Birmingham takes the world stage: After more than 7 years of planning, The World Games are finally here

Birmingham will play host to The World Games, a major international sports competition affiliated with the Olympics, July 7-17.

The city will welcome about 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries. Those athletes will compete in 34 sports at over a dozen venues around the metropolitan area, and as many as 500,000 people are expected to attend.

It has taken a lot of planning, logistics and people to pull it off, of course.

The International World Games Association announced Birmingham as the host city in January 2015, with Birmingham beating out Lima, Peru and Uma, Russia. Officials have been busy ever since working to pull it all together. Initially, the World Games were to be held in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed both the Olympics and The World Games by a year.

The rewards could be great, with officials forecasting that the event could give the Birmingham area an economic boost worth about $256 million.

It can be difficult to project attendance and economic impact because Birmingham has never hosted anything similar to this event, said John Oros Jr., president and CEO of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. But regardless, the stakes are high, making it very important that the city get it right, officials said.

The Games are “as important an event as any that has ever occurred in Birmingham,” said Jay Kasten, vice president of operations for The World Games 2022.

Gene Hallman, president and CEO of the Bruno Event Team and executive director of the Alabama Sports Foundation, called it “the biggest international sporting event in our state’s history.”

World Games officials said the Games have great potential to have a positive impact on the state, both economically and in terms of a more positive image. And they say the Games can serve as a catalyst to put the Birmingham metropolitan area on the map and draw many more big events.

GETTING READY

Last summer, Kasten said it was critical to ensure a good visitor experience at the Games, and more recently he said World Games officials were pleased overall with the state of preparation for the event, particularly for  “customer-facing operations.”

“Our ticketing team has done a great job trying to simplify the buying process by offering three ways to shop — by sport, by venue or by day,” Kasten said.

Officials with the Games also said they have been pleased with the level of teamwork among a wide variety of public and private stakeholders in the area necessary to stage the event.

“I am pleased with the great teamwork that exists amongst all partners,” said Jonathan Porter, chairman of the board for this year’s Games. “The level of preparation from our governmental entities, TWG22 staff, corporate and community partners has been outstanding.

“All stakeholders in the metro Birmingham area are working together to bring this dream to reality,” Porter said. “It gives me feelings of pride to see what can happen when we pull down our silos and work together.”

This cooperation includes the issue of security at the Games to protect visitors and participants.

“With big events come big responsibilities, especially when it comes to security,” Kasten said.

“The security support from all levels of government will be at the highest level,” Sellers said. “And with that great benefit for our fans and families comes some minor inconveniences like secure perimeters and magnetometers at venues as well as some restriction of on-site parking.”

These security measures will be an issue mainly at Protective Stadium, the rest of the BJCC and Boutwell Auditorium, Sellers said.

To help solve the parking challenge, The World Games has partnered with the city of Birmingham and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority to create a transit line for the event called Ride the Line.

Ride The Line will be a free shuttle system that will allow fans to park in entertainment areas such as Parkside, Lakeview and Avondale and ride the shuttle to The Regions World Games Plaza at the new CityWalk Bham near the BJCC.

The Plaza will be a “hub of activity” for the Games, Sellers said.

“We believe this distributed parking approach — taking advantage of over 10,000 parking spots across the greater downtown area with an efficient shuttle system — is a template that can be used for future large-scale events hosted in Birmingham,” Kasten said.

Porter said he was pleased with the fundraising efforts for the Games as well.

“The level of sponsorships have been great over the past year,” Porter said. “We have sponsorships from all levels and sizes of companies within the state of Alabama.”

Sellers said at press time that he also was pleased with ticket sales so far.

Ticket sales for the closing ceremonies at Protective Stadium on July 17 picked up when organizers announced that Alabama native and pop music superstar Lionel Richie will headline the event, Sellers said.

“But there are still tickets available, and we want to have a hard sellout for this historic moment,” he said.

Tickets for the opening ceremony at Protective Stadium July 7 — as well as sumo, softball, gymnastics, and lacrosse — have all had strong sales, Sellers said.

“We have also created sport enthusiast packages for patrons only interested in watching specific sports,” Kasten said.

One aspect of preparing for the Games is having enough volunteers, an effort headed up by Kathy Boswell, the vice president of community engagement for this year’s Games.

The effort is a massive one. Organizers originally thought they would need about 2,500 volunteers, but that number has risen dramatically, and they now think they will need about 4,000 volunteers, Boswell said.

