Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1526693
COME MEET AND EXPLORE IN THE YELLOW HAMMER STATE B Y R U F U S M C K I N N E Y Few states can claim that they have something for everyone, but Sweet Home Alabama can! Alabama destinations offer every tool a Meeting Planner will need to coordinate the best possible event for their client, from award winning meeting facilities to 4-star lodging options to old fashioned Southern Hospitality. Conference attendees will be able to experience the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, explore man-made and natural splendors alike, recharge as they hike awe-inspiring forest trails, and even eat their way through Birmingham. It's the state for the great outdoors, music leg- ends, the civil rights legacy, scientific dreams, and discovery. • • BIRMINGHAM • • Home to America's oldest ballpark, Rickwood Field, an upbeat, thriving music scene, ground zero for the Civil Rights Movement, and boasting world-class golf courses and sporting venues, Birmingham has it all. Whether traveling for a confer- ence or a reunion, there is something for everyone in Greater Birmingham!\ The Birmingham-Jefferson Conven- tion Complex (BJCC) is Alabama's largest convention address, with meeting facili- ties all on one campus. The BJCC com- plex campus has 350,000 square feet of convention and exhibition space. The complex includes an 18,000-seat arena and 4,000 seats in two theaters. Two hotels, The Sheraton Birmingham Hotel and Westin Birmingham, are also part of the complex. Additionally the complex includes Uptown entertainment district and Topgolf. The new 45,000- capacity seat Protective Stadium was completed in 2021. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) football team is the $174 million open-air multi- purpose stadium's primary tenant, mak- ing Protective Stadium the Home of the UAB Blazers. The stadium is also the 2022 home of the new USFL. All teams are playing most of their season's games at Protective Stadium. In early December 2021, the Legacy Arena completed an extensive $125M expansion and renovation project. Interior renovations include structural and non- structural work and, in some cases, the complete replacement of components. Exterior renovations include modifications and alterations to the building envelope and loading docks as well as sitework, landscaping and hardscaping. The new 1.5-mile linear park known as CityWalk was completed just in time to serve as The World Games Plaza. Eight years in the making, the park stretches for 10 blocks under the Interstate 59/20 overpass bridges. Beautifully landscaped and outfitted with playground equipment, CityWalk also has one of the finest skateboard parks in the country. Pickleball courts, dog parks, and handsome gardens are also part of the project. Running adjacent to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, CityWalk is expected to be a popular location for social functions, art exhibitions, and other gatherings. Though the events of the 1960s steal the spotlight, the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham and Alabama evolved from a complex history of race relations in the American South. Richly detailed exhibits in Birmingham's Civil Rights Institute reveal slices of black and white life from the late 1800s to the present. A series of galleries tells the stories of daily life for African-Americans in Alabama and the nation and how it differed dramatical- ly from the lives white people of that era took for granted. • • MOBILE • • Looking for a convention destina- tion that's a little bit different? Mobile has been hosting visitors here for over 300 years and the region's genuine southern hospitality, flair for throwing one heck of an event (America's orig- inal Mardi Gras, anyone?) and com- mitment to making Mobile a city to remember, all work together to help 54 B M & T ••• September/October 2024 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Sixteenth Street Baptist AREA GUIDES A L A B A M A • • • STATS • • • HOTEL ROOMS Birmingham Marriott 302 Hilton Birmingham at UAB 295 The Westin Birmingham 294 EXHIBITION FACILITIES The birmingham-Jefferson convention complex Total Meeting Space 350,000 sq. ft. Largest Hall 220,000 sq. ft. Largest Ballroom 47,000 sq. ft. Meeting Rooms 65 WHO YOU GONNA CALL? visit birmingham – (800) 458-8085 www.birmingham.com photo credit: Birmingham-Jefferson Phoenix C.C