The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/ne...l?page=all

Well, I know *I'm* going to invest in a pro team in B'ham.

Catch me if I have mentioned this before - as someone who did economic studies for a living, if I make the "right" assumptions, I could make any study look good or bad.

Given the way they did their "study" Birmingham would qualify for just about every professional sport, but MLB, NBA, NFL, etc. are not coming here. Although if monster trucks league has to have a competition headquarters, I'm sure that the BJCC would be right at the top of their list.

Soccer has a chance, though(as the article says). Believe, though, that ANYTHING that might hint at the possibility of taking ANY money out of the public or private sector that my have gone to UAT will be strongly fought by them. Even though UAT doesn't care about soccer just the potential that a single dollar that might have gone to UAT goes to anything else will irk them...

It's a shame that Tuscaloosa will not allow Birmingham to be progressive like Nashville.

Memphis had a lot of naysayers saying they couldn't support a professional team. There was active opposition to the Grizzlies. 15 years later, the Grizzlies have united the city and games sell out regularly.

Being a transplant, I have lived in Memphis for 23 years. I never felt connected to the city until I went to an NBA playoff game. It sounds corny, but watching 18,000 fans hold up "growl towels" that said "we believe" as Journey's "Don't stop believin'" blared throughout the arena, it was a moving experience to be a part of.

I have never experienced anything like living in a city as they battled night after night to the NBA conference finals two years ago. It was exciting, like nothing I've never experienced.

I hope my home town gets to experience one day.

The real problem in Birmingham is that the local government is broke and can't put up any bonds to finance the shiny new stadiums/arenas a new team would require.

I don't think that's totally true. The city of Birmingham, while not flush with cash, isn't broke. Jefferson County and the state on the other hand... Add to that the fact that the state will do nothing to benefit Birmingham and we're in the position we're in. Essentially, anything Birmingham does or wants to do(or has done recently for that matter) is on its shoulders alone..

(04-11-2015 01:33 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  The real problem in Birmingham is that the local government is broke and can't put up any bonds to finance the shiny new stadiums/arenas a new team would require.

The City of Birmingham is not Jefferson County.

And for that matter, the BJCC is not the City OR the County.

Just saying, the BJCC is terrible for Monster Trucks. You can barely fit two in at a time and they can only do short, one-lane races.

(04-10-2015 11:28 PM)CajunBlazer Wrote:  Catch me if I have mentioned this before - as someone who did economic studies for a living, if I make the "right" assumptions, I could make any study look good or bad.

Given the way they did their "study" Birmingham would qualify for just about every professional sport, but MLB, NBA, NFL, etc. are not coming here. Although if monster trucks league has to have a competition headquarters, I'm sure that the BJCC would be right at the top of their list.

I was a B'ham Americans fan and was able to buy two last half of the season tickets in their first season. Like the description by Memphis of what happened in his city, the Americans united the city of B'ham across sectional and ethnic lines and gathered such a large crowd at the airport to welcome the team back from a Florida game that the airport authority ordered all future returns had to go to the old terminal. Had the league not folded around them, the Americans would have lasted much longer.

UAB has the potential to do the same thing for the city through a winning football team and perhaps a winning basketball team. We will see what the future holds for both entities.

(04-11-2015 01:33 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  The real problem in Birmingham is that the local government is broke and can't put up any bonds to finance the shiny new stadiums/arenas a new team would require.

No this isn't the real problem and your comment isn't accurate either. The problem is the perception that many believe a professional sports franchise wouldn't be supported by Alabama fans.

That's some real 1960's thinking for your azz right there.

Evidence indicates that B'ham and its metro area fans can and will support a credible pro team as it has done in the past. They only became resistant after many failed attempts made by exploitive owners who tried to use them as shills. Even a couple of those teams did reasonably well locally but folded nationally - like Donald Trump's league, NFL-World and CFL - America - due to a mix of inadequate marketing, ownership greed demanding immediate profits and lack of time to develop a following for the product.

