Mayor says Birmingham should help pay for BJCC upgrades, new stadium

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin today urged the City Council to support a plan in which the city would help fund the renovation and expansion of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, including Legacy Arena, and the construction of a new, 45,000-seat open-air stadium -- projects that could cost around $300 million.

The mayor made his presentation -- with the assistance of BJCC executive director Tad Snider -- at a meeting of the council’s committee of the whole on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

The city would join the BJCC, Jefferson County and UAB in a public/private partnership to make the improvements and would contribute $3 million a year over a 30-year period to the debt service on the project, according to Woodfin.

However, the city’s estimated return on investment would be $9.9 million in additional revenue per year, which would come from sales, lodging, property and occupational taxes, Woodfin said.

Woodfin also promised that 100 percent of this new revenue would go directly into a fund for neighborhood revitalization.

The council responded by voting unanimously to include the funding plan on the agenda for the body’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

The mayor said the revenue from the expansion would allow the city to pursue some of the priorities he has talked about ever since he announced his candidacy in 2016, such as reducing crime, improving roads and housing and removing blight.

“We need additional funding to fund our priorities,” Woodfin told the council.

According to a news release from Woodfin’s office, the breakdown of annual contributions by the city’s other project partners if the plan is adopted would be as follows:

-- The BJCC would be able to contribute about $10.7 million a year toward debt service.

-- UAB, whose football team will be a primary user of the new stadium, is guaranteeing $4 million a year to the project for 10 years, some of it to come from their own corporate partners.

-- Another $3.5 million will come from a car rental tax.

-- Jefferson County would contribute $1 million a year for 30 years. The county already voted last week to approve this expenditure.

The city needs to upgrade the buildings at the BJCC, which were designed and built in the 1970s, so that Birmingham can once again compete with other large Southern cities for major sports events and conventions, according to Woodin.

“Part of the reason we can’t compete in the space of conventions, entertainment, tourism and sports is that we have not made the full commitment to invest in our existing infrastructure,” Woodfin said. “This is not just about investing in something new but something we already have.”

Snider said that, 25 years ago, Birmingham competed head to head with cities like Nashville and Charlotte to attract sports and other events but has since fallen behind due to inadequate facilities.

The revamped Legacy Arena, which will cost about $123 million, will have a new entrance, better sightlines, improved food and beverage options, and greatly enhanced technology, including wi-fi.

For example, he said fans now expect to be able to order food and drinks or stream instant replays to their cell phones without leaving their seats .

Woodfin asked council members to be “extremely bold and aggressive” and to finally take action on the project, including the new stadium.

The new stadium will not be just a home for the UAB Blazers, according to Snider. “It will do more than house UAB football, but obviously that is a key piece of the conversation,” he said.

As with Legacy Arena, Snider promised that the new stadium will have “every bell and whistle” in terms of the amenities that fans now expect from a facility and will have “anything you’ll find in any other city.”

It will also be a “visually beautiful stadium,” he said.

The stadium -- with a price tag of about $175 million -- can be reconfigured, using temporary seating, to hold as many as 55,000 people, according to Snider.

The entire project, in addition to increasing the city’s tax revenue, can help provide jobs and minority construction participation, increase economic development and boost tourism, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.

A plan to build a new stadium does not mean the city is abandoning Legion Field, according to Woodfin.

“We can make a full investment in the upgrade and expansion of BJCC legacy Arena and a new stadium and still support what exists at Legion Field,” Woodfin said.

He noted that the city helped build Regions Field to bring the Birmingham Barons minor-league baseball team back to the city but did not abandon historic Rickwood Field in the process.

Woodfin also stressed that any improvements to Legion Field should come as part of a comprehensive plan to help revitalize the Smithfield, Graymont and College Hills neighborhoods and will require input from both experts and the citizens in the affected areas.