ballpark evolve from imagination to viable possibility in Huntsville.

Among the Huntsville delegation with Battle there is a fascinating coincidence.

Dennis Madsen, the manager of urban and long-range planning, wrote an architectural thesis at Georgia Tech about a downtown ballpark in Atlanta.

Mike Chapman, a partner in the Huntsville architectural firm of Chapman Sisson, wrote a thesis at Auburn about a downtown ballpark in Huntsville before Joe Davis Stadium was constructed.

To go from thesis to groundbreaking feels closer than ever.

But it's also a long way off.

It won't be an easy path, without its own storm clouds above. Many don't want to upset the status quo or to spend resources on "quality of life" issues that don't impact them.

Many others see the value and want the resuscitation of a moribund baseball franchise, were it to be plopped down into a better facility and with business conducted more like a four-star hotel than a cash-strapped roadside motel.

Battle notes that in Birmingham "the owners were at the game, they were working, making sure everybody was having an enjoyable experience. We saw promotions, video boards that were working, something to keep your interest. We got to see the full experience. Baseball is one part. Entertainment is another. We've got to the full package. Whether we renovate Joe Davis Stadium or build a new one, the whole thing hinges on having a good (ownership) partner there."

It's no great secret that the site of the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant across from the Von Braun Center has been eyed as the optimal spot. Convenient for travel, parking and to be incorporated as a venue for major acts for Panoply and other downtown concerts.

It's Madsen's task to be a visionary. His position is essential as the city continues to expand and there is much tangible and practical that he does. He can look out the window and daydream every now and again.

"I really see this being one catalyst of many that advances additional downtown development," says Madsen. "It brings people downtown to hang out and rediscover the neighborhood. I see it as an economic development, but also a social development, an amenity.

"The larger point isn't fans," Madsen continues. "The central issue is, it's not about the product of baseball. It's about using baseball to generate more than just seeing a game. To reinvigorate the whole downtown and a sense of identity and iconography."

You can see it, too, if you use your imagination.

Most cities our size have long-since passed us in the facilities race. Joe Davis Stadium is a '66 Chevy compared to the Maseratis that now populate the Southern League.

It's time to cure the myopia that sometimes seems epidemic here. This is a community whose emergence and continued growth and success came from great visionaries. It's time for the visionaries to launch this project.

Mark McCarter writes columns on news and sports for The Huntsville Times and al.com. Reach him at [email protected]

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Downtown Baseball stadium proposals in the works..no secret but a long road ahead. Either lead or go sit down

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Mayor Tommy Battle, wearing a Huntsville Stars' cap, sits 10 rows behind the visitors' dugout at Regions Park, peeling the aluminum foil back from a chicken wrap.

He can see around him a stadium two-thirds full, being serviced by a large, professional staff of employees.

He can see the skyline of UAB buildings over the right field wall, and beyond them Red Mountain and a silhouette of the Vulcan, resting under an eerie laundry pile of black and orange and gray clouds.

He can see, in his imagination, a lovely view from a downtown ballpark in Huntsville.

Battle is joined here by a delegation provided a behind-the-scenes tour of Birmingham's spectacular new stadium, to gain some ideas, insight and inspiration should a new ballpark evolve from imagination to viable possibility in Huntsville.

Among the Huntsville delegation with Battle there is a fascinating coincidence.

Dennis Madsen, the manager of urban and long-range planning, wrote an architectural thesis at Georgia Tech about a downtown ballpark in Atlanta.

Mike Chapman, a partner in the Huntsville architectural firm of Chapman Sisson, wrote a thesis at Auburn about a downtown ballpark in Huntsville before Joe Davis Stadium was constructed.

To go from thesis to groundbreaking feels closer than ever.

But it's also a long way off.

It won't be an easy path, without its own storm clouds above. Many don't want to upset the status quo or to spend resources on "quality of life" issues that don't impact them.

Many others see the value and want the resuscitation of a moribund baseball franchise, were it to be plopped down into a better facility and with business conducted more like a four-star hotel than a cash-strapped roadside motel.

Battle notes that in Birmingham "the owners were at the game, they were working, making sure everybody was having an enjoyable experience. We saw promotions, video boards that were working, something to keep your interest. We got to see the full experience. Baseball is one part. Entertainment is another. We've got to the full package. Whether we renovate Joe Davis Stadium or build a new one, the whole thing hinges on having a good (ownership) partner there."

