25 replies to this topic

[rolltider]

The Hoover Met is now about 20 years old.  In the 80's I lived in North Alabama and I would come to Bham two or three times a season to watch the Barons play at Rickwood and genuinely enjoyed the old ballpark.  

I remember when the Hoover Met was built it was one of the best in all of minor league baseball and I was happy to see a new modern stadium in Birmingham.

Since then the Met has lost its appeal.  It has no character and it sits in a secluded area at the end of a street with only one way in and one way out.  

Now I live close enough to the Met to see the lights and hear the fireworks when the Barons play at night and I have been to two Barons games in 7 years.

I would love to see a new 12,000 to 15,000 seat stadium in the Downtown area positioned so the skyline can be seen over the outfield fence.  A downtown stadium would allow workers to hang around downtown after work and watch a game and there would be things to do before and after the game besides walk across the parking lot.

Now that downtown is going through a renaissance it is time to start this discussion.  City's like Buffalo, Memphis, Nashville, Columbus, Ohio have built or are building stadiums in the central city to add to the downtown experiance.  

It is time for Birmingham to do the same.

[kayman]

rolltider, on Jun 7 2006, 08:40 PM, said:

The Hoover Met is now about 20 years old.  In the 80's I lived in North Alabama and I would come to Bham two or three times a season to watch the Barons play at Rickwood and genuinely enjoyed the old ballpark.  

I remember when the Hoover Met was built it was one of the best in all of minor league baseball and I was happy to see a new modern stadium in Birmingham.

Since then the Met has lost its appeal.  It has no character and it sits in a secluded area at the end of a street with only one way in and one way out.  

Now I live close enough to the Met to see the lights and hear the fireworks when the Barons play at night and I have been to two Barons games in 7 years.

I would love to see a new 12,000 to 15,000 seat stadium in the Downtown area positioned so the skyline can be seen over the outfield fence.  A downtown stadium would allow workers to hang around downtown after work and watch a game and there would be things to do before and after the game besides walk across the parking lot.

Now that downtown is going through a renaissance it is time to start this discussion.  City's like Buffalo, Memphis, Nashville, Columbus, Ohio have built or are building stadiums in the central city to add to the downtown experiance.  

It is time for Birmingham to do the same.

That sounds like a great idea, but there are plans to renovate/remodel the Met.  Also I heard that the SEC championship has resigned it contract for another 5 years.  I doubt the Barons would leave anytime soon.

[Blazer85]

There will be baseball fields associated with the Red Mountain Park development.  The skyline would probably be visible from that vantage point.  I agree itd be cool for something right downtown, but it wont be happening anytime soon probably.

[codyg1985]

Blazer85, on Jun 7 2006, 10:17 PM, said:

There will be baseball fields associated with the Red Mountain Park development.  The skyline would probably be visible from that vantage point.  I agree itd be cool for something right downtown, but it wont be happening anytime soon probably.

How cool would it be to have a stadium of similar size to the Hoover Met built inside Red Mountain Park pointed right at the Birmingham skyline?  That would be just as good than something downtown, but then there's that factor of giving people something to do after work without the hassle of driving somewhere else to get to it.

I would not completely rule out getting something built downtown, but as you said, it probably won't be happening anytime in the near future.  Maybe if or when the Barons want a larger facility, or maybe if we got a AAA minor league team.

[convulso]

is there room for a stadium and related infrastructure on red mountain? what are the property boundaries for this development?

Edited by convulso, 14 June 2006 - 02:53 PM.

[Blazer85]

convulso, on Jun 13 2006, 03:57 PM, said:

is there room for a stadium and related infrastructure on red mountain? what are the propoerty boundaries for this development?

Absolutely... Red Mtn Park will be well over 1,000-acres.  They have a website...  www.redmountainpark.org  

It has maps and other information about the planned park.

[kayman]

Blazer85, on Jun 13 2006, 09:23 PM, said:

Absolutely... Red Mtn Park will be well over 1,000-acres.  They have a website...  www.redmountainpark.org  

It has maps and other information about the planned park.

My only thing is how in the hell are they going to build a baseball stadium on a side of a mountain?  
Unless they flatten the mountain and then prepare the land to suit building one, but hat would cost a lot of money.

[Blazer85]

Leonard23, on Jun 14 2006, 09:36 AM, said:

My only thing is how in the hell are they going to build a baseball stadium on a side of a mountain?  
Unless they flatten the mountain and then prepare the land to suit building one, but hat would cost a lot of money.

It's not absolutely perfectly level, but it's not a peak either... it wont be as expensive as you think.

