Birmingham Talks Stadium

Officials in Birmingham, Ala., are moving forward with a plan to finance the construction of a 57,000-capacity, $500 million domed stadium and convention complex that’s been in the works for about 10 years.

Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex members approved Mayor Larry Langford’s proposal that would raise about $400 million through a rental car tax, repavement of downtown streets and a transportation system to connect area hotels, according to the Birmingham News.

City officials would reportedly pay $20 million for design drawings to get the project going. The stadium would be built with the potential to upgrade to NFL standards, the paper said.

Once financing and design are set, construction would begin in 2010 with a goal of opening the facility by 2013.