BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -
"It's not only good for the city of Birmingham, it's good for this whole metropolitan area."For a while it looked like this day would never come: the groundbreaking of the Baron's new ballpark in downtown Birmingham, named Regions Field.
Hazel Cunningham used to bring her kids to the park in Hoover, but says she's excited to have the new stadium in her own backyard.
"It'll bring families closer together, seeing as you can get the bus to come here, it's close, it's accessible," she explains.
And with families and fans, comes revenue.
"We're building more than just a stadium, we're building opportunities, economic development opportunities, and we're already in discussions with businesses about relocating to this area, to support the stadium but as well as to increase the opportunities throughout this downtown and UAB area," says Mayor William Bell.
The groundbreaking event brought out hundreds of baseball fans, young and old, who are excited to see this addition to their city.
"About a year and a half ago, Railroad Park opened and of course in April 2013 we're going to have opening day here. I think those are two very important major steps for the downtown revitalization. By no means are they going to be the final pieces of the puzzle. Hopefully we're going to be a part of that process to help downtown," says Barons general manager Jonathan Nelson.
The ballpark will have some pretty modern amentities, wrap around concourse, ability to sit in parts of the outfield, and batting cages for fans to watch their favorite players practice.
And with easy access by bus, fans won't have to travel far for a night out at the ballpark.
