BOL Round Table

NBA in Birmingham will never happen. It's not about lack of potential fan support, it's that the city and county are broke and corrupt as hell. Anyone would be crazy to try and work with the city leadership here. Unfortunately, most people will not be in favor of having the local taxes raised to help pay for a new arena in the city. And BJCC isn't anywhere near NBA quality. Bottom line, it's not happening.

We are luck to have a successful Indy Car Race here as well as a PGA Champions Tour Major which could hopefully lead to a regular PGA Tour event in the future. We also have the potential to get Horse Racing back (Alabama Derby) if the Birmingham Racecourse can work with the state to make it happen. People should focus on making these events successful before we even mention a full time professional franchise.

Double post

This has to be a joke, but I know it isn't. That's why it bothers me. Coming from another city, in the great state of Alabama, the citizens of Birmingham (more correctly, the citizens of the cities that helped destroy Birmingham) need to stop being so delusional.

You were once a powerful city, but that was a very long time ago. Cities throughout the south have passed you by. Hell, even cities in this state.

You barely support the Barons. You have no facilities. You have no money. You face the most backward political system in the country. You have no tax base. You have no credit.

Stop with the grandiose dreams. Wake up and see what everyone else does: a decaying husk of a city that is more akin to the Detroit from "Robocop" or New York from "Escape from New York".

You need not make the same mistake over and over. Worry about fixing the necessities before pinning for a NBA franchise.

This is probably true

I blame my University of Alabama degrees, the message board environment, the fact it was three in the morn, auto correct, my alcohol consumption, and my lack of proofreading.

I am glad you can pick the syntax to complain about and basically avoid my main points. Great strategy to winning an argument.

Ha. Just trying to tell it like it is.

ok well stop drunk posting and you'll be fine. I was reacting to you blaming the people from the suburbs of Birmingham for ruining the city when I told you that it was the city's fault. The city is corrupt and beholden to their own special interests rather than building the city.

I don't care to argue with you, it's a waste of time.

I would like to see B'ham get its act together, and would be happy to see professional sports and other things thrive there. I lived there for a while, and don't have a lot of hope for it growing into a great city. IF, as airharper suggested, all the municipalities could form a metro form of govt, it would be a huge step in the right direction. People with the experience, financials, and smarts to make it happen need to come from a larger sampling than just the city limits. Two major differences with Detroit:

1) Detroit is a LOT bigger.
2) Billionaires wanted basketball there, so they made it happen.

If you took the same % of NBA fans per capita, then multiplied the population of B'ham by 10, you'd have a franchise on the way. You'd also have a better infrastructure in place and more people with massive money to put into it.

The way things are now in B'ham, I can't see it happening even if a potential owner came in to check it out. Once they got a dose of the people and system they'd be working with, they'd run to another market in a hurry.

An amateur colonoscopy from one of your Mountainbrook buddies?

With all due respect, I don't think you have a clue. First of all, there was NEVER going to be "one voice" Forget the municipalities for a moment. At the very least there's a long history of city vs. county government, each with their own corruption and rivalries. The city of Birmingham isn't the only problem. Jefferson County's financial woes are well documented.

In 1971, Mayor David Vann, while still a councilman, actually helped to lead a campaign to consolidate the entire county into one central government. Didn't happen. He only served one term as mayor, being defeated by Arrington in 1979. Arrington had the job for 20 years and was charged with corruption by the federal government, and even though the feds had to eventually drop the charges, many have long thought Arrington was crooked.

As far as blaming the suburbs..why in the hell would you blame someone for choosing to live in one of the smaller municipalities instead of a city with a long history of corruption going back at least to Arrington? Blaming people for choosing to live in Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, Hoover, or even Shelby or St. Clair counties because decades of corruption have given us the Birmingham of today is pretty foolish.

you've got a bit of a point there, but, people ain't gonna stick around when they cannot change anything quickly enough to help their own children have a good life. The state government is responsible for overseeing cities and they are losing the battle.. (or have already lost). I wonder what happens when a city goes into federal receivership? Has this ever happened?

So, you'd rather stay in a corrupt and crime ridden city than move to a nice, safe suburb? And you blame people who would rather move and make a better life?

I grew up in a suburb of Birmingham. Call me crazy but I think I'll raise my family in one of the 'burbs instead of the sh*thole that is Bham. Most people who had the opportunity would.

it's useless, he was drinking when he posted that stuff last night and he's backed himself into a corner. Get out while you can.