This is due to the unique nature of the Games as compared to other sporting events that are held in the area more often, Boswell said.

“In most events, volunteers serve at the venue and support basic roles as greeters, ushers, hospitality, ticketing, merchandising and, of course, operations,” she said. “But The World Games are quite different. We will also supply volunteers for the sport. For the 34 sports, they will need individuals to serve in the various roles that support the players, from supporting athletes on the field to serving in the roles unique to that sport. Many of the sports require the volunteers to attend a training session prior to the competition.”

CITY ON THE RISE

The World Games organizers and some other local officials say hosting the Games can serve as a massive boost for the international image and profile of the Birmingham metropolitan area, which has already attracted some positive attention from national media over the last decade.

“This is our moment to show the world this new and beautiful Birmingham,” said Nick Sellers, CEO of The World Games 2022.

Hallman said “the worldwide focus and attention that we’re going to get post-pandemic is going to be phenomenal.” In addition, the events in the games are being held all over the metropolitan area, he said.

Porter said this is a great opportunity to showcase Birmingham as a destination point. The city already has received “great press” from Condé Nast Traveler and other outlets in connection with the Games, he said.

Sellers said the image he hopes “visitors will take away is a dynamic and beautiful city with people who are shaped by many historical struggles, yet they have found a way to rise above them and realize that they are better together.”

David Fleming, president and CEO of REV Birmingham, said any time the city has an opportunity to expose people to the Birmingham of today, that’s a win. However, it will not be solely the number of visitors to the Magic City that will be “the game-changer,” Fleming said.

The key factor is whether the many stakeholders in the metropolitan area will continue to work together after the Games are over, he said.

The goal of getting fully ready to host the Games “has formed a lot of new partnerships across the city to get everything done in time,” Fleming said. “I hope these new ways of working together will last far beyond The World Games because that is what will be transformative for Birmingham.”

Oros believes Birmingham, well known among older people for the turbulent civil rights events of the 1960s, has already begun to rebuild its image.

“We are well regarded nationally and internationally for many reasons, not the least of which is the medical center at UAB,” he said.

VENUE RICHES

Officials seem confident that hosting The World Games will create opportunities for the Birmingham area to host many more big events.

“I have great confidence that TWG2022 will signify a new era of shared prosperity in our great city,” Sellers said. “I truly believe that our collective work and the international relationships that we’ve built will result in more big events.”

Oros said there’s no question The World Games will look impressive on Birmingham’s sports resume. “It will be an important addition to other major sporting events the Birmingham area has hosted,” he said.

He cites such annual events at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park and the Regions Tradition golf tournament on the PGA Champions tour..

The city’s growing roster of new — or newly refurbished — venues, such as Legacy Arena and Protective Stadium at the BJCC, make the city an increasingly attractive destination for athletic and other events, officials said.

“We’ve never had this type of facility options at one single time,” said Hallman, referencing facilities such as Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Legion Field and Regions Field.

“I believe athletes and visitors will absolutely be impressed by our venues,” Kasten said.  “We have such a unique blend of venues with 75% of them being within 15 minutes of our city center. That’s not normal for international, multi-sport events where venues can be two to four hours away, depending on the event.”

People taking part in the Games this month may wish to come back to Birmingham with more events.

“You’re going to have 34 international federations for sports here,” Hallman said. “There’s no doubt that some of them are going to go, ‘Hmm, I want to bring my world championship back here later.”

The “spinoff opportunities” will be “tremendous,” Hallman said.

Local business people could benefit from the crowds of visitors at additional events, Fleming added.

“People coming here will want to experience the real Birmingham, so local restaurants and retail that display the authenticity of Birmingham will be where many visitors gravitate,” he said. “More people create more market opportunity, especially when it comes to retail and restaurants.”

LASTING IMPACT

Sellers expressed what he is feeling as the Games finally grow near.

“My emotions, even in moments of stress, really have been underpinned by a deep sense of gratitude,” he said. “I see so many great people working so hard everyday for this moment. And they are from all parts of our community and all walks of life.”

There’s a “positive energy” regarding what the Games can mean for Birmingham and Alabama, Sellers said.

And Fleming has a key wish for the future, after the Games are over.

“I hope a lasting impact of The World Games is that Birmingham develops more confidence in ourselves, especially in our ability to do big things so we can do more of them in the future,” he said.

For more information about The World Games 2022, call 205-846-2500 or go to twg2022.com.