The consultant hired to evaluate the feasibility of building and operating a domed stadium in Birmingham, Ala., has a clear message for the city: The dome won't stand alone.
In a report to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Authority, consultant Stewart Rog of Deloitte & Touche said the city needs more hotel rooms, restaurants, entertainment and airline service before it can expect to operate successfully a domed stadium that would house conventions, trade shows and athletic events.
Those requirements aren't prerequisites, however; they can be accomplished "parallel" to construction of a multipurpose dome, Rog said.
But how does the authority build new tourist attractions and add nonstop jet service from the airport while a dome is being built?
It doesn't, at least by itself.
"Lots of these issues go beyond this board to private and public entities," Rog said.
Which means the next step is to talk, said Gene Hallman, executive director of the Alabama Sports Foundation. Hallman was a leading supporter of the Metropolitan Area Projects Strategy, which was rejected by voters last summer. The proposal would have increased the sales tax to pay for a $250 million dome.
"What needs to be done now is to have a communitywide discussion," Hallman said.
BJCC Chairman Clyde Echols said the next move is to digest the 92-page marketing study, perhaps conduct another study to determine funding options and then make a final decision on a dome next fall or winter.
"I would measure [a decision] in months instead of years," he said.
No decision means Birmingham "falls farther and farther behind" other Southern cities in the rapidly growing convention and trade show business, Rog said.
Gilbert Nicholson writes for the Birmingham Business Journal.
