Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
Encyclopedia
The Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) (formerly Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center) is a sports, convention and entertainment complex located in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

. It consists of a 17,000 seat arena, a 3,000 seat concert hall, a 220,000 square foot (20,440 m²) exhibition hall, a 1,000 seat theater and various banquet and meeting rooms and other facilities.

Design

The Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center was designed by Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham, the winner of what was, at the time, the largest open architectural competition ever organized by the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...

. The original facility was built between 1974 and 1976 for approximately .

A critical component of the competition program was making a viable connection across the elevated I-59
Interstate 59
Interstate 59 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. Its southern terminus is near Slidell, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, at an intersection with Interstate 10 and Interstate 12, its northern terminus is at Wildwood, Georgia, at an intersection with Interstate 24.The road's...

/I-20
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...

 highway from the Civic Center facility to the existing administrative and cultural facilities surrounding Linn Park to the south. No satisfactory solution to that problem has ever been carried out.

Part of Birmingham's "City Center Master Plan" envisions replacing the existing elevated highway with a below-grade corridor which would simplify interstate access to the downtown area, mitigate the noise and visual effects of highway traffic, and allow for a landscaped plaza to bridge over the highway. If carried out, this plan would finally create the connection between the BJCC and Linn Park.

A major expansion of the BJCC is currently underway. Ground breaking was held on July 21, 2009 for a new multi-purpose convention facility/stadium. On December 17, 2008 the Civic Center Authority Board unanimously chose Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event) to design the city's $550 million facility. The stadium is tentatively scheduled for a 2014 opening.Groundbreaking for Birmingham's dome facility

Arena

The arena, which seats 17,654 for sporting events and up to 19,000 for concerts, was the home of the Birmingham Bulls
Birmingham Bulls
The Birmingham Bulls were a professional ice hockey team based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1976 to 1979 and the Central Hockey League from 1979 to 1981. The Bulls played their home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center.Prior to being...

 of the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

 from 1976-1979. It was also the home of the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 program of the UAB
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...

 before it moved into an on-campus arena
Bartow Arena
Bartow Arena is an 8,508-seat multi-purpose arena in Birmingham, Alabama. It is home to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team. The arena is named after Gene Bartow, the coach who largely built the school's men's...

 in 1988, and was also home to the Alabama Steeldogs arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....

 team. Although the arena stands ten stories tall, it actually measures only 75 feet (23 m) from floor to ceiling.

It is also the site of major concert tours, Disney on Ice
Disney on Ice
Disney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...

, American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

 Live!, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

, the PBR Built Ford Tough Series
Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series is the "major league" tour of the PBR competitions. It is a 30-city event series culminating in the PBR World Finals every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The top 45 riders of the PBR compete in the BFTS with the rankings determined by points and money won...

, and other events, including trade shows, and contains an oval-shaped 24,200-square-foot (2,244.5 m²) (110' by 220' (33.5 x 67 m)) arena floor. The arena also contains several luxury suites and a press box. Backstage there are 2 locker rooms and 6 dressing rooms as well as a press room and a VIP Reception area. The arena can accommodate 8 trucks backstage—3 on truck docks and room for 5 more. The arena's four-sided center-hung scoreboard, designed by Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...

, measures 18' by 18' (5.5 x 5.5 m) on each side. Also on each side is a 7.5'-by-8'8" ProStar 16.5 mm video display.

The BJCC has hosted four Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 men's basketball tournaments between 1979 and 1992, five Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...

 men's basketball tournaments in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990 and the 1999 Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...

 men's basketball tournament. It has also hosted the NCAA college basketball tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 serving as first and second round host in 1984, 1987, 2000, 2003, and 2008. The BJCC has been a regional site
six times - 1982, 1985, 1988, 1995, and 1997. It was also the site of ECW Guilty as Charged
ECW Guilty as Charged
Guilty as Charged was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view from Extreme Championship Wrestling. The 2001 event was ECW's last pay-per-view before declaring bankruptcy.-1999:...

 and WWE Armageddon 2000
Armageddon (2000)
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 10, 2000, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the second annual Armageddon event....

.

In 2009 it hosted the first round tie of the 2009 Davis Cup
2009 Davis Cup
The 2009 Davis Cup was the 98th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Sixteen teams participated in the World Group and more than one hundred other took part in different regional groups. Spain won their fourth title...

 between the United States and Switzerland. Several tennis stars participated including Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....

, James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...

, Mike and Bob Bryan, and Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...

.

Four episodes of WWE Raw (on February 15, 1999; March 21, 2005; March 6, 2006; and June 1, 2009). Seven episodes of WWE Smackdown ECW (WWE) and WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...

 (on October 12, 1999; August 1, 2000; July 10, 2001; September 9, 2003; May 1, 2007; January 15, 2008; January 11, 2011). WWE Live Events in May 20, 2002; February 28, 2004; January 16, 2010

Concert Hall

The 3,000-seat Concert Hall was the home of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
- 1921-1955: Beginnings :The Alabama Symphony Orchestra can trace its beginnings to 1921, when on Friday, April 29, fifty-two volunteer musicians joined to perform at the Birmingham Music Festival at the Old Jefferson Theater...

 before moving to UAB
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...

's state of the art Alys Stephens Center. Concerts and touring Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 and family shows are also held here. It features a 84 feet (25.6 m)-by-88-foot (25.5-x-27-m) stage with a 24-foot-(7.3 m)-tall proscenium. Its grid height of 105 feet (32 m) makes the concert hall the tallest building in the complex. There is also a pipe organ at the Concert Hall, and backstage there are 2 chorus rooms and 12 dressing rooms, as well as two rehearsal areas and a VIP Reception Room.

Exhibition Hall

The 220000 square feet (20,438.7 m²) Exhibition Hall is used for Birmingham's largest trade shows and conventions. It is divisible into three smaller halls and can accommodate 1100 exhibit booths.

Theater

The 1,000-seat Theater is used for operas, ballets, and smaller concerts and stage shows, and is also home to the Birmingham Children's Theatre
Birmingham Children's Theatre
The Birmingham Children's Theatre, the professional resident theatre company at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, remains one of the oldest and largest professional theatres producing live theatre for young audiences. Founded in 1947, the theatre produces eight productions per year,...

, the nation's largest children's theater. The theater contains a 46-by-70-foot (14-by-21-meter) stage and a grid height of 58 feet (17.5 m). There are 2 rehearsal areas, 2 chorus dressing rooms and 6 dressing rooms, including a star's dressing room.

Other facilities

The complex contains 64 meeting rooms totaling 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of meeting space, including a 16000 square feet (1,486.4 m²) ballroom that can seat up to 1,200 for banquets.

The ten-story Medical Forum, with meeting space, a 275-seat auditorium, classrooms, conference space, and offices, is also located here.

The adjacent 838-room Sheraton Birmingham
Sheraton Birmingham
The Sheraton Birmingham is Alabama's largest convention hotel, featuring 757 rooms and suites adjacent to the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in downtown Birmingham, Alabama .The 17-story hotel was built in two phases...

Hotel provides a large ballroom and other convention and meeting facilities nearby.

External links

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