Myers to talk Birmingham’s World Games 2021 at IREM Summit Aug. 26
The 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The Games are coming to Birmingham in five years. (The World Games)
Scott Myers and his wife traveled to Cali, Columbia, to watch the 2013 World Games.
Upon his return, the sports veteran began thinking about the Games being in Cali, instead of Bogota, a much larger city in Columbia, and the 2017 Games in Wroclaw, Poland instead of the larger and more well-known Polish city of Warsaw.
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Scott Myers
Then Myers, who is executive director of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, took notice that sports facilities in Birmingham are comparable to those in Cali.
He began to think “why not Birmingham?” and spurred an effort to recruit the games.
In January 2015, it was announced that Birmingham will host the 2021 World Games.
On Aug. 26, Myers will be the keynote speaker at the first Alabama Institute for Real Estate Management Summit in Birmingham, which will feature presenters in real estate management. IREM, in partnership with the Alabama Center for Real Estate, will present the conference at the offices of Burr Forman LLP in Birmingham.
Myers will talk through the journey of Birmingham’s bid for the World Games, and about opportunities that may arise leading up to the event in 2021.
“I was thinking about the venues,” Myers said of his return from the World Games in Columbia. “I knew we had the venues in the Birmingham region.”
A launch team was formed and began to approach prominent businessmen and leaders in the region to see if Birmingham would be a good fit for the games. Before long, there was a strong coalition on board, and the bid process began.
Venues like the Birmingham CrossPlex, Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, UAB and other schools are already in place leading up to the 2021 World Games.
“There are opportunities around the venues and opportunities for growth,” Myers said. “There will be unique opportunities for us to grow as a city by having these games here.”
One area in particular is the Birmingham CrossPlex, a $46 million development that opened in 2011 in the Five Points West area, but has seen little real estate activity.
Since Birmingham won the World Games bid there has been more activity, particularly in February, when the Birmingham City Council approved a developer for 38 acres that will include retail, dining, entertainment facilities, a hotel, apartments and offices, according to a report from the Birmingham Business Journal.
“Rick Adams of the United States Olympic Committee was really high on the CrossPlex,” Myers said.
Myers said areas like Railroad Park and the new Rotary Trail could see additional development, as well as the area around Barber Motorsports Park, where some Games events will likely take place.
Myers is a 1989 graduate of Samford University and has served as executive director of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame since 2009. He is managing director of the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Foundation as well as the Birmingham Athletic Partnership. He has experience in management and ownership of sports teams in the Birmingham area.
The conference, approved for continuing education credits, is from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Attendees must stay for the duration to receive course credit. For information about registration and other speakers, click here.