[rolltider]

codyg1985, on Jun 8 2006, 12:51 PM, said:

How cool would it be to have a stadium of similar size to the Hoover Met built inside Red Mountain Park pointed right at the Birmingham skyline?  That would be just as good than something downtown, but then there's that factor of giving people something to do after work without the hassle of driving somewhere else to get to it.

I would not completely rule out getting something built downtown, but as you said, it probably won't be happening anytime in the near future.  Maybe if or when the Barons want a larger facility, or maybe if we got a AAA minor league team.

Red Mountain would be cool but a new stadium should have good access to the major hiways and easily accessible to the downtown area.  The place for the stadium is downtown with access to major streets and the interstate system.

Birmingham was very short sighted in the 80's when they let the Barons leave town for Hoover.  I imagine a new stadium in the downtown area would have been a hard sell because of the deterioration of the area at the time and the number of low-income apartments.  

Things have changed dramatically in the last 5 years with the demolition of a major low income apartment complex and the construction of new apartments, townhouses and the reconstruction of many downtown buildings into loft apartments and condos. New office buildings have been built, new restaurants and retail businesses are opening downtown.  The three biggest eyesores in downtown are about to see new life.  The old Sears building is being totally remodeled for an entrepreneurial center and the Cabana and Pizitz buildings are slated for renovation into condominiums.  And the icing on the cake is the total refurbishing of the City Federal Building.

AAA baseball will not bring national attention to Birmingham like a major league team but the Southern League is very regional with teams in small cities.  Now it is time for Birmingham to move beyond that.  Nashville, Memphis and Charlotte have all left the Southern League and obtained AAA franchises, so now the visiting teams in the Southern League are from places like Jackson, TN and Zebulon, NC.

A downtown stadium and a triple A franchise would put Birmingham in a league with cities like Indianapolis, Buffalo, Portland, Las Vegas as well as rival cities like Charlotte, Nashville, New Orleans and Memphis.

[cm111]

has anyone heard any discussion about this since Don Logan bought the Barons?  it may certainly be that financial issues require staying at the Hoover Met, but i agree with everyone else that a stadium in town somewhere with the skyline visible over the outfield wall would be great.  i would especially love to see a AAA stadium somewhere adjacent to the Railroad Reservation Park, maybe on the southside, somewhere between 23rd and 25th streets, though i haven't driven around over there to see what would be displaced.

[DruidCity]

Here's a link to a discussion about Birmingham's bowl game:
http://www.ncaabbs.c...pic.php?t=45053

According to one poster there :

Quote

I've heard rumors that when Papa John's Cardinal Stadium expands to 60,000 plus seats the game will move to Louisville

Is there anything to that ?

[Blazer85]

DruidCity, on Dec 25 2006, 06:46 PM, said:

Here's a link to a discussion about Birmingham's bowl game:
http://www.ncaabbs.c...pic.php?t=45053

According to one poster there :
Is there anything to that ?

Most likely NOT true.  Some assume that simply because of the Papa John's connection to the bowl game and to Louisville's stadium.  Truth be known, though, Papa John's was a late-announced sponsor and I don't think it's a long contract or anything like that.  The Birmingham Bowl officials would basically take just about any sponsor.   Many of the bowl officials have connections with Birmingham and UAB and would probably not want to move it.  They were actually quite pleased with the turnout.  The bowl only has to average 25,000 per game over like a 5 game period and they got 32,000+ for the first game with two smaller schools.  I don't see any truth to that story at all and have seen nothing to support it other than pure speculation based on the name association.

[DruidCity]

Thanks.

Outdoors in northern Kentucky in December would be a pretty crappy bowl trip, anyway (no offense to Louisville, a pretty nice city otherwise).

One thing I hope the Birmingham Bowl does in the future is take the participants to the Barber Motorsports Park and Vulcan. Those attractions are "uniquely Birmingham."

[rolltider]

cm111, on Dec 19 2006, 12:37 AM, said:

has anyone heard any discussion about this since Don Logan bought the Barons?  it may certainly be that financial issues require staying at the Hoover Met, but i agree with everyone else that a stadium in town somewhere with the skyline visible over the outfield wall would be great.  i would especially love to see a AAA stadium somewhere adjacent to the Railroad Reservation Park, maybe on the southside, somewhere between 23rd and 25th streets, though i haven't driven around over there to see what would be displaced.

I brought this issue up about two years ago and got a very cool response but now in 2008 with spring almost here and a new mayor in office I believe this is a subject that needs to be revisited.  

