http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingha...-nba-team.html
Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News was a major nay-sayer on this topic but here an author with a business perspective, when looking at the numbers, seems to feel very differently.
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There's recently been some chatter in Birmingham about the possibility of landing an NBA team.
According to a column by Jon Solomon in the Birmingham News, Mayor William Bell even said the city explored bringing together an ownership group in an attempt to acquire the New Orleans Hornets .
It's not the first time city leaders have brought up the idea, but is it a realistic one?
A 2009 study by one of our sister publications concluded that Birmingham has the disposable income necessary to support an NBA team – or an NFL or NHL team.
But, according to that same study, Birmingham ranked 10th for available disposable income among metros without a professional team.
That suggests there may be more attractive markets ahead of Birmingham in the pecking order.
Still, it's not out of the question that a city of Birmingham's stature could economically support a team.
Salt Lake City, Buffalo, N.Y., Raleigh, N.C., and New Orleans are all comparable in size to Birmingham. All have at least one "Big Four" sports team. Buffalo and New Orleans have two.
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Keep this in mind:
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BBVA, parent of Birmingham-based BBVA Compass, is the official bank partner of the NBA.
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The implications of this are reasonably large.
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Our corporate community has stepped up to the plate in recent years with other sporting events, such as the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
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One thing that I think it's important to note is that Birmingham has consistently shown an amazingly good corporate community through the decades, sponsoring a whole lot of events and creating things like the Alys Stephens Center. Our cultural centers are all very good, better than most others in the Southeast, and they're mostly made possible through our corporate community.
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And, when it comes to naming rights, it's not a given that a company has to be headquartered in a city to sponsor a local arena, as American Airlines has shown by sponsoring NBA arenas in both Dallas and Miami.
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So it's not even necessary that it has to be our corporate community in particular.
To quote the original article with the study to which this one refers:
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Using those factors, the Birmingham area – with a total and available income of $45.13 billion – has the ability to host teams in the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, National Football League and Major League Soccer; all require minimum income bases less than the $45 billion Birmingham could offer. On paper, only a Major League Baseball team, with a thirst for at least $86.7 billion, would be out of the area’s reach.
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Regular-season NBA games on ESPN this season drew a 2.4 rating in Birmingham, meaning 2.4 percent of households were watching. Stunningly, that's second in the country only to Memphis (2.7); the national average was 1.4.
Check out the top 10 TV markets for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Notice the one that's not an NBA market?
Oklahoma City, 44.4.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, 30.5.
Tulsa, 27.7.
West Palm Beach, 17.9.
Cleveland, 17.8.
Memphis, 15.8.
San Antonio, 15.6.
Birmingham, 14.6.
New Orleans, 14.4.
Chicago, 14.2.
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So, looking at the numbers, I think it's definitely possible that we could support an NBA team and turn a profit. Actually I think it's a bit odd to believe that we couldn't, given that we're one of the top 10 TV markets for NBA. Also, we are just barely behind Louisville in terms of metros without an NBA team.
I don't know that naysayers in the professional world are factoring in the economic "aftershocks" of injecting a major-league team into a city. An investment that large tends to act as sort of a "bazooka" and spur development and economic activity following it. Also, the cultural implications are considerable: this would be Alabama's first and only major league team, and considering how sports-crazy we already are, tons of people would really rally behind it and show their support. Not all, but definitely enough to keep one in business. The sense of community and identity is something VERY vital to urban centers.
Last but not least, it's important to note that previous pro franchises in Birmingham have actually fared well. The only reason that they went under was because of the league as a whole, which is a damn shame. There is some new football league starting up and Birmingham is actually high on their list of prospective franchises.
I think that the two dealbreakers here are:
1. Corporate sponsorship is on the fence. A lot of companies already have money invested in football suites at Alabama/Auburn
2. The need to build a new stadium.
What do you make of this?