Cleaning out garage and ran across this old yard sign. If memory serves me (correctly) it believe this was circa: 1998:
MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects Strategy) for $500 + million sale of bonds to be paid off by an increase in sales and lodging taxes to build a new
Dome Stadium next to the BJCC
I think Jimmy Blake and Bernard Kincaid and others help to defeat it with a group called "RAPS" (Real Accountability, Progress, and Solutions).
The citizens of Birmingham supported it but the surrounding cities did not
I'm new at this so you have to click the embedded link to see the pic. I thought it loaded automatically
MAPS YES
I was able to find additional info, which follows:
"The MAPS proposal outlined 14 specific projects that would be funded by the bond sale. The following list is ranked by popularity according to polling done in July 1998"
McWane Center
Domed convention center
High-tech library system
Birmingham Zoo expansion
Downtown improvements
Regional transportation hub
Light rail system
Vulcan renovations
Alabama Theater and Lyric Theater renovations
Walking and biking trails
Swimming and aquatic center
Funding for the majority of these projects has since been pursued successfully despite the defeat of the MAPS proposal. Some of the projects were funded by a smaller-scale city-wide sales tax hike, the "Birmingham Economic and Community Revitalization Ordinance", which took effect on January 1, 2008.
We are still waiting on that counter proposal from the RAPS group if it was voted down. Glad no one held their breath.
(08-05-2021 12:45 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote: [ -> ]We are still waiting on that counter proposal from the RAPS group if it was voted down. Glad no one held their breath.
They (RAPS) would probably claim that Protective Stadium is what we REALLY needed anyways. We just had to wait twenty years to get it.
(08-05-2021 12:42 PM)CyberBlazer Wrote: [ -> ]Cleaning out garage and ran across this old yard sign. If memory serves me (correctly) it believe this was circa: 1998:
MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects Strategy) for $500 + million sale of bonds to be paid off by an increase in sales and lodging taxes to build a new Dome Stadium next to the BJCC
I think Jimmy Blake and Bernard Kincaid and others help to defeat it with a group called "RAPS" (Real Accountability, Progress, and Solutions).
The citizens of Birmingham supported it but the surrounding cities did not
I'm new at this so you have to click the embedded link to see the pic. I thought it loaded automatically
MAPS YES
And Jimmy's side kick Alice Durkee and with assist from Paul Finebaum. Jimmy talked about he had an alternative plan. Like OJ revealing the real killer Jimmy has never come forth with the plan. Kind of think both those guys are lying pieces of
(08-05-2021 01:02 PM)CyberBlazer Wrote: [ -> ] (08-05-2021 12:42 PM)CyberBlazer Wrote: [ -> ]Cleaning out garage and ran across this old yard sign. If memory serves me (correctly) it believe this was circa: 1998:
MAPS (Metropolitan Area Projects Strategy) for $500 + million sale of bonds to be paid off by an increase in sales and lodging taxes to build a new Dome Stadium next to the BJCC
I think Jimmy Blake and Bernard Kincaid and others help to defeat it with a group called "RAPS" (Real Accountability, Progress, and Solutions).
The citizens of Birmingham supported it but the surrounding cities did not
I'm new at this so you have to click the embedded link to see the pic. I thought it loaded automatically
MAPS YES
I was able to find additional info, which follows:
"The MAPS proposal outlined 14 specific projects that would be funded by the bond sale. The following list is ranked by popularity according to polling done in July 1998"
McWane Center
Domed convention center
High-tech library system
Birmingham Zoo expansion
Downtown improvements
Regional transporation hub
Light rail system
Vulcan renovations
Alabama Theatre and Lyric Theatre renovations
Walking and biking trails
Swimming and aquatic center
Funding for the majority of these projects has since been pursued successfully despite the defeat of the MAPS proposal. Some of the projects were funded by a smaller-scale city-wide sales tax hike, the "Birmingham Economic and Community Revitalization Ordinance", which took effect on January 1, 2008.
As I recall, several of these items were intended to be "seed money" to draw matching federal dollars offered to cities for internal transportation and modernization needs. When MAPS failed, B'ham asked the state to help get the millions of matching federal funds for the bus system, but the state legislature refused so the federal dollars went to other cities in more complient states. The light rail was proposed to link B'ham to Atlanta along the I-20 corridor.
