The Jefferson County Commission this morning approved the county’s share of funding for a planned new $50 million, 9,000-seat amphitheater at the site of the demolished former Carraway hospital.

The county approved $5 million toward the cost of building The Star at Uptown amphitheater in North Birmingham, north of Protective Stadium.

The amphitheater will complement the Uptown entertainment district that already features the new Protective Stadium, a refurbished BJCC Legacy Arena, TopGolf, the Westin and Sheraton hotels and a variety of restaurants.

Corporate Realty plans to turn the former hospital campus into a $300 million-plus multi-use development complete with office, retail, entertainment, hotel and residential space in north Birmingham.

That includes the planned amphitheatre that will be owned by the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center and managed by Live Nation, which currently manages the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham. If plans for funding the amphitheater go through, Live Nation plans to shutter Oak Mountain Amphitheatre and begin booking concerts for the downtown Birmingham venue when it is completed.

The Uptown amphitheater is expected to host a minimum of 17 to 19 concerts a year, which will help the city get a return on its investment, city officials have said. It could open as soon as 2025.

The City of Birmingham’s agreement with Northside Redevelopment LLC set the city’s total funding of the project as not to exceed $12.35 million of the overall estimated cost of the $346 million development.

The allocations included an initial $4.1 million already paid by the city to Northside Redevelopment for land acquisition, demolition and blight removal, and a supplemental $3.7 million in the form of a forgiveable loan for completion of demolition and blight removal; and up to $4.55 million in incentives from future tax revenue.

Demolition is underway on the 50-acre campus of the former hospital where the amphitheater would be.

The four parking decks on the campus will not be torn down and are planned for use for parking for the future development including the planned Star amphitheater.

The Birmingham City Council voted in 2020 to re-zone the former Carraway Methodist Medical Center campus, setting in motion a redevelopment that has been years in coming.

The Birmingham City Council on Dec. 29, 2020, approved a $13 million incentive package for the redevelopment of the former Carraway Methodist Medical Center site.

Birmingham, Jefferson County, the BJCC, and are Live Nation have each committed to making a one-time $5 million contribution for a $20 million paydown on construction costs. The BJCC would borrow $30 million over 30 years to fund the remaining construction costs.

See also: Carraway Star development includes building new houses north of planned amphitheater

First building goes down as demolition at Carraway progresses

State tourism to give CVB $3 million to support $50 million amphitheater at Carraway