BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) –As the Birmingham Legion FC faces off against Inter Miami CF with a record crowd, Uptown Birmingham restaurants kicked off game day with some bonus business.
“We expect a good little crowd tonight, and we have called some extra hosts, servers, cooks because it gets busy,” said Brandon Torrence, area manager of Mugshots.
“We usually do like a $3,000 day on a regular day, but when we have events, it’s anywhere from [$5,000] to $7,000,” Torrence said.
Santos Coffee said this recent slew of major events helps open people’s eyes to Alabama.
“Our location, we’re getting people from the USFL stadium, BJCC arena, at the Westin, and having these events like this, it brings our numbers up, allows us to open more stores,” said Addyson Schack, a barista at Santos Coffee.
But their ultimate goal is to one day bring a major league soccer team to the Magic City.
“That would be absolutely incredible,” Schack said. “I was a soccer player, so that’s the one sport I actually know a lot about. … Birmingham needs [major league] soccer 100%.”
It’s a dream shared by fellow soccer player Ross Rayburn, a 9-year-old from Tuscaloosa.
“That would be amazing. … I would beg my dad [to go],” Rayburn said.