It's no great secret that the site of the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant across from the Von Braun Center has been eyed as the optimal spot. Convenient for travel, parking and to be incorporated as a venue for major acts for Panoply and other downtown concerts.

It's Madsen's task to be a visionary. His position is essential as the city continues to expand and there is much tangible and practical that he does. He can look out the window and daydream every now and again.

"I really see this being one catalyst of many that advances additional downtown development," says Madsen. "It brings people downtown to hang out and rediscover the neighborhood. I see it as an economic development, but also a social development, an amenity.

"The larger point isn't fans," Madsen continues. "The central issue is, it's not about the product of baseball. It's about using baseball to generate more than just seeing a game. To reinvigorate the whole downtown and a sense of identity and iconography."

You can see it, too, if you use your imagination.

Most cities our size have long-since passed us in the facilities race. Joe Davis Stadium is a '66 Chevy compared to the Maseratis that now populate the Southern League.

It's time to cure the myopia that sometimes seems epidemic here. This is a community whose emergence and continued growth and success came from great visionaries. It's time for the visionaries to launch this project.

Mark McCarter writes columns on news and sports for The Huntsville Times and al.com. Reach him at [email protected]

Wow, fantastic article! This new downtown stadium idea is starting to gain some momentum! Hopefully the lazy and old Mayberry style people who have for decades held Huntsville down from growing UP and not just outwards will finally wake up and see the potential of Huntsville. It's up to us pro-stadium supporters to make our voices heard loud and clear and GET THIS NEW STADIUM DOWNTOWN DONE AND SOON!!!!!

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

that the usfl thinks it will work is beyond belief, arena football is successful in Huntsville but if I had to guess a place it would be Montgomery, new stadium at Alabama St and a more central location. We have been down this road before and it doesn't look promising. Even Mobile would be a more promising spot tapping into the Gulf Coast market and USA's 40,000 Ladd Peebles Stadium.

The new USFL, should they pick Huntsville, would be the biggest pro franchise that we have ever had. Bigger than Double AA baseball or arena football. The new USFL will be more like a triple-A league to the NFL with a major media TV rights contract. Huntsville has never had anything close to that. These are guys who have the potential to play in the NFL where as the arena league doesn't present that and are for guys who are not good enough for the pros.

But, that being said, my money is on Mobile being chosen because of the stadium situation and a bigger market.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Pro football in Huntsville??? Maybe. The USFL (United States Football League) is attempting to rise from the dead to return in spring of 2014 as an 8-team developmental league to the NFL. The targeted locations and cities are to be mid-sized to small markets that do not have pro football or MLB. So far franchises have been mentioned for Austin, TX, Akron, OH, possibly LA or San Jose, and San Antonio. Other possible targets are: Memphis, Louisiana, Hartford, Louisville, and Omaha.

Alabama is also guaranteed to have a team and it will NOT be in Birmingham. There was once an USFL team called the Birmingham Stallions back in the 80's, but the city officials weren't too interested in bringing the USFL back to BHam and because of that have been deleted from the list of potential locations.

Mobile, Montgomery, and Huntsville are said to be the major targets for Alabama's team. The league creators have said that whoever it is in Alabama will be a surprise choice. Huntsville certainly would qualify as a "surprise choice".

But there's a catch. The USFL is looking to play in 25-35,000 seat stadiums across America, and as we all know, Huntsville does not offer that. Although, the USFL is planning to build all new stadiums for each of their locations that will allow for commercial development and growth.

Huntsville could offer Joe Davis Stadium and remodel it into a football stadium until a new one could be built. But they would have to spend money on upkeep and renovations as we know the city sure won't.

Another and less costly option is that they could play at Alabama A&M's on campus stadium (that can seat 21,000) for a couple seasons until they got a new stadium built, preferably downtown near the proposed minor league baseball stadium. Talk about a booming downtown potential!

The thing is, I think a "surprise" choice would be a city other than the Big 4. But, if not those... which other city? Tuscaloosa and Auburn probably wouldn't be candidates because of the universities. Size-wise, Decatur is the next largest after Tuscaloosa, but I don't see the logic in that. If you're going to put it that close to Huntsville, why not go ahead and put it in Huntsville?

I think the phrasing "surprise location" is just meant to cause some talking. Really, whichever city is chosen, I don't think it'll be a city that doesn't make sense in some way. Of the 12 metro areas in the state that don't have a significant outdoor football presence in some form, Huntsville is the largest, followed by Daphne-Fairhope (but they're so close to Mobile, does it really count as no football presence?), then Decatur, Dothan, Anniston, and finally Gadsden.

