So recently Birmingham Mayor William Bell said that he would like to see the city of Birmingham pursue a NBA team. I am a Birmingham native and have lived here all of my life and I think this is a horrible idea. I have been outspoken in my dislike of the NBA but I will leave that out of this as I explain why this wouldn’t work.
The city of Birmingham has a history of failed sports teams both indoor and outdoor. Since 1980 Birmingham has seen five outdoor football teams, three hockey teams and one arena football team go under. Some of the reasons have been because the leagues themselves failed, but for the most part it has been because of lack of community support. Birmingham is what I would call a “new city.” Meaning if it is new in Birmingham people will flock to it like it is the greatest thing ever. The new thing sees numbers that set records that raise the hopes of all parties involved. As the days, months, and years grow on this new thing and it loses its newness it also starts to see a decline in business. For restaurants it usually leads to cutting staff, cutting back on marketing and occasionally the shutting of the doors. Sports franchises see similar trends here. When they are the new team in town, getting a ticket a game can be difficult at times. As time goes on however the public slowly stops attending, the corporations stop advertising, and eventually no matter how successful the team is, eventually the team leaves town.
Currently the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) is the only arena in Birmingham that is large enough to host a NBA team. The BJCC website currently lists the seating capacity at 17,654. Not sure if that includes the four luxury boxes or not. Even at capacity the Birmingham NBA team would only be 14th in the NBA average attendance.
My view is that the Birmingham NBA team’s attendance would be similar to the Atlanta Hawks who despite having the second best team in the Southeast Division only averaged 15,199 per game which is 81.2 percent capacity. If the Birmingham franchise averaged that percentage the nightly attendance would be 14,335 which would rank 29th in the NBA based on 2012 attendance rankings.
So as much as I love living in Birmingham and supporting the area sports teams. I truly believe that bringing a NBA to Birmingham would be another eventual black-eye on the sports history of Birmingham which has already suffered enough black-eyes for a lifetime.
Birmingham's days as a possible major league town have long passed. Bear Bryant killed they city's chance of getting an NFL team. Any fading hope Birmingham may have had died with the dream of a new stadium 10-15 years ago. The BJCC is woefully inadequate to be an NBA or NHL arena, and since they no longer have ice making capabilities, even minor pro hockey is out. Although it was very successful there in the mid 90's.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that UAB is getting stiffed by Tuscaloosa in their attempts to build a new football stadium near the campus, one that would be far more convenient for students and fans and provide a much more positive atmosphere. Legion Field is legendary, but unless the Tide is playing there, you'll never fill it, and unless there's 70 or 80,000 people there, the appeal of the stadium area is less than optimal.
If Birmingham is even going to get back into the NCAA basketball tourney rotation, replacing the BJCC Arena is a must.