Birmingham convention officials broke ground last month on the start of a dome project that they hope will give the city more opportunity to host large-scale events. The 57,500-seat stadium will be expandable to 70,000 seats and offer 160,000 square feet of exhibit space.
"It gives us a lot more flexibility in terms of meeting space and the opportunity to go after events we couldn't in the past because they required a large, enclosed facility," Mike Gunn, the convention bureau's vice president of convention sales, told The Birmingham News.
Though critics don't think the roughly $500 million dome is worth it, the expansion is expected to create more than 3,368 permanent jobs and attract $128 million in annual consumer spending by its fifth year, according to a study commissioned by the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
The Bassmasters Classic and T.D. Jakes' annual conference are among the events that have passed over Birmingham due to space constraints, Gunn said.
"It gives us a lot more flexibility in terms of meeting space and the opportunity to go after events we couldn't in the past because they required a large, enclosed facility," Mike Gunn, the convention bureau's vice president of convention sales, told The Birmingham News.
Though critics don't think the roughly $500 million dome is worth it, the expansion is expected to create more than 3,368 permanent jobs and attract $128 million in annual consumer spending by its fifth year, according to a study commissioned by the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
The Bassmasters Classic and T.D. Jakes' annual conference are among the events that have passed over Birmingham due to space constraints, Gunn said.
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