I'd put my money on Huntsville... there's a lot of growth potential and the city doesn't carry a negative connotation like Birmingham, Montgomery, or Mobile (all the NIMBYs around those cities think you literally have to wade through murderers if you want to go downtown), so there's a lot of appeal to the region as a whole identifying with the city. Additionally, Madison County and all counties within 10 miles of its borders combine for a population of 802,000.

Although, I will say that the Mobile area would be appealing. Just the Mobile, Pensacola, and Daphne-Fairhope metros combined are home to 1,065,000 (and that's just 4 counties). Add Pascagoula, and the combined population is greater than the Birmingham MSA.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Wow, fantastic article! This new downtown stadium idea is starting to gain some momentum! Hopefully the lazy and old Mayberry style people who have for decades held Huntsville down from growing UP and not just outwards will finally wake up and see the potential of Huntsville. It's up to us pro-stadium supporters to make our voices heard loud and clear and GET THIS NEW STADIUM DOWNTOWN DONE AND SOON!!!!!

It's sad to think that those who never participate in anything will probably be the loudest. They are the same ones who will drive 1000 miles to see a show and play slots and think it's fantastic.
It's time for Huntsville to leave the 1950's, hard to believe this city sent man to the moon and currently is involved in high technology that Joe six pack can't even imagine, but when it comes to vision in the public the eyes are shut.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

It's sad to think that those who never participate in anything will probably be the loudest. They are the same ones who will drive 1000 miles to see a show and play slots and think it's fantastic.
It's time for Huntsville to leave the 1950's, hard to believe this city sent man to the moon and currently is involved in high technology that Joe six pack can't even imagine, but when it comes to vision in the public the eyes are shut.

I couldn't agree more. I was downtown a few days ago and just noticed at how little downtown has grown since the 70's. Only a few buildings rising 8-10 stories high have emerged during that period. I can't think of another city of over 100,000 population that has had less growth than downtown has. I can understand the concern with downtown Huntsville being built on top of caverns, but if they can build a 10-story Amsouth Bank then they certainly can build a 20-story signature building to give downtown some visibility.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

I couldn't agree more. I was downtown a few days ago and just noticed at how little downtown has grown since the 70's. Only a few buildings rising 8-10 stories high have emerged during that period. I can't think of another city of over 100,000 population that has had less growth than downtown has. I can understand the concern with downtown Huntsville being built on top of caverns, but if they can build a 10-story Amsouth Bank then they certainly can build a 20-story signature building to give downtown some visibility.

Well... the karst topography of downtown (and the area as a whole) is a lot more complicated to build on than many people realize. Contractors in Decatur had delay construction of the arts college in downtown for a couple of weeks because of a cave underneath the site, and that building is only about 3 floors. A lot of people don't realize that they're basically walking on swiss cheese.... A lot goes in to retrofitting the subsurface.

I think the main reason why Huntsville's downtown is so short is because 1) the city's job cores are outside of downtown (unusual for a large city) and 2) because of the city's history of height restrictions.

[HSVTiger]

the height restriction is only adjacent to the residential historic districts. No limits between Governors and Oakwood and roughly west of Meridian. The cavern thing is not an issue in those areas.

[HSVTiger]

The City of Huntsville is close to announcing its preferred developer of a 25-acre retail site on the edge of John Hunt Park.

Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the city could name the winning firm as early as Monday. Companies from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee are competing for the right to turn the city-owned land near the northwest corner of the Memorial Parkway-Airport Road intersection into a high-end shopping center.

"We have three great proposals to choose from," Davis said Friday. "They're very, very competitive."

Davis said he expects the city to net a minimum of $7.5 million, and as much as $7.8 million, by selling the property for retail development. That money will go toward John Hunt Park renovations as well as buying 140 acres off Triana Boulevard for a large team sports complex.

The city has an option to purchase the land near McDonnell Elementary School for $2.8 million, or $20,000 an acre.

After the winning retail developer is announced, said Davis, the city will draft a proposed development contract. The Huntsville City Council must OK the deal before the sale is completed later this year.

The city has agreed to pay for demolition of all existing buildings on the retail site, including Fire & Rescue Station 6 and a fire safety training facility. Huntsville plans to build a replacement fire station about a mile away on Drake Avenue; Davis said a new fire training center has already opened on Vermont Road.


