Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex |
|
|---|---|
Exterior view of the complex (c.2011)
|
|
| Address | 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd N Birmingham, AL 35203-1102 |
| Location | Druid Hills |
| Owner | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority |
| Operator | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority |
| Inaugurated | 1976 |
| Opened | January 1972 |
| Renovated | 2009, 2019–2021 |
| Expanded | 2019–2021 |
|
Construction cost
|
$104 million ($830 million in 2022 dollars ) |
|
Former names
|
Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (1976–98) |
|
Classroom-style seating
|
51 (Forum Classroom E) |
| Banquet/ballroom | 2,900 (Sheraton Ballroom) 1,780 (East Ballroom) |
|
Theatre seating
|
47,100 (Stadium) 19,000 (Arena) 2,835 (Concert Hall) 1,000 (Theatre) 275 (Forum Theater) |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Exhibit hall floor | 220,000 square feet (20,000 m2) |
| • Breakout/meeting | 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) |
| • Ballroom | 40,522 square feet (3,800 m2) |
The Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, or BJCC for short, is a super cool place in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama. It's where you can find lots of entertainment, sports, and big events. You'll find two hotels, the Sheraton Birmingham and Westin Birmingham, right next to the convention center. The complex has over 220,000 square feet of space for exhibits, meetings, and parties. Plus, it has four main places for shows and games: a stadium, an arena, a concert hall, and a theatre.
Contents
Building the BJCC
The BJCC was designed by a group called Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham. They won a big contest held by the American Institute of Architects to create the design. The first part of the complex was built between 1974 and 1976. It cost about $104 million back then.
For a long time, people wanted to connect the BJCC better to the city's downtown area. This was tricky because a big highway, Interstate 59/Interstate 20, runs right next to it. There were many ideas to make the complex even bigger and better. One idea was to build a large stadium. In 2019, construction began on a new football stadium.
Awesome Places to Visit
The BJCC has several amazing venues, each designed for different kinds of events.
Legacy Arena: Home of Sports and Shows
Legacy Arena is a huge indoor space that can hold up to 17,654 people for sports games. For concerts, it can fit 19,000 fans! It used to be called the BJCC Coliseum and then the BJCC Arena.
This arena has been home to many sports teams. It hosted the Birmingham Bulls ice hockey team in the 1970s and another Bulls team in the 1990s. The UAB men's basketball team also played here for a while.
Today, it's the home court for the Birmingham Squadron, a basketball team in the NBA G League.
Legacy Arena has also hosted big tennis matches for the Davis Cup. You can see all sorts of exciting events here, like major concert tours, Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, and WWE wrestling. In 2023, it even hosted games for the famous NCAA March Madness Men's tournament.
Protective Stadium: Football and Big Events
Protective Stadium is a newer outdoor football stadium. Construction started in 2019, and it officially opened on October 2, 2021. It's named after Protective Life, an insurance company that helped sponsor it.
This stadium can hold 47,100 people! It's the new home field for the UAB Blazers football team. In 2022, Protective Stadium was the main spot for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 World Games, a huge international sports event. Country music star Garth Brooks performed the first concert ever held at the stadium in June 2022.
BJCC Concert Hall: Music and Broadway
The BJCC Concert Hall is a beautiful place with 2,835 seats. It used to be where the Alabama Symphony Orchestra played. Now, it hosts many concerts, touring Broadway shows, and family performances.
It has a very tall stage, about 84 feet wide and 88 feet deep. The ceiling above the stage is 105 feet high, making the concert hall the tallest building in the whole complex! There's even a pipe organ inside. Backstage, there are many dressing rooms and rehearsal areas for performers.
BJCC Theatre: Plays and Children's Shows
The BJCC Theatre has 1,000 seats and is perfect for operas, ballets, and smaller concerts. It's also the home of the Birmingham Children's Theatre, which is one of the biggest children's theaters in the country!
The stage here is 46 feet by 70 feet. It also has a tall ceiling, about 58 feet high. Like the Concert Hall, it has rehearsal areas and dressing rooms for all the performers.
Exhibition Halls: For Big Shows
The BJCC has huge Exhibition Halls that cover 220,000 square feet. These halls are used for Birmingham's biggest trade shows and conventions. They can be divided into three smaller halls and can fit about 1,100 display booths.
Other Cool Spaces
The complex also has 64 meeting rooms, adding up to 100,000 square feet of meeting space. There's a 16,000-square-foot ballroom that can seat up to 1,200 people for banquets. The Medical Forum, a ten-story building, is also part of the complex. It has meeting spaces, classrooms, offices, and a 275-seat theater.
The Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, with 838 rooms, is right next door and offers even more space for meetings and events. The Westin Birmingham Hotel, also nearby, has over 7,000 square feet of meeting space too.
See also
- List of concert halls
- List of convention centers in the United States
