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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The recent winter storms that encompassed the northern half of the state first and then the southern part after brought us many great gifts. One of those gifts was the AHSAA moving its January Central Board of Control meeting to Wednesday, Jan. 29 as Montgomery turned into a winter wonderland this past week.

I say it’s a gift because it gives the board a chance to read my plea on behalf of the northern and central part of the state, if not most of Alabama.

The expectation is that the Central Board of Control will vote on the future locations of its football and flag football state championships, the Super 7, after Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium exited the rotation over fears of dates clashing with the College Football Playoff (which, for the record, didn’t happen in 2024).

Downtown Birmingham’s Protective Stadium did a fantastic job hosting the most recent edition last month, its second go-around after hosting in 2021. As a result, The Tuscaloosa News’ Anna Snyder reported in November that Birmingham was bidding to host in the future along with Alabama State’s ASU Stadium in Montgomery, Troy’s Veterans Memorial Stadium and South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile.

Each city has made its own case, and there are even rumors of a multi-city rotation like in the past. However, to me and many others, only one option makes sense: keeping the Super 7 in Birmingham permanently.

The biggest reason to keep it in The Magic City permanently is its centralized location with the two busiest interstates in the state running directly through the city for easy access and travel. Outside of building a stadium in Clanton, the actual center of the state, it makes the most sense to put it in the best stadium closest to the center, which is Protective Stadium.

Doing so minimizes travel time for the majority of the state. Forcing fans in Huntsville and the Shoals region to trek over five hours to Mobile is a sure-fire way to kill the atmosphere of any games involving northern teams. Even the nearly-four-hour drive from Birmingham to Mobile could be a similar non-starter for many fans of Shelby County and Birmingham-metro schools to attend the biggest game of the year.

While some have argued that the fairest strategy is to rotate the Super 7 among the four major cities of Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery, not only is that not being considered since Troy is one of the four hosts, it doesn’t hold water.

There is no guarantee in any given year that a city’s teams will make the state title game when it’s their turn to host. Just like this year’s College Football Playoff National Championship game in Atlanta did not have an SEC team to have home-field advantage, there is no reason to expect every Montgomery area school to reach the Super 7 just because it’s Alabama State’s time to host.

Because of that, a central location works best for all. And not one that is central to the AHSAA’s Montgomery office or major voices in the media, but one that is central to the state’s schools which will be competing for a chance to play there.

If that isn’t reason enough, consider Birmingham’s track record of hosting major AHSAA events. No one would dare picture a basketball Final Four without Legacy Arena because of its decades of successful tournaments, or the volleyball Elite Eight without the Birmingham CrossPlex and Bill Harris Arena because of how they efficiently host multiple matchups and provide an ideal fan experience, in particular in the close confines of the arena for the finals.

That’s not to say Birmingham has cornered the market on great playoff sites. Huntsville’s John Hunt Park does a fine job hosting soccer (even if I would prefer Wicks Family Field to host the finals, but that’s another column) and Oxford’s Choccolocco Park is a perfectly suitable baseball and softball site (despite my belief that playoff softball shouldn’t be played on purpose-built softball fields, but again, another column).

The point is that when it comes to state-of-the art facilities and the best infrastructure around them, Birmingham can’t be beat. Sometimes the best option is the safest option, and Protective Stadium would be a reliable pick for making sure all fans, players, coaches and media have a positive experience.

Finally, it’s not to say that Protective Stadium’s only benefit is being centrally located in Birmingham. It’s a smaller capacity than both Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium, creating the more intimate and electric atmosphere that fans constantly cry out for.

It’s also built to house multiple teams at once as the USFL doubleheaders previously showed, which means the Super 7 can maintain its current three-day layout and not need to expand, which would put extra strain on media and officials who need to stay multiple days.

Of the four options, Protective is also one of the more modern options. It’s built to fit major events even bigger than the Super 7, and that makes it perfect for the state championships.

Now, that’s not to say Protective Stadium doesn’t have flaws. It has numerous. From no awnings protecting fans from the elements to mostly metal bleachers to the upper deck which never gets used to the fact that it became a wind tunnel during the Class 7A title game, there’s plenty of less than ideal aspects about Protective.

And that’s before you get to the expensive concessions, expensive parking and expensive Ticketmaster fees that go hand-in-hand with a venue operated by one of the most detestable and money-grubbing organizations in this city: the BJCC.

However, it’s the best option in Birmingham given Samford’s Pete Hanna Stadium can’t be used due to poor infrastructure and students being on campus, the Hoover Met is a home field for Hoover and Legion Field shouldn’t be touched with a 10-foot pole due to its age. And even with all of those qualifications, I still believe Protective Stadium is the most superior option of the four.

No venue can be perfect. Even if we were to build a state-of-the-art 7,500-seat stadium in the literal center of the state with hotels and amenities galore, we’d still find a way to complain. Given Protective’s location, size and modern features, it is the best we can do for our players, coaches and fans.

I’d be naïve if I thought my opinion alone could change anything. Most central board members probably won’t even read this and likely have their minds made up. But even still, I beg of them to do the right and fair thing for all parties around the state and make Protective Stadium the permanent host.

Doing so would mark a watershed moment for the AHSAA where they chose a system that is the best and most agreeable option. A Protective Stadium Super 7 would be a win for fans, a win for schools and a win for sports in the state of Alabama.