While an NFL or NBA franchise in Birmingham "might sound foolhardy," Mayor William Bell believes it is a "vision worth pursuing" with possible construction of a downtown sports venue, according to Joseph Goodman of the BIRMINGHAM NEWS. Bell last weekend "spoke about the city's plan to attract more sporting events to Birmingham." Goodman notes on the "cusp of announcing final plans to build a new stadium or dome downtown, Birmingham and its city leaders are starting to think big again." Bell: "My goal as mayor has always been to make Birmingham an outstanding athletic venue regardless of whether it's professional, college or amateur. We want to attract people to this area." In addition to a college football national championship, a dome or "complete overhaul to Legacy Arena would allow" the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex to "once again bid on NCAA regionals and men's and women's Final Fours." Bell: "We have feelers out there for both NBA and NFL." Goodman notes city officials are torn between the "construction of either an open-air stadium, or a dome." Bell and the city council "want a dome," but an open-air stadium "would be cheaper and faster to build." Bell: "We're still in the final process of trying to close that final gap in the financing of it. We're still looking at how we can use that public-private collaboration to close the amount of money that we have to have on an annual basis to cover the debt service. We're close to it, but we're not quite there yet" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 4/26).
