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(12-19-2019 10:09 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(12-19-2019 09:06 PM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  

(12-18-2019 02:55 PM)GreenHornet33 Wrote:  I'm torn. On one hand I happy that the city is doing SOMETHING! It took 25 years for us to even get here. On the other hand with this 45,000 seat facility, what cities are you competing with? I mean you've basically built an updated version of Bobby Dodd Stadium downtown that smaller than your current facility. It's very small time thinking from a city that claims to want to compete with other cities in the region. I assumed when folks said that they meant Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte but it seems what Birmingham will be competing with is Columbus, Ga, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Ms, and etc.

Birmingham hasn't been on the level of competing with Atlanta since the 80s, if then, and the ship sailed on competing with Nashville or Charlotte around the time that MAPS was voted down

In the past 20 years that Birmingham has been fighting with itself to not do anything good, those other cities have all passed Birmingham by. I would've agreed with you in 2002, but it's not 2002 or 1996 anymore

And I 100% agree with the sentiment about trying to get an SEC game or NFL team here. Birmingham could build a clone of Mercedes Benz Stadium and the Chick Fil A kickoff game isn't coming here, the SEC championship isn't coming back, and an NFL team isn't coming. It's great to dream big dreams, but it's also important to live in the world of what is possible. You should stretch your goals, but not to the point that you should be admitted to a mental hospital

Which goes back to the point of what's good for UAB and what's good for Birmingham? What would have been good for Birmingham would have been an adequate replacement for Legion Field which isn't Protective Stadium isn't. What would have been good for UAB is an OCS which Protective Stadium isn't.

Birmingham knows (or should know) the SEC Championship Game isn't coming back. But to say there would not have been an opportunity to get an NFL Preseason Game would not have been out of the question. We also know that UAB isn't going to fill a 45,000 seat stadium. The top teams in the AAC aren't averaging 45,000 fans a game, not even UCF. UAB needed a 30,000 seat OCS. Protective Stadium isn't the perfect solution for either Birmingham or UAB, but it's what we have so no use in crying over spilled milk.

Besides, what we are really competing with Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, and Charlotte for is conventions which is why the BJCC Arena is getting a makeover. Which is why the Brown-Marx Bldg across the street from Elyton Hotel will become a hotel. Birmingham needs more hotels to accommodate these bigger conventions. Birmingham will also get back into contention for 2nd and 3rd round games of the NCAA Tournament. I'm more excited about these new attractions than the stadium itself.