Mayor Tommy Battle wants to turn the 378-acre park - the site of Huntsville's first airport - into a local version of New York's Central Park. An updated John Hunt Park master plan calls for a 4,000-seat indoor sports arena, lakeside festival area for outdoor concerts, multi-purpose community activities center, tournament-caliber soccer fields, tree-lined jogging paths, more tennis courts, children's splash fountain, picnic areas and an expanded Benton H. Wilcoxon Ice Complex.

Davis said the first step is ripping up the old airport runways that hog about 3 acres within the park.

"We need to get in there and plant grass and get that area back to a natural state," he said.
HSV Times

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

The City of Huntsville is close to announcing its preferred developer of a 25-acre retail site on the edge of John Hunt Park.

Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the city could name the winning firm as early as Monday. Companies from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee are competing for the right to turn the city-owned land near the northwest corner of the Memorial Parkway-Airport Road intersection into a high-end shopping center.

"We have three great proposals to choose from," Davis said Friday. "They're very, very competitive."

Davis said he expects the city to net a minimum of $7.5 million, and as much as $7.8 million, by selling the property for retail development. That money will go toward John Hunt Park renovations as well as buying 140 acres off Triana Boulevard for a large team sports complex.

The city has an option to purchase the land near McDonnell Elementary School for $2.8 million, or $20,000 an acre.

After the winning retail developer is announced, said Davis, the city will draft a proposed development contract. The Huntsville City Council must OK the deal before the sale is completed later this year.

The city has agreed to pay for demolition of all existing buildings on the retail site, including Fire & Rescue Station 6 and a fire safety training facility. Huntsville plans to build a replacement fire station about a mile away on Drake Avenue; Davis said a new fire training center has already opened on Vermont Road.


Mayor Tommy Battle wants to turn the 378-acre park - the site of Huntsville's first airport - into a local version of New York's Central Park. An updated John Hunt Park master plan calls for a 4,000-seat indoor sports arena, lakeside festival area for outdoor concerts, multi-purpose community activities center, tournament-caliber soccer fields, tree-lined jogging paths, more tennis courts, children's splash fountain, picnic areas and an expanded Benton H. Wilcoxon Ice Complex.

Davis said the first step is ripping up the old airport runways that hog about 3 acres within the park.

"We need to get in there and plant grass and get that area back to a natural state," he said.
HSV Times

The indoor sports arena needs to be more like 5,000 seats or it's a non factor. You could use it for multiple events as a substitution for Propst Arena when it's occupied. 4,000 just is not big enough.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

the height restriction is only adjacent to the residential historic districts. No limits between Governors and Oakwood and roughly west of Meridian. The cavern thing is not an issue in those areas.

I'm well aware of where the current height restrictions are. What I meant by the city's "history of height restrictions" is that the restrictions kept the city from building tall before 2008. Obviously, after that year, the economy kept it from building tall.

Andy btw, the cavern thing is definitely an issue outside of downtown... Karst topography is an issue across the entire Tennessee Valley.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

The City of Huntsville is close to announcing its preferred developer of a 25-acre retail site on the edge of John Hunt Park.

Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the city could name the winning firm as early as Monday. Companies from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee are competing for the right to turn the city-owned land near the northwest corner of the Memorial Parkway-Airport Road intersection into a high-end shopping center.

"We have three great proposals to choose from," Davis said Friday. "They're very, very competitive."

Davis said he expects the city to net a minimum of $7.5 million, and as much as $7.8 million, by selling the property for retail development. That money will go toward John Hunt Park renovations as well as buying 140 acres off Triana Boulevard for a large team sports complex.

The city has an option to purchase the land near McDonnell Elementary School for $2.8 million, or $20,000 an acre.

After the winning retail developer is announced, said Davis, the city will draft a proposed development contract. The Huntsville City Council must OK the deal before the sale is completed later this year.

The city has agreed to pay for demolition of all existing buildings on the retail site, including Fire & Rescue Station 6 and a fire safety training facility. Huntsville plans to build a replacement fire station about a mile away on Drake Avenue; Davis said a new fire training center has already opened on Vermont Road.


Mayor Tommy Battle wants to turn the 378-acre park - the site of Huntsville's first airport - into a local version of New York's Central Park. An updated John Hunt Park master plan calls for a 4,000-seat indoor sports arena, lakeside festival area for outdoor concerts, multi-purpose community activities center, tournament-caliber soccer fields, tree-lined jogging paths, more tennis courts, children's splash fountain, picnic areas and an expanded Benton H. Wilcoxon Ice Complex.

