A major sports business publication has named Birmingham among the nation’s most successful cities with no “Big Five” pro team in attracting major sporting events.

Sports Business Journal (SBJ) ranked the Magic City No. 3, behind Fort Worth, Texas and Greensboro, North Carolina, in drawing sporting events that are major economic drivers. The magazine cited the community’s $330 million investment in building Protective Stadium and upgrading Legacy Arena in helping draw significant sporting events to the city, including The World Games in 2022, the Transplant Games coming in July, the Masters Crossfit Games in August and the World Police and Fire Games coming in 2025.

“When it comes to youth, collegiate and amateur sports, we are a major league player,” said John Oros, president & CEO of the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).“With first-class sports facilities and venues, and an impressive resume of major sports events, the Greater Birmingham Region has earned its reputation as a premier sports destination.”

The positive ranking comes as the city works to upgrade historic Rickwood Field in advance of it hosting, on June 20, the first Major League Baseball game ever played in Alabama, and with the hometown UAB and Samford University men’s basketball teams celebrating bids to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Last year, the renovated Legacy Arena welcomed back March Madness, hosting first and second round matches. It was the first time the NCAA brought tournament teams to town since 2008.

Prior to the arena’s renovation, “We were off the NCAA’s radar in terms of the men’s basketball tournament,” David Galbaugh, CVB vice president of sports sales and marketing, told SBJ. The city also benefited last year from the University of Alabama men’s team earning a No. 1 seed and playing its first two rounds at the arena. The Thursday and Saturday sessions drew sellout crowds of more than 15,000, with the tournament generating $10.3 million in economic impact and sales of more than 12,000 hotel room nights downtown, according to the CVB. Legacy Arena is slated to host the NCAA women’s basketball regional in 2025.

Birmingham officials celebrate the announcement that Major League Baseball will play a game this year at historic Rickwood Field. (Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau)

The World Games brought 3,600 athletes from 100 countries to the city over 11 days of competition, although the COVID-19 pandemic dampened international visitor attendance. Alabama Power was among the corporate supporters of The World Games in Birmingham.

The upcoming Transplant Games are expected to draw some 2,000 athletes, and the Hartford Nationals, also coming to the Birmingham area in July, will draw more than 400 disabled athletes from across the country. It’s the second year in a row that the Birmingham region will host the Hartford Games.

Dwarfing them all is the World Police and Fire Games, which is expected to attract more than 10,000 athletes to Birmingham in 2025 to compete in more than 60 sports.

The World Games brought elite athletes from across the globe to Birmingham in 2022. (Bartek Sadowski / The World Games)

SBJ also cited the city’s success in drawing the 2024 national team training squad selection camp for USA Wheelchair Rugby, the long-running Birmingham Bowl and Alabama Indy Grand Prix, and the nearby Talladega Superspeedway in bringing sports-related revenues to town. Another revenue-generator: fishing events, such as past Bassmaster Classics and the just-ended, Major League Fishing REDCREST 2024.

While Birmingham doesn’t have a team from the Big Five sports leagues – which are the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS representing top-tier, pro football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer – the region is home to the professional Birmingham Stallions football team, the Birmingham Legion FC soccer team, the Birmingham Bulls hockey squad, the Birmingham Barons baseball team and the Birmingham Squadron basketball team.