George Chamoun's NBA dream
Hearing the NBA and Birmingham in the same sentence seems like an oddity. In a land ruled by collegiate football, split between fans who either pull for the Tigers or the Tide, professional basketball doesn’t seem to be a fit in the Magic City. But many might not know that Birmingham is in the top five in ESPN ratings for NBA viewership and has been voted the tenth best metro area without a professional team. The NBA in Birmingham might sound crazy to some people, but George Chamoun believes it is a vision that can work.
George, a sophomore at Mountain Brook High School, has worked extensively to begin a grassroots movement to bring an NBA team to Birmingham.
“I like watching basketball and it would help the economy of the city tremendously,” George said.
No stranger to online media, he created nbabirmingham.com to host a petition to garner support for bringing a team here. His twitter account, @NBABirmingham, has generated nearly 6,000 followers.
Wasting no time to build a cult following, he has emailed small businesses like Mountain High Outfitters and Cahaba Cycles that immediately gave their support. Although he is awaiting responses, he wholeheartedly believes BBVA Compass and Regions banks would be committed after witnessing the success the Regions Tradition brought to the Birmingham area.
One thing is certain—George knows the problems the Birmingham area has faced. From the sewage crisis to corruption involving city officials, convincing naysayers is a formidable task. The thought of building an NBA arena is a daunting task when economic stability has been unseen in recent times.
George’s logic is that a team would greatly benefit local businesses and create new jobs. He specifically referenced the Oklahoma City Thunder, who built its franchise in 2008 and recently made a trip to the NBA Finals.
“Oklahoma City is a smaller to mid-sized city just like Birmingham. Mick Cornett (Mayor of OKC) commented that ‘It boomed our economy,’” said George. “It’s more affordable than people realize.”
Mayor William Bell has also taken notice of the Oklahoma City population versus the Birmingham population. The mayor plans to speak with NBA commissioner David Stern about what needs to happen to bring a team to Birmingham. The Birmingham City Council has also discussed the prospect, and George recently spoke at one of the meetings at the request of Mayor Bell.
“Mayor Bell is on board with the movement,” George said. “It was cool knowing my thoughts were shared throughout the city.”
This summer, George worked with the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center to film a video there to garner more awareness about an NBA campaign.
“The BJCC has more potential than conceived,” George said. “Renovations would need to be made, but it is a start before an official venue would be made.”
The final piece to George’s NBA puzzle could be Leeds native Charles Barkley. George is determined to convince Barkley to join the movement.
The future of a potential NBA team is still undecided, but George Chamoun is full of zeal for making it a reality.