Birmingham named 3rd best sports town in U.S. without one of the 5 major sports leagues

How does Birmingham stack up as a sports town? 

Very well, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ),  the must-read publication for sports business executives. 

This week, the SBJ announced their annual rankings for the Best Sports Business Cities. Under the category Best Sports Business Cities Without a Big Five Team in the U.S., Birmingham came in 3rd place. 

Fort Worth, Texas topped the list, followed by Greensboro, North Carolina in second place. 

Not familiar with the Big Five Teams? They are:

• NFL
• MLB
• NBA
• MLS
• NHL

Secret to Birmingham’s sports success

SBJ cited numerous reasons for Birmingham’s high rank, including:

• Hosting The World Games in 2022 as well as the upcoming Transplant Games and World Police and Fire Games 
• $330 million cumulative investment in building Protective Stadium and renovation of Legacy Arena, which attracted last year’s opening round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament
• Home to a wide variety of sporting events, such as USA Wheelchair Rugby, 76 Birmingham Bowl, Bassmasters Classic and the Children of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Another factor in the ranking is perhaps the biggest sporting event coming to The Magic City in 2024: the “Field of Dreams” game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants in June, celebrating the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field. 

Cities behind Birmingham

Rounding out SBJ’s top ten list were: 

• Louisville, Kentucky
• Palm Beach County, Florida
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Spokane, Washington
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Palm Springs, California  
• Omaha, Nebraska

Did SBJ get it right? You could make an argument that Fort Worth should have been counted as a Dallas Metro area team, but we’ll let them take to top prize. In the meantime, it is nice to see The Magic City recognized for all its hard work to bring sporting events to town.