Davis said the first step is ripping up the old airport runways that hog about 3 acres within the park.

"We need to get in there and plant grass and get that area back to a natural state," he said.
HSV Times

Large team sports complex? Btw, I hope they're considering (and I'm sure they are) the form of the potential development. Considering Tuscaloosa's approach to redevelopment in the tornado recovery district, I hope they're strongly considering very small setbacks from Memorial.

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

The indoor sports arena needs to be more like 5,000 seats or it's a non factor. You could use it for multiple events as a substitution for Propst Arena when it's occupied. 4,000 just is not big enough.

Honestly, I don't think it needs to even be 4,000.... I like the VBC, but it is relatively small. Huntsville should be pursuing ambitious projects, but the city does not need to introduce a facility that could potentially compete with Propst Arena.

Until the city scores a larger arena (~15 - 18,000) it doesn't need to build something around half the size of the current arena within such close proximity. Maybe if this facility was built way down in the southern reaches of the city, it would be fine... but this is so close to downtown that I worry it would compete with the VBC. I could easily see HS graduations (like Grissom or Bob Jones) taking their ceremonies to this proposed facility instead of Propst. I'm not sure if the school systems are required to pay for using the VBC, but either way, it would take attention away from Propst Arena; I think that's the last thing that needs to happen.

I say all that without knowing the layout, of course. Propst Arena is much more useful for concerts than this proposed arena would be, so I hope that city officials take that into consideration.

[downtownhsvguy]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

I couldn't agree more. I was downtown a few days ago and just noticed at how little downtown has grown since the 70's. Only a few buildings rising 8-10 stories high have emerged during that period. I can't think of another city of over 100,000 population that has had less growth than downtown has. I can understand the concern with downtown Huntsville being built on top of caverns, but if they can build a 10-story Amsouth Bank then they certainly can build a 20-story signature building to give downtown some visibility.

I actually talked with a city planning office guy during the winter and was talking about the height downtown and he told me that "they" are looking to keep everything "in scope" with the surroundings.. So no tower that looks out of place will happen (15+ stories).. He also told me that the infrastructure was able to handle such development at this time.. if Huntsville does not take advantage of new development now, they will be left behind again after this economic boom is over.. They could leverage the tax revenue of developing downtown for streets and whatnot.. for downtown and throughout the city..

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by downtownhsvguy

I actually talked with a city planning office guy during the winter and was talking about the height downtown and he told me that "they" are looking to keep everything "in scope" with the surroundings.. So no tower that looks out of place will happen (15+ stories).. He also told me that the infrastructure was able to handle such development at this time.. if Huntsville does not take advantage of new development now, they will be left behind again after this economic boom is over.. They could leverage the tax revenue of developing downtown for streets and whatnot.. for downtown and throughout the city..

if a developer wants to build a 20 story building it will happen. Anything taller than a light pole will be out of"scope".

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by quattordici

Why not build one in the style of the Target at Brookwood in Birmingham? I'm a bit tired of the asphalt paradise of South Parkway.

Yes. That target is very neat and in sharp contrast to all the rest.

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Alabama is also guaranteed to have a team and it will NOT be in Birmingham. There was once an USFL team called the Birmingham Stallions back in the 80's, but the city officials weren't too interested in bringing the USFL back to BHam and because of that have been deleted from the list of potential locations.

Mobile, Montgomery, and Huntsville are said to be the major targets for Alabama's team. The league creators have said that whoever it is in Alabama will be a surprise choice. Huntsville certainly would qualify as a "surprise choice".

But there's a catch. The USFL is looking to play in 25-35,000 seat stadiums across America, and as we all know, Huntsville does not offer that. Although, the USFL is planning to build all new stadiums for each of their locations that will allow for commercial development and growth.

Huntsville could offer Joe Davis Stadium and remodel it into a football stadium until a new one could be built. But they would have to spend money on upkeep and renovations as we know the city sure won't.

Another and less costly option is that they could play at Alabama A&M's on campus stadium (that can seat 21,000) for a couple seasons until they got a new stadium built, preferably downtown near the proposed minor league baseball stadium. Talk about a booming downtown potential!

Do you have a link to this? I can kind of understand Bham turning their nose up in a been there done that sort of way. But there are no bigger fish to chase. We're light years away from getting an NFL franschise. The only article I could find still list Birmingham as a potential. Or maybe Hoover will get them because they are still ill over losing the Birmingham Barons. Ha ha, but no my guess is Mobile if not here.

