Not to shamelessly plug my company but.... Delta now offers direct non-stop service from Ft Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO) to Birmingham (BHM) for $250.00 round trip. Depart Tuesday afternoon and return Thursday morning. If you desire to come up Wednesday morning, you'd have to connect through ATL since both of the direct flights from FLL to BHM are afternoon flights (the earliest putting you into BHM at 4:30PM).
Travelocity has that hotel for one of its Flight-Hotel combo deals. Probably others you listed, but I was entertaining trying to get by without a car and the 2.5 mile distance from Legion Field made that one appealing. Also, if there is a large contingent of US fans staying there, we could some partying in the lot there beforehand and walk as a group to the stadium. 2.5 miles of walking doesn't phase me one bit.
Anybody coming down from C-bus? It's not a bad drive. Maybe 9 hours. How far is Helena from the stadium? (i have family there) Anyone know when tickets go on sale and how much?
Birmingham! Makes sense, after the semis one gets the feeling soccer dollars in MLS towns are partly tapped out...I think you will get at least 35k. Just a guess. 50k, not out of the ballpark at all. USSF is going to need the money to pay the new contracts. Good time of the year to go south, I think I'll be there...are you ready for some rowdy DC fans?
I'd say Helena is about 20-25 minutes from Legion Field. Maybe a tad more as Helena is not somewhere I usually frequent.
I cannot overstate how dangerous the neighborhood Legion Field is in is. Walking to that stadium from University Boulevard is an incredibly bad idea. Pvan4, back me up on this. It would be a really, really, really bad idea. You'd be better off to walk about 10 blocks up to 5 Points South and take the shuttle or a cab. The shuttle ride is usually about $3-$5. Also, that is a funny time of year weather-wise in Birmingham. It could be 20 degrees, it might be 80 degrees, and it could be pouring down rain as later winter/early spring is the "rainy season."
Too early for ticket info for the Mar 30 match? I'll be taking my wife, son, and daughter to the match. My wife's second cap and my kids' first. We're staying at the Days Inn on 11th Court West. It looked alright. I can pack the S&W if necessary. Anyone familiar with that location? We'll drive to and from the hotel and Legion Field. We live in Chattanooga, so we're coming in late in the afternoon on the 30th and leaving out the next morning. Here's hoping that we have at least four points going into this match.
Not the greatest location. If you wanna be close I'd recommend somewhere near the BJCC. This place is close but there is a hotel right around the corner from the BJCC.
They have a few decent hotels around there because Birmingham-Southern College is right down the street from Legion Field. The college is gated though. If that's the one right by the interstate, probably not so bad, but I wouldn't want to be back the neighborhood by Legion Field.
Funny recollection. Some friends of mine and I walked across the street to a little bar after the Ecuador game to grab a beer.... We didnt stay long...
When I stayed down there during the XFL days (long story), I used to stay at a Fairfield Inn that ain't there no more, around Oxmoor and I-65...it's either the Homewood neighborhood or suburb, I could never figure out which...maybe a 15 minute drive to the stadium and a 7 minute drive to downtown. Nothing to do in that neighborhood per se, but the Holiday Inn and Super8 down the street have rates for under $100/night, and it's a short drive to the fun areas. One other thing...renting a car in Birmingham can cost you under $50 a day...it's not like other towns.
I'd like to hear that story. XFL huh? There's a lot of cool stuff in Homewood, just not that part of it. Where you were is West Homewood where there's only some strip malls and a bunch of office parks. The other side of Homewood up near Vulcan has plenty of stuff to do. Sometimes you can score one for around $20-$30/day if you shop around.
Is any part of Birmingham safe? http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1102501242304530.xml
...and the ridiculous question of the day award goes to....Crewmudgeon. Is it safe to go to college in Kent, Ohio? Seriously, every big city has this kind of stuff happen occasionally. I've spent hundreds and hundreds of nights in the same neighborhood as that pool hall. I have friends that live down there. I have zero hesitation about walking in that neighborhood by myself at night. Southside/5 Points South is a perfectly safe neighborhood. That's the same street the US team will be staying on. Unless you're in some gated suburb, this kind of stuff happens in cities.