Birmingham Development News

[Bamablazer]

Originally Posted by mcalumni01

https://m.facebook.com/groups/120570...27805200574320

Top Golf going before the design committee this week....#9 in the article...

http://georgiamoves.com/tag/top-golf/
Possible what ours might look like.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Just wanted to let everyone know, the City does have the ball rolling on the BJCC stadium project.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

Just wanted to let everyone know, the City does have the ball rolling on the BJCC stadium project.

*fingers crossed*

Repeat after me: 55k with a roof, 55k with a roof, 55k with a roof.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

No roof yet, a domed stadium in the US with just 55k seats is a bit pointless. Best to see how the outdoor concept does before any enclosure is considered.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

No roof yet, a domed stadium in the US with just 55k seats is a bit pointless. Best to see how the outdoor concept does before any enclosure is considered.

It would not be pointless, but that argument aside a roof would give the structure more flexibility for events other than football.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Tourian

It would not be pointless, but that argument aside a roof would give the structure more flexibility for events other than football.

I just think that if we're looking at bang for our buck, ruling out a roof is the best way to go; especially if they're only looking at 55K initially.

Yes, having it enclosed does increased the potential uses of the facility. However, if the BJCC goes ahead and domes it over at 55K, the cost of potentially expanding it (and keeping it an enclosed facility) is just too much.

If we're talking about an enclosed 65K seat stadium, I'd have no issue with it being built as a dome. But, I think we've noticed over the years that a stadium at around 55K, that is expandable, and also capable of being enclosed is the best way to go. We're not looking for an NFL team here, Alabama and Auburn would lose WAY too much revenue if there was another major team in the state.

We're looking for a stadium that can accommodate UAB, keep the Magic City Classic (we can't underestimate the importance of that game), and also host the Birmingham Bowl (which has a lot of potential to rise in the ranks of bowls considering the renaissance of downtown and enhanced entertainment options) while also being attractive for a potential MLS team.

[Bamablazer]

A construction fence has gone up around the site of the 20 Mid-Town phase 3.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Bamablazer

A construction fence has gone up around the site of the 20 Mid-Town phase 3.

An entire city block... another Cityville, just across the street from the original.

Once the Publix and this 3rd phase are complete, this intersection is going to be HOT.

Looking at you Liberty National!

[TimCity2000]

now if we could do something about those damn car sales lots.... 20th really has the potential to be a great little retail corridor.

[TheCapstone]

Any news on whether or not they'll fix the one-way lanes downtown? You guys were spot when you said you could essentially fly through downtown and get out as quick as possible. It's convenient, but not really what you want when you want for a city that could use more traffic downtown and helping people experience it all. Especially in places like 3rd Ave N that has so much density and beautiful historic buildings.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by TheCapstone

Any news on whether or not they'll fix the one-way lanes downtown? You guys were spot when you said you could essentially fly through downtown and get out as quick as possible. It's convenient, but not really what you want when you want for a city that could use more traffic downtown and helping people experience it all. Especially in places like 3rd Ave N that has so much density and beautiful historic buildings.

Hard to say. I doubt we'll hear ANY mention of converting the one-ways until after the 20/59 viaduct replacement. That project will change all of the CBD's traffic patterns.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

now if we could do something about those damn car sales lots.... 20th really has the potential to be a great little retail corridor.

Someone just has to make them an offer. They'll deal.

But seriously I doubt Adamson will want to move unless they get a really big buyout and a sweet setup somewhere else. They got incentives not to move and restore their building a while ago.

I wish theyd visit tokyo or some other dense city and build them inside office buildings and parking decks and not have any out door lots.

[TheCapstone]

Bham's newest Brewery to open this month

Keep Alabama progressing in the craft beer movement.

[TheCapstone]

The Birmingham City Council today approved incentives for a project to redevelop the Wildwood Shopping Center.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by TheCapstone

Bham's newest Brewery to open this month

Keep Alabama progressing in the craft beer movement.

Originally Posted by TheCapstone

The Birmingham City Council today approved incentives for a project to redevelop the Wildwood Shopping Center.

