City Beat: Movie theater, lots of sports on tap for Magic City
This month in City Beat, downtown Birmingham gets a boost with the addition of another first-run movie theater.
In sports, the Legion FC soccer team will open its fourth season in the Magic City in a new home stadium.
The revived United States Football League will host its entire 2022 season in Birmingham.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced a series of “SWAC Classic” football games to be in Birmingham, with the first game this fall featuring Jackson State University and its famed head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders.
At press time, the city of Birmingham is also in search of a new police chief.
Remember the Alamo
The 1895-vintage Powell Avenue Steam Plant — located at Powell Avenue and 18th Street South — once supplied the electric power to downtown Birmingham, including its street cars.
Now Alabama Power and the developers at Birmingham-based Orchestra Partners hope the newly renovated mixed-use facility can draw a roster of new tenets to supply a different kind of energy to help power an already booming Parkside district.
In February, Orchestra Partners announced the first major tenant in the steam plant: the popular movie theater chain, Alamo Drafthouse.
“Since announcing redevelopment plans for Powell Steam Plant in November 2019, our goal from day one was to be intentional about finding the right tenant that aligns with the shared vision for this historic property,” Orchestra Partners co-founder and principal Hunter Renfroe said in a statement. “By partnering with a reputable national plan like Alamo Drafthouse, we will pay homage to the steam plant and create a vibrant entertainment destination that attracts more people downtown.”
Alamo Drafthouse has received critical acclaim from magazines such as “Entertainment Weekly” and “Wired,” being named “Coolest Theater in the World” and “No. 1 Theater in America.”
Alamo Drafthouse, based in Austin, currently has 37 locations across the country including California and New York.
Construction of the new location will begin this summer and is expected to open in fall 2023.
The developers also plan to bring more entertainment amenities to the steam plant.
New home for Legion FC
Alabama’s first and only professional soccer team, Birmingham Legion FC, announced all its kickoff times for the upcoming 2022 season.
The team announced the recently constructed Protective Stadium at the BJCC as their new home pitch last December.
Legion FC will play 35 games in 2022, with 18 home games taking place at Protective Stadium starting March 13 at 4 p.m., which will be the first United Soccer League game of the season.
The Legion had a good 2021 season, earning 18 wins, eight losses, including its last game of the season against Louisville City FC, and six draws, putting them at the number two spot for the Central Division of the United Soccer League.
The team also made the USL playoffs in November, but the season came to an end with a tough 1-0 road loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Eastern Conference Semifinal.
The USFL reboots
The Birmingham Stallions were an original franchise in the United States Football League in the early 1980s.
The Stallions were the second in a long series of professional football teams that have played in the city.
Now the Stallions, and the USFL, are getting a spring 2022 reboot courtesy of FOX Sports.
Not only that, but the USFL and the city of Birmingham announced that all of the games for the league’s 2022 season will be played at Legion Field and Protective Stadium starting Saturday, April 16, at 6 p.m.
The first game will see the Birmingham Stallions face off against the New Jersey Generals.
“I consider it an honor to welcome the USFL to the ‘Magic City,’” Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a statement. “This is an amazing opportunity to promote our city on a national stage, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with this league. The USFL is not only bringing to Birmingham but is committed to being a strong community partner.”
The teams competing in the USFL Southern Division include the Birmingham Stallions, New Orleans Breakers, Tampa Bay Bandits and Houston Gamblers.
The Northern Division consists of the Pittsburgh Maulers, Philadelphia Stars, New Jersey Generals and Michigan Panthers.
Classic SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference, based in Birmingham, will host a series of three “SWAC Classic” football games the next three years at Legion Field.
The Birmingham City Council approved an agreement with the conference in January with Woodfin’s recommendation.
The agreement includes the option to extend the agreement for an additional two years, according to a council news release.
“Our city is steadily becoming home to some of the best sports events in the state and the region,” Woodfin said. This is a win for Birmingham and a win for SWAC.”
The city expects a positive economic impact and national media attentions from hosting the games.
The SWAC is one of the premier conferences for teams from Historically Black College and Universities.
The 2022 “SWAC Classic” will feature the Jackson State University Tigers led by Sanders, the 2021 FCS Coach of the Year, versus the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Jackson State will play Southern University in 2023 and 2024.
Looking for a chief
Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith resigned in January, citing “personal reasons.”
At press time, the city was in search of a permanent replacement for Smith, a Tuscaloosa native and a 28-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who Woodfin hired in 2018.
Woodfin appointed Capt. Scott Thurmond as BPD’s Acting Chief of Police after former Smith resigned.
“I have every confidence in the leadership of Acting Chief Thurmond,” Woodfin said. “He has a history of innovation, strength and humility. Acting Chief Thurmond will be a bridge builder for our residents and police force. He is the right man to help keep our community safe.”
Thurmond has been with the police department for 23 years, according to a city news release.
“I am honored,” Thurmond said. “I know there will be challenges, but I am excited and ready to serve. As a department, we are committed to providing the high level of services our community members expect and deserve.”
He began his career at the police department as a patrolman in 1999 and soon became a field training officer.
In 2007, he earned the rank of sergeant and was assigned to the BPD West Precinct.
He later served in many leadership capacities at several precincts and is credited with launching a task force in 2020 that confiscated 5 to 10 guns each week.
Smith resigned as chief about eight months after the Fraternal Order of Police issued him a vote of no-confidence, the first against a Birmingham Police Chief.
The FOP cited a slight spike in violent crime and low morale among BPD officers.
The FOP also issued a vote of no confidence in Assistant Chief Darnell Davenport, who stepped down in October.