I think the city could support a pro team. I don't know if I agree with the NFL, but I think the city could support NBA, NHL, or MLS.

(04-11-2015 10:03 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  I think the city could support a pro team. I don't know if I agree with the NFL, but I think the city could support NBA, NHL, or MLS.

Birmingham could not support an NHL team. Atlanta couldn't, and Birmingham is way more like Atlanta than Nashville in that regard.

The issue is that no one with a crap load of money would ever move a franchise to Birmingham.

(04-11-2015 10:47 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The issue is that no one with a crap load of money would ever move a franchise to Birmingham.

The only viable teams for Birmingham would be the NBA or the MLS, and both of those would probably only happen for expansion teams, not relocations. But, you're right, even just getting an expansion team would require someone with serious money, and there's no Fred Smiths or Arthur Blanks in Birmingham.

A USL team for the expansion MLS team in Atlanta would be fun. It would be like having a minor league soccer team. Games could be played at UAB. MLS this season required all of its franchises to field a B squad in the USL.

(04-11-2015 10:47 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The issue is that no one with a crap load of money would ever move a franchise to Birmingham.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! The only potential would have to come a franchise of new league and the people of Birmingham have been burnt so many times by touching that hot stove that they will not be caught investing their loyalty in that manner again.

Regardless, before we spend one once of energy getting interested in bring a major league pro team to Birmingham, lets make sure we are successful in bringing big time college football back to UAB and insure that it is properly supported for long term growth and success.

Some people can afford to go to any sporting event they chose to attend, but many people have only a fixed amount of income that they can allocate to entertainment, especially sports entertainment. Any additional sports entertainment that competes for those dollars has the potential to cut into UAB revenue sports such as basketball and football. (You can spout BS about how pro teams increasing the interest level in a sport, but I'll bet good money that you can't come with good statistical evidence to support that claim, and until you do, it is just BS.)

If you want an extreme example of college sports trying unsuccessfully to fully complete with their pro equivalents look at the City of Miami. Even in years when the Hurricane football was competing for national titles, their home attendance numbers were not at all impressive and their fans were not known for traveling well to bowls, even those where the national championship was on the line.

Again, Lets make sure what we know and love is back and assured of success before we get all excited about bring in pro completion. Right now the way feel is that if we are successful in bringing back UAB football, every extra dollar I might have that I might have to spend on sports entertainment is going to support Blazer athletics. I hope most of you feel the same way.

(04-12-2015 10:55 PM)CajunBlazer Wrote:  

(04-11-2015 10:47 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The issue is that no one with a crap load of money would ever move a franchise to Birmingham.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! The only potential would have to come a franchise of new league and the people of Birmingham have been burnt so many times by touching that hot stove that they will not be caught investing their loyalty in that manner again.

Regardless, before we spend one once of energy getting interested in bring a major league pro team to Birmingham, lets make sure we are successful in bringing big time college football back to UAB and insure that it is properly supported for long term growth and success.

Some people can afford to go to any sporting event they chose to attend, but many people have only a fixed amount of income that they can allocate to entertainment, especially sports entertainment. Any additional sports entertainment that competes for those dollars has the potential to cut into UAB revenue sports such as basketball and football. (You can spout BS about how pro teams increasing the interest level in a sport, but I'll bet good money that you can't come with good statistical evidence to support that claim, and until you do, it is just BS.)

If you want an extreme example of college sports trying unsuccessfully to fully complete with their pro equivalents look at the City of Miami. Even in years when the Hurricane football was competing for national titles, their home attendance numbers were not at all impressive and their fans were not known for traveling well to bowls, even those where the national championship was on the line.

Again, Lets make sure what we know and love is back and assured of success before we get all excited about bring in pro completion. Right now the way feel is that if we are successful in bringing back UAB football, every extra dollar I might have that I might have to spend on sports entertainment is going to support Blazer athletics. I hope most of you feel the same way.

Same type of stuff people in Memphis used to say.