Good news on both ends. That area directly west of I-65 along Lakeshore has been needing some "beautifying" for years. Hopefully ALDOT's plan for the switch over interchange at Lakeshore/I-65 in the future aids the economy in that area.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

The "crown" of The Empire Hotel in downtown is now illuminated..

Scaffolding around The Pizitz is still on its way down. The building looks beautiful!

Thomas Jefferson Tower shows lighting on various floors at night; the dirigible mast is still dark.

Plenty of 2nd Ave N is seeing plenty of activity. (the building next to Paramount)

[Wayward Memphian]

Originally Posted by Tourian

It would not be pointless, but that argument aside a roof would give the structure more flexibility for events other than football.

120,000 square foot of addition exibition space. Same reason Memphis needs a new convention center/55,000 seat indoor stadium/hotel combo between Union and Beale.

Also, whIle not making them BCS worthy, it would greatly enhance the bowl experience in either city taking a good bit of the weather element out of it, possibly leading to greater attendance and perceived stature.

I've advocated retractable fabric roofing as a cost alternative. See the stadium in Vancouver for an example.

BC Place configured for MLS with open roof


Imagine it open at night with a lighting package for the cloth shields for the upper deck

Closed at night:

[Wayward Memphian]

I've got question for the Alabama peeps relating to air traffic. British Airlines is starting to get their 787s from Boeing. This plane is hailed a game-changer in making it economically possible for for airlines to fly to smaller markets than the typical big hubs for TATL flights. Austin Texas is an example of this. There's a strong rumor that New Orleans is about to get BA flights to London as well. Nashville has been often mentioned for this BA service as well. What type of fares would you expect to pay? Well, as of today, a family of 4 flying round trip to London from Austin for a week to ten days is around 7,000 dollars. I see no reason why the fares for New Orleans or Nashville would not be around the same. That is not cheap and really doesn't seem likely to stimulate growth in the leasure market.

Now, here comes Norweigian Air into the US market. They are hated by our Legacy airlines. They have been getting 787s from Boeing and putting them to work as a TATL low cost carrier and seem to be doing well at it. In an interview earlier this year with CNBC, their CEO dropped Memphis as a possible airport for future service. So far, they have stuck with airports near major population hubs like New York Oakland and Fort Lauderdale with flights to leasure markets like Vegas and Orlando. These markets seem able to support 787 traffic whether if it is just 1 to 3 times weekly or daily out of these airports. British seems to be getting it done from Austin, but that kinda piggy backs San Antonio as well. Now, how does a city like Memphis get mentioned Norweigian flights? The Airbus A321neo that's being produced at Mobile. It is basically a new version of a old 757 with a range of 4000nm but with better fuel burn/economics. Norweigian's birds are still about 2 years out. They are setting them up in single class layout at 220 seats. That range puts an airport like Memphis in range of Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid and Oslo. All of these are Norweigian bases and offer many connecting points in Europe. It gives them a plane that will seat 50 less than their 787s and offer better economics. Now, if this pipe dream ever came true, Memphis would get one to 2 flights a week, maybe 3 if successful. But, what type of fares are we talking about? Well, the nonstop pricing for a flight to London under the same timeframe as that BA flight from Austin is 2,900 from Oakland and 2,300 from New York. Splitting the time and distance difference, that would give a fare of about 2,500 for a family of 4 to fly to London and back from Memphis nonstop. Compare this to the going cheapest 1 stop rate of 6,900 from Memphis and Birmingham. Driving over to Atlanta and just flying the nonstop runs 6,200. That is a huge, jaw dropping difference from our Legacies and their alliance partners.

The Norweigian CEO's whole premise is that TATL traffic is incredibly depressed given these types of fares and there is a vast untapped market just laying there to take advantage of. So, my question would be, would folks that live in areas lite B-Ham, Jackson MS, Little Rock, ect make the drive to Memphis to fly out of there to Europe with such low fares availible. I chose Memphis because it is centered in the middle of those cities plus all the smaller MSAs in that area. In fact, if you draw a circle around Memphis at a 4 hr drive you even have Nashville and parts of St. Louis fall within that, giving a potential pop base of 8 million to draw from by offering those type of fares.

Why Memphis? Location. Nashville has hubs on three sides that are fairly close plus it may have BA already in place. Memphis is just better centered.