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=7916459&src=desktop

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Tourian

Do you have a link to this? I can kind of understand Bham turning their nose up in a been there done that sort of way. But there are no bigger fish to chase. We're light years away from getting an NFL franschise. The only article I could find still list Birmingham as a potential. Or maybe Hoover will get them because they are still ill over losing the Birmingham Barons. Ha ha, but no my guess is Mobile if not here.

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=7916459&src=desktop

I seem to remember reading an article that stated the team wouldn't be in Birmingham. I'm not sure I believe the reasoning given for why they wouldn't go there, though. I highly doubt that the city wouldn't be interested in bringing in a team.

I'm 99.9% sure Birmingham will never get an NFL team, and I frankly I don't want one in the state. Bringing in one might divert millions away from Alabama and Auburn; I doubt the smaller schools would be affected much. It's reasonable to consider what the Tennessee Titans relocation to Nashville might have done to Tennessee's income. I think Vanderbilt largely survived because basically only Vanderbilt alumni cheer for Vandy on a consistent basis, whereas the bigger teams like Tennessee, Alabama, USC, Notre Dame, etc... tend to have more fairweather or geographical fan bases that aren't always based on loyalties or ties to the schools.

I think NBA would be the biggest thing Birmingham could snag, and I see a reasonable chance of it happening; that's why the city officials need to focus more on building a new arena instead of a full blown domed stadium. I think that's the plan as it is, but there still seems to be a lot of support for a stadium.

But I digress...

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by Tourian

Yes. That target is very neat and in sharp contrast to all the rest.



Do you have a link to this? I can kind of understand Bham turning their nose up in a been there done that sort of way. But there are no bigger fish to chase. We're light years away from getting an NFL franschise. The only article I could find still list Birmingham as a potential. Or maybe Hoover will get them because they are still ill over losing the Birmingham Barons. Ha ha, but no my guess is Mobile if not here.

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=7916459&src=desktop

Here you go. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/02/usfl_announces_minor-league_fo.html

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by quattordici

I seem to remember reading an article that stated the team wouldn't be in Birmingham. I'm not sure I believe the reasoning given for why they wouldn't go there, though. I highly doubt that the city wouldn't be interested in bringing in a team.

I'm 99.9% sure Birmingham will never get an NFL team, and I frankly I don't want one in the state. Bringing in one might divert millions away from Alabama and Auburn; I doubt the smaller schools would be affected much. It's reasonable to consider what the Tennessee Titans relocation to Nashville might have done to Tennessee's income. I think Vanderbilt largely survived because basically only Vanderbilt alumni cheer for Vandy on a consistent basis, whereas the bigger teams like Tennessee, Alabama, USC, Notre Dame, etc... tend to have more fairweather or geographical fan bases that aren't always based on loyalties or ties to the schools.

I think NBA would be the biggest thing Birmingham could snag, and I see a reasonable chance of it happening; that's why the city officials need to focus more on building a new arena instead of a full blown domed stadium. I think that's the plan as it is, but there still seems to be a lot of support for a stadium.

But I digress...

The NBA wouldn't even consider Birmingham for a franchise. Not with ATL and Memphis within a 3.5 hour drive away. Plus the city doesn't have an NBA approved facility. The BJCC isn't up to standards. And the city can't afford to build a $300 million+ arena.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

The NBA wouldn't even consider Birmingham for a franchise. Not with ATL and Memphis within a 3.5 hour drive away. Plus the city doesn't have an NBA approved facility. The BJCC isn't up to standards. And the city can't afford to build a $300 million+ arena.

I don't know a single Alabamian who is an Atlanta Hawks or Memphis Grizzlies fan... The second most populated state with out a pro team and well over 2 Million people within 100 miles of the city. The money is actually already being brought in (about $12 million annually), it's just been intended for the dome.

If the NBA were to show interest in Birmingham, the city could make the arena happen some how. But, again, that's if the NBA were to show interest.

Anyways, enough about Birmingham.

[HSVTiger]

Ready for Dunkin #2

The Madison City Council approved payment of $546,319 to Reed Contracting for completing the roadway improvements that stretch from Madison Hospital to Ross department store. The work involved creating two new median crossovers, median turn lanes and essentially extending a third eastbound lane from the hospital to Shoppes of Madison.

The work began in April, and some city officials said they feared the improvements wouldn't be done before the opening of the first few stores of a new shopping center, just west of Ross. One of those new stores will be Dunkin' Donuts.

The walls are just going up this week at the new shopping center.
HSV Times