The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex is preparing to break ground on a $174 million open-air stadium before the end of the year.
The stadium will be built on four blocks adjacent to the existing complex. The site is bordered by Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard to the south, 12th Avenue North to the north, 22nd Street to the west and 24th Street to the east.
The BJCC Authority, Birmingham, Jefferson County, UAB and corporate partners are funding the stadium construction as well as more than $100 million in renovations to Legacy Arena and other improvements at the BJCC. A 3 percent tax on car leases and rentals in Jefferson County will also go towards the project.
Populous, a Kansas City, Mo. design and architecture firm, developed conceptual plans for an up to 55,000-seat stadium as part of the BJCC's 20-year master plan, which was released in 2016. The group projected, at that time, that the stadium construction would cost $174 million. The entire expansion and improvement project is projected to cost $300 million.
The BJCC answers all of your burning questions on the project.
What happens if the stadium bids or construction goes over budget?
"The team will be purposeful, intentional and make every effort to design and manage construction to a $174 million budget," BJCC Executive Director Tad Snider said in an email to AL.com. "The initial design concepts and budgeting were undertaken with that project cost in mind. Should there be any overruns, the BJCC Authority will be solely responsible for those additional costs."
Why build the stadium now?
Snider said the downtown stadium has been in the planning stage for years. This year is an opportune time to start construction on the stadium as the Alabama Department of Transportation work on Interstate 59/20 "is going to be a disruptive period in the area of the BJCC anyway," he said.
The Central Business District bridges in downtown Birmingham will be closed and removed in the fall. The bridges will be rebuilt over the course of 14 months.
Also, interest rates, which have been at historic lows, are now beginning to increase and are projected to further increase in 2018, Snider said.
"Interest rates weigh heavily on projects such as these and if the projects were going to move forward, securing the most favorable rates are important," he said.
Snider said other influencing factors were the return of UAB Football and the World Games which are coming to Birmingham in 2021.
"While neither rely on the development of these two projects, both we feel benefit as a result of the project," he said.
When will renovations of Legacy Arena begin?
The timeline associated with the renovations of the Legacy Arena are currently being reviewed, Snider said.
The renovation project began to take shape late last year as Populous refined the conceptual plans. A program manager returned the BJCC Authority earlier this year is working to determine how the renovation process could be phased.
"There will likely be overlapping timelines, but they will not start and reach completion at the same time," Snider said.
After securing funding from Birmingham, what happens now?
The BJCC is working to finalize funding agreements with UAB and corporate partners.
"There is no timeline established at this point, but we would anticipate that to become much more clear in the next 45 to 60 days," Snider said.
In the meantime, Snider said there are some site preparation work that needs to take place at the stadium site. Design and construction teams also have to be selected.
Request for proposals from parties that will make up the financing team including underwriters are one of the next steps as well, he said.
What are the obstacles the BJCC faces?
"While I would not call them obstacles, these are construction projects and the typical complexities of construction will apply throughout these projects as well," Snider said. "Managing budgets, architects and engineers, contractors, communicating with the public and stakeholders regarding progress all come into play and will be important to manage well throughout the projects."
What is Birmingham's return on its investment at the BJCC?
Under a 2011 agreement with the BJCC, city of Birmingham pays the BJCC $5 million a year. This was for costs incurred in the construction of the Westin Birmingham and the start of the Uptown District, according to the BJCC.
About 25 years remain on that agreement.
In 2016, the BJCC generated $3.8 million in sales and use tax, lodging tax, rental tax revenues and personal income and occupational tax that were collected by the city of Birmingham.
In a funding agreement approved by the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, the city will pay the BJCC $3 million a year for 30 years for the debt service on bonds for the stadium and other BJCC improvements.
According to studies commissioned by the BJCC, the direct revenues from the BJCC expansion are expected to generate $500,000 a year to the city after completion. The BJCC expansion combined with expected new developments including two new hotels and an entertainment district are projected to bring annual revenues to $9.9 million.
Revenues from these projects will be designated for Birmingham neighborhood revitalization. It was unclear Friday what would happen if the estimates fall short of target.
Does the BJCC keep all of the taxes generated on its properties?
The BJCC retains transactional related fees equal to the amount of sales tax on certain transactions it directly operates, Snider said, adding that one example is tax on ticket sales paid by the event promoters.
He said those fees are earmarked for capital improvements and are pledged in their entirety to the debt service that will be associated with the upcoming BJCC renovation and stadium.
Certain lodging taxes in the Sheraton and Westin and all taxes incurred by BJCC tenants, including Uptown restaurants, Topgolf, Forum Building tenants, others) and vendors of the BJCC remit 100 percent of their tax obligation to the city, county and state.