Do you guys think that fares at a low cost would stimulate a market that current isn't there like Norweigian's CEO believes? Do you think folks would drive to Memphis and forgo short connecting flights fr their home airports to save thosands? I would. What are your opinions?

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Wayward Memphian

I've got question for the Alabama peeps relating to air traffic. British Airlines is starting to get their 787s from Boeing. This plane is hailed a game-changer in making it economically possible for for airlines to fly to smaller markets than the typical big hubs for TATL flights. Austin Texas is an example of this. There's a strong rumor that New Orleans is about to get BA flights to London as well. Nashville has been often mentioned for this BA service as well. What type of fares would you expect to pay? Well, as of today, a family of 4 flying round trip to London from Austin for a week to ten days is around 7,000 dollars. I see no reason why the fares for New Orleans or Nashville would not be around the same. That is not cheap and really doesn't seem likely to stimulate growth in the leasure market.

Now, here comes Norweigian Air into the US market. They are hated by our Legacy airlines. They have been getting 787s from Boeing and putting them to work as a TATL low cost carrier and seem to be doing well at it. In an interview earlier this year with CNBC, their CEO dropped Memphis as a possible airport for future service. So far, they have stuck with airports near major population hubs like New York Oakland and Fort Lauderdale with flights to leasure markets like Vegas and Orlando. These markets seem able to support 787 traffic whether if it is just 1 to 3 times weekly or daily out of these airports. British seems to be getting it done from Austin, but that kinda piggy backs San Antonio as well. Now, how does a city like Memphis get mentioned Norweigian flights? The Airbus A321neo that's being produced at Mobile. It is basically a new version of a old 757 with a range of 4000nm but with better fuel burn/economics. Norweigian's birds are still about 2 years out. They are setting them up in single class layout at 220 seats. That range puts an airport like Memphis in range of Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid and Oslo. All of these are Norweigian bases and offer many connecting points in Europe. It gives them a plane that will seat 50 less than their 787s and offer better economics. Now, if this pipe dream ever came true, Memphis would get one to 2 flights a week, maybe 3 if successful. But, what type of fares are we talking about? Well, the nonstop pricing for a flight to London under the same timeframe as that BA flight from Austin is 2,900 from Oakland and 2,300 from New York. Splitting the time and distance difference, that would give a fare of about 2,500 for a family of 4 to fly to London and back from Memphis nonstop. Compare this to the going cheapest 1 stop rate of 6,900 from Memphis and Birmingham. Driving over to Atlanta and just flying the nonstop runs 6,200. That is a huge, jaw dropping difference from our Legacies and their alliance partners.

The Norweigian CEO's whole premise is that TATL traffic is incredibly depressed given these types of fares and there is a vast untapped market just laying there to take advantage of. So, my question would be, would folks that live in areas lite B-Ham, Jackson MS, Little Rock, ect make the drive to Memphis to fly out of there to Europe with such low fares availible. I chose Memphis because it is centered in the middle of those cities plus all the smaller MSAs in that area. In fact, if you draw a circle around Memphis at a 4 hr drive you even have Nashville and parts of St. Louis fall within that, giving a potential pop base of 8 million to draw from by offering those type of fares.

Why Memphis? Location. Nashville has hubs on three sides that are fairly close plus it may have BA already in place. Memphis is just better centered.

Do you guys think that fares at a low cost would stimulate a market that current isn't there like Norweigian's CEO believes? Do you think folks would drive to Memphis and forgo short connecting flights fr their home airports to save thosands? I would. What are your opinions?

First, I think that the fares for all three would be warranted. However, no offense to Memphis, there should be a bit more wiggle-room seasonally (with current aircraft).

NOW, in the foreseeable future, I do see Eastern US Markets with populations above 1.25 (such as Memphis, Birmingham - there is already a direct flight # from BHM to Stuttgart - , Louisville, Richmond, etc...) being looked at by carriers that can provide a service from those airports to major European hubs (kind of in a "Focus City" method that Southwest relies upon).

Anyways, I could certainly see Memphis being a gateway to Europe within the next 5 years or so.

[TimCity2000]

Developer expands plan for Box Row Avondale