The World Games were delayed for a year, but did it help with preparedness?

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2022/03/construction_2-e1648666827327.jpeg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1280;s:6:"height";i:720;s:4:"file";s:42:"2022/03/construction_2-e1648666827327.jpeg";s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-336x189.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-771x434.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:434;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-140x140.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-768x432.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:432;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:40:"construction_2-e1648666827327-80x80.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-800x450.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-600x600.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-553x311.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-470x265.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:42:"construction_2-e1648666827327-125x125.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_wp_attachment_image_alt] => Array
        (
            [0] => construction at Railroad Park
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Cody Short
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:11:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:1280;s:6:"height";i:960;s:4:"file";s:19:"construction_2.jpeg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-140x140.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-336x252.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:252;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:17:"medium_large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-768x576.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:576;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:10:"large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-771x578.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:578;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"construction_2-80x80.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-800x450.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-600x600.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-415x311.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:415;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-353x265.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:353;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"construction_2-125x125.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

)
1664499404 
1648654024
construction at Railroad Park

Road construction at the intersection of 18th Street and 1st Ave. South near Railroad Park.

Cody Short, WBHM

This summer, The World Games will finally come to Birmingham. The games were delayed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, with less than 100 days from the opening ceremony, people are wondering if Birmingham and Jefferson County are prepared to bring tens of thousands of people to the area. 

In the last year, as some businesses have reopened, some in the hospitality industry have yet to fully recover, and some businesses struggled to keep a full staff of people. 

However, this July, restaurants, hotels, and city streets are expected to be filled with half-a-million people, many from around the world. 

The countdown clock to The World Games at the BJCC’s Uptown.

Bernie Smith manages the popular sushi restaurant Bamboo in downtown Birmingham. He said the restaurant isn’t doing anything different to prepare for the thousands of people expected to come to the area, but he’s considering extending the business hours. 

David Galbaugh, Vice President of Sports Sales & Marketing for the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, believes volunteers will make a difference in handling the influx of people coming to the area. 

“We need our restaurants to expect a large number of people coming in and make sure that they’re staffed in the same way as the hotels. We want to see if there’s an opportunity to maybe have volunteers at each hotel. So when somebody comes in and they want to know more about what Birmingham has to offer, the hotel staff will be inundated and not be able to handle that,” said Galbaugh.

Construction is ongoing in Birmingham’s downtown streets. Several roads and lanes are closed for re-pavement. More recently, the City of Birmingham announced that the Rainbow Bridge — connecting north and south parts of downtown will be closed for a while. 

Construction signs
Construction on 13th Street South near UAB.

However, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the streets will be ready in time for the games.

“I think a lot of things are being put in place to make sure we’re ready to not only support our visitors, but to support our citizens who live here post World Games,” said Woodfin.

Not only are some of the roads being reconstructed, but so are some of the major interstates, like on 20/59 near the Arkadelphia exit. 

DeJarvis Leonard, lead engineer at the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) said traffic flow in the city should not be affected too much. 

“Peak hours are in the morning rush hour in the afternoon. So, you know, a lot of these events will not be taking place during those times. So you may know someone coming to an event, they’ll come early enough so they won’t be caught in the rush hour. So we think that maybe the evening rush hour may be the most difficult time to maneuver,” said Leonard.  

However, it’s not clear exactly what the transportation plan entails. The World Games committee is working with The City of Birmingham, Max Transit, and ALDOT to put together a plan. 

Tad Snider, CEO of the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex said there is a traffic plan. The BJCC is where the bulk of the World Games activities will take place, between Protective Stadium, Uptown, and the Westin and Sheraton Hotels. That’s also where most people will stay, eat, gather, and view The World Games. 

“There will be a road closure plan that will be slightly different from what we normally implement that’s being finalized now. But then that will help to direct everyone how to best get in and out of the area. And that’ll be communicated well before the games, but all that’s being worked through now.” Snider said, 

And that’s when we’ll see if that extra year paid off in preparedness.


Editor’s Note: This story was edited from “hundreds of thousands” to “tens of thousands” to better reflect the number of people visiting for The World Games.


** Editor’s Note: This story was produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

 

YouTube agrees to pay Trump $24 million to settle lawsuit over Jan. 6 suspension

YouTube is the latest social media company to pay Trump tens of millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits brought before he returned to power. The money will fund a new ballroom at the White House.

From painting to producing: Birmingham DJ Andrea Really releases first album

Birmingham DJ Andrea Really wasn't always a music producer. She used to be a prolific painter. But when her art studio burned down in 2017, she pivoted careers. Really spoke with WBHM about that journey upon the release of her first album this summer, called Zeitgeist.

A year after Helene, a group of raft guides embarks on a river clean-up mission

A popular rafting river in the Appalachian mountains is still closed a year after Hurricane Helene, because there's just too much debris. Now, rafting guides have come together to help clean it up.

Lesotho’s Famo music: from shepherd songs to gang wars

In Lesotho, a style of traditional accordion music called Famo has become entangled with deadly gang rivalries. Once the soundtrack of shepherds and migrant workers, today it's linked to killings, government bans — and a fight over cultural identity.

Comic Cristela Alonzo grew up in fear of border patrol. ICE has ‘brought it all back’

For the first seven years of her life, Alonzo lived in an abandoned diner in a south Texas border town. Her new Netflix stand-up special is called Upper Classy.

Compass-Anywhere real estate merger could squeeze small brokerages

The deal, announced earlier this week, would combine the two largest U.S. residential brokerages by sales volume.

More Front Page Coverage