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(01-11-2017 12:21 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  I guess my point is even if the trigger is pulled today you will have over a year of design and you will not see any tangible progress but in reality many people will be working hard on a design.

Based upon this time line, in what year could we realistically expect UAB to play its last game at Legion Field?

As Mixed stated in post #20, if only UAB's needs are considered, the limited use open air stadium will do fine. The city needs to think bigger for its future revenue needs.

That's a difficult question to answer in

1. Not being on the management team
2. Design team has not selected.
3. No clue to the actual scope of work as in size of facility and the other aspects of the project from what I understand is broad.
4. Have no clue as to what type of phasing they want the project in.

That's just off the top of my head.

Let's say that the stadium is the first project, (There is no indication that it is phase I yet) I would suspect just the planning and design phase will be at least a year and I'm being optimistic. An aggressive schedule would get it done in 18 months weather permitting and the changes are kept to a bare minimum. You are looking at three years from now with the optimum conditions.

The football Ops building is a walk in the park compared to this.

Putting my administrator hat on and money is no object

If it's me and I'm building it just for UAB only I build a 45K seat open air stadium that has the regions Field look to it.

If I'm building for the entire municipal area I build a covered facility with a retractable roof and configure it as mentioned above for multiple uses.

(01-11-2017 12:54 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  That's a difficult question to answer in

1. Not being on the management team
2. Design team has not selected.
3. No clue to the actual scope of work as in size of facility and the other aspects of the project from what I understand is broad.
4. Have no clue as to what type of phasing they want the project in.

That's just off the top of my head.

Let's say that the stadium is the first project, (There is no indication that it is phase I yet) I would suspect just the planning and design phase will be at least a year and I'm being optimistic. An aggressive schedule would get it done in 18 months weather permitting and the changes are kept to a bare minimum. You are looking at three years from now with the optimum conditions.

The football Ops building is a walk in the park compared to this.

Putting my administrator hat on and money is no object

If it's me and I'm building it just for UAB only I build a 45K seat open air stadium that has the regions Field look to it.

If I'm building for the entire municipal area I build a covered facility with a retractable roof and configure it as mentioned above for multiple uses.

for example. the Atlanta stadium timeline:

03/07/13 - Atlanta agrees to build stadium
06/18/13 - Falcons have completed conceptual design (already ongoing before decision to build stadium)
05/19/14 - Groundbreaking on construction
08/21/15 - Mercedes-Benz purchases for 27 years
07/30/17 - Stadium to open

Almost 4½ years from decision to build to opening day.

Exactly. 4 may be more realistic.

So a 4 year timeline would mean not being finished until 2021 if a decision was made today. 4 more years at Legion Field just seems like an eternity.

I dont understand how city/county can justify spending an extra 200 mil on a dome. I believe the open air stadium and renovation of the Civic Center (desperately needed) would be the best course of action.

(01-11-2017 02:29 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  So a 4 year timeline would mean not being finished until 2021 if a decision was made today. 4 more years at Legion Field just seems like an eternity.

For our players, Legion Field accommodations are good. Locker rooms, showers, field conditions and lighting are all they have to worry about. For fans, there are parking, concessions, bathrooms, etc. to be considered. For us, four years can be like an eternity.

BTW, 2021 is the 150th birthday of the city of B'ham. 2026 will be the centennial birthday of Legion Field's first constructed stands.

I will believe it when I see it. Until then, get used to Legion Field. There's nothing wrong with it. Embrace it.

get used to legion field.

(01-11-2017 02:58 PM)BlazintheATL Wrote:  I dont understand how city/county can justify spending an extra 200 mil on a dome. I believe the open air stadium and renovation of the Civic Center (desperately needed) would be the best course of action.

It all depends on the level of convention / event facilities with which B'ham desires to compete. If it wants major conventions, events and sports games, it must build accordingly. If it decides to only compete with such cities as Pelham, Foley, Dothan, etc. then it can be satisfied with less.

Such a decision would mean that a greater share of future tax revenue would have to come from the pockets of its own citizens since "minor league" events don't bring in "major league" revenue, but costs of city services are not going to diminish in the future.

Like I said I would go the extra mile if it were me. I could easily justify the expenditure. Then again I'm a planner, builder, promoter.

I'll take whatever we can get and not complain from a UAB standpoint. Whatever we get will put us on an entirely other level program wise.

Hell I'll gladly play three or four more years in LF if the reward is a state of the art facility. We survived no football for two years we can survive anything. Embrace LF until we have a new home and put butts in the seats.

The key words were "If money is no object".

If that were true, Bell and Austin and the council would be stealing more of it and everyone would be happy.

They can talk about the dome for twenty years - hell, they already have! The fact is that they don't have the money for one. They want it because a project with that kind of budget has more room for money to fall off the truck, but I just don't see it happening no matter how badly they wish it would.

With the way the project will be set up they wont be able to get their hands on very much falling off the truck. With funding coming from multiple sources and private money involved the transparency will be enough to choke any city or county member. The more funding sources the more interested eyeballs.

Like I said if I were building it for UAB is would be a smaller open air that looks like Regions.

If I were building it for all of central Alabama and take my UAB hat off and I'm in charge I'd build it as large as I could. The money would be there.

I will be grateful for whatever we get.

I heard we are buying the roof from the Georgia Dome for an undisclosed amount of money and two beluga whales.

(01-12-2017 09:25 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  With the way the project will be set up they wont be able to get their hands on very much falling off the truck. With funding coming from multiple sources and private money involved the transparency will be enough to choke any city or county member. The more funding sources the more interested eyeballs.

Like I said if I were building it for UAB is would be a smaller open air that looks like Regions.

If I were building it for all of central Alabama and take my UAB hat off and I'm in charge I'd build it as large as I could. The money would be there.

I will be grateful for whatever we get.

When it comes to stadiums, domes, the city of Bham, Jeff Co, and UAB I won't believe anything until dirt is being moved.

Pessimism is the easiest path.

(01-12-2017 05:31 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  Pessimism is the easiest path.

It's not pessimism, it's a lifetime of living in and around this city.

And I have built over 150 million dollars of work within the Birmingham City limits. So things do get built.

Another interesting feature is that the new stadium will be home to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2021 World Games in Birmingham. The stadium would also likely be the site for other related sporting events (including lacrosse).

Just discovered the new website for the 2021 World Games in Birmingham: http://www.theworldgames2021.com/

(01-13-2017 12:44 AM)Blazer85 Wrote:  Another interesting feature is that the new stadium will be home to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2021 World Games in Birmingham. The stadium would also likely be the site for other related sporting events (including lacrosse).

Just discovered the new website for the 2021 World Games in Birmingham: http://www.theworldgames2021.com/

To have a new stadium ready by 2021, they need to be awarding bids pretty soon, like within just a few months. That's 4 years from now.