For trivia buffs, it might be interesting to compare the part of the total bonds pay back for the "domed" MPF compared to the total bond pay back for the BJCC stadium.
The group that put together MAPS successfully won stadium / arena referendums across the country, including Oklahoma City in that same time that resulted in the Seattle SuperSonics relocating to become the Thunder.
To this day, Birmingham is the only referendum they lost.
If MAPS had been passed, UAB would be in the American today, the SEC championship would have come back to Bham, we would have hosted probably 10 NCAA tournaments and maybe would have an NFL team as there was a strong group waiting in the wings at that time to go for it.
(08-05-2021 02:15 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote: [ -> ]The group that put together MAPS successfully won stadium / arena referendums across the country, including Oklahoma City in that same time that resulted in the Seattle SuperSonics relocating to become the Thunder.
To this day, Birmingham is the only referendum they lost.
If MAPS had been passed, UAB would be in the American today, the SEC championship would have come back to Bham, we would have hosted probably 10 NCAA tournaments and maybe would have an NFL team as there was a strong group waiting in the wings at that time to go for it.
According to Bhamwiki:
The MAPS proposal was created by a steering committee made up of Larry Lemak, Richard Scrushy, Elmer Harris, Larry Striplin, Mary Buckelew, Richard Arrington, and Jabo Waggoner.
The campaign for public support was headed by Donald Hess. The committee and its campaign chair volunteered their time and effort.
Rick Horrow, a facility development consultant with the National Football League was hired to assist their efforts. The name and structure of the MAPS proposal was drawn from a similar 1993 proposal which was approved by voters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
(08-05-2021 02:40 PM)CyberBlazer Wrote: [ -> ] (08-05-2021 02:15 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote: [ -> ]The group that put together MAPS successfully won stadium / arena referendums across the country, including Oklahoma City in that same time that resulted in the Seattle SuperSonics relocating to become the Thunder.
To this day, Birmingham is the only referendum they lost.
If MAPS had been passed, UAB would be in the American today, the SEC championship would have come back to Bham, we would have hosted probably 10 NCAA tournaments and maybe would have an NFL team as there was a strong group waiting in the wings at that time to go for it.
According to Bhamwiki:
The MAPS proposal was created by a steering committee made up of Larry Lemak, Richard Scrushy, Elmer Harris, Larry Striplin, Mary Buckelew, Richard Arrington, and Jabo Waggoner.
The campaign for public support was headed by Donald Hess. The committee and its campaign chair volunteered their time and effort.
Rick Horrow, a facility development consultant with the National Football League was hired to assist their efforts. The name and structure of the MAPS proposal was drawn from a similar 1993 proposal which was approved by voters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Correct — Horrow consulted on almost every major stadium / arena venture from the late 1980s until today. To this date, Bham is is only project defeated.
If that had passed, I wonder how playing in a new stadium in the late 90s would have affected the trajectory of UAB football.
(08-05-2021 03:09 PM)hooverblazer Wrote: [ -> ]If that had passed, I wonder how playing in a new stadium in the late 90s would have affected the trajectory of UAB football.
The same thing but with a new stadium
By 1998, Bama had already moved its conference games to Tuscaloosa and only played its one or two less important OOC games in B'ham. Since Bama would never play important games in the city, there was little support in the suburbs for the MPF which many saw as only a "domed (football) stadium" for UAB which had only been playing D1 FB for two years and "Black Friday" was still in the future.
As noted above, there was a notable list of municipal needs that were to be served by the MAPS bonds, but these were largely ignored by the RAPS publicity which concentrated on the "DOMED STADIUM" issue.. Remember: many in the medical school at the time were still upset that their MD diploma would be from UABSOM rather than UASOM. The medical alumni assoc may still be divided on that issue.
UAB got what it needed for its football program with the BJCC owned Protective Stadium. #1 - TOTAL control of ALL ticket sales without exceptions. #2- A new facility to play in that fits its needs for size for 3 or 4 decades to come.
Had MAPS passed, B'ham might have been able to meet several funding needs it still today "has on its plate", particularly in public transportation.UAB football may have avoided some of the flack it had to endure from the System BO, but its conference connections may not have been changed. UAB has not moved from where Gene Bartow left it when he retired.