I strongly believe that one of the big keys to bringing more activity in the summer to the downtown area, particularly at night, is a downtown baseball park.  Hopefully, a new 15,000 seat stadium in the downtown area will attract a AAA team.

Does anyone agree?  If so let's talk it up, maybe the idea will take hold with Langford and something could really happen.

[kayman]

rolltider, on Mar 10 2008, 11:24 PM, said:

I brought this issue up about two years ago and got a very cool response but now in 2008 with spring almost here and a new mayor in office I believe this is a subject that needs to be revisited.  

I strongly believe that one of the big keys to bringing more activity in the summer to the downtown area, particularly at night, is a downtown baseball park.  Hopefully, a new 15,000 seat stadium in the downtown area will attract a AAA team.

Does anyone agree?  If so let's talk it up, maybe the idea will take hold with Langford and something could really happen.

I would really love to see a new AAA ballpark in the City Center also, but it seems that Langford has his sights totally locked on the dome multipurpose facility for the time being.

[hughes_22]

I really think that the city should make a push to bring the barons back to Birmingham.  The games in Hoover are always empty and I really believe that building a stadium downtown could help give the area an extra boost and help Birmingham take full advantage of its potential.  I believe the dome is a waste of money and will be a huge failure but a baseball stadium like the one that was built for the redbirds in Memphis could be a great jolt to the downtown of the city.  Thoughts?

[kayman]

Yes, arguably the Barons, since they use Birmingham's name as their host city in their name, should be back in the City Center.  However, the Barons recently as last year signed a contract that binds them to Regions Park.  As another poster has said on here and I agree is that Birmingham should just leave the Barons in Hoover and recruit an AAA franchise which is more applicable to a city its size and build a baseball stadium for that team.   We missed an opportunity when the Richmond Braves was looking for a new location and facility, but it will be moving to Gwinnett County, Georgia.  

Hughes22, I agree that we should have a stadium in the City Center, but as in all likely future it will be the domed multipurpose facility.  I don't like it either, but at this point we will have to except whatever we get.  This city seems to lack the major civic boosters or an accountability governmental authority to construct or manage more than one sports/event facility.

[The Memphian]

hughes_22, on May 12 2008, 10:49 PM, said:

I really think that the city should make a push to bring the barons back to Birmingham.  The games in Hoover are always empty and I really believe that building a stadium downtown could help give the area an extra boost and help Birmingham take full advantage of its potential.  I believe the dome is a waste of money and will be a huge failure but a baseball stadium like the one that was built for the redbirds in Memphis could be a great jolt to the downtown of the city.  Thoughts?

I believe you are on the right track. Autozone Park has given our city a great deal of civic pride and is certainly a great marketing tool for the city. It has sparked a great deal of development condos, retail, commercial etc. around it. So good luck, a downtown stadium can be a jewel.

Edited by The Memphian, 31 July 2008 - 09:56 PM.

[kayman]

The another problem with getting an AAA ballpark within the City Center is location large enough to build it.  There isn't much land in the City Center as it is, so all likelihood the park would probably be built in either Titusville on or near the Trinity Steel site or Avondale on the site of one of those vacate blocks where there are a number of shuttered businesses or there is a significant number of warehouses that could be relocated.

[rtkenmore]

Leonard23, on Aug 4 2008, 12:17 PM, said:

The another problem with getting an AAA ballpark within the City Center is location large enough to build it.  There isn't much land in the City Center as it is, so all likelihood the park would probably be built in either Titusville on or near the Trinity Steel site or Avondale on the site of one of those vacate blocks where there are a number of shuttered businesses or there is a significant number of warehouses that could be relocated.

I didn't realize there was a Bham Barons thread already but I mentioned in the BJCC thread how great it would be to see the Barons return downtown.  It'd be awesome to see a quaint, old style park build in conjunction with the BJCC so it could feed off of the entertainment district.  With the right size park to host the Barons, it could also compete for the SEC Champsionshp games that are played at Hoover Met.  And I'm just going to go ahead and throw this idea out there as well...  As UAB sports mature and grow, the Baseball team could even use a downtown stadium once they need more space than their current field provides for spectators.  That would free valuable land up for the university to continue it's growth and building projects.

A stadium even at the Titusville site would be cool as it would be easily accessible to I-65 and would certainly help in revitalizing the area.  Not so sure about Avondale simply because of the access issues that could be downfalls.  There's no real easy interstate access directly into Avondale except by way of 280/31 from 3rd/4th Avenue and by way of 1st Avenue from 20/59.