A new US$174m multipurpose stadium to be built in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, has been given a US$30m financial boost after it was unanimously approved that the Jefferson County Commission would allocate funding to the project.
The commission revealed it would commit US$1m per year to the 45,000-seat, open-air stadium for the next 30 years. However, the money would only be allocated should construction of the project begins in 2018.
The stadium, designed by architecture firm Populous in 2016, would be built on the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex property and used by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) football team as well as be home to soccer matches, football playoffs, concerts and extreme sports.
It would be able to deliver a new revenue stream, which is why the commission is so keen to get the project started as soon as possible.
“This Jefferson County Commission is unanimous in its support of this and we look forward to seeing ground being broken,” said commission president Jimmie Stephens.
“We thought it was only proper and prudent to go ahead and to put that out and to get everyone to give a little initiative – a little push to get this project going because we’re on a very, very limited time frame.”
“This ground must be broken if we’re going to be there for the World Games [in 2021]. We have a new soccer team coming into town. We need to have a good facility for them. We have UAB football which we would like to have for six venues in the 2020 season,” Stephens added.
January 17, 2018
