The W. F. "Bill" Harris State Fair Arena (called Bill Harris Arena or Fair Park Arena) is a 5,000-seat multipurpose indoor arena located at the

Birmingham CrossPlex The Birmingham CrossPlex is a $46 million indoor track and aquatic facility developed by the City of Birmingham, Alabama as the centerpiece of the redevelopment of the Alabama State Fairgrounds near Five Points West. The facility's 200-meter hyd ...

(formerly Alabama State Fairgrounds). The arena is used primarily for basketball, but also hosts concerts and other events. The arena has previously served as the home of the Birmingham Magicians and the

Birmingham Blitz The Birmingham Blitz was the The Blitz, heavy bombing by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater The Blitz, Blitz, which was par ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

and the Alabama Outlawz of

X-League Indoor Football X-League Indoor Football (X-League) was a professional indoor American football minor league that began play in 2014 in the United States. The league was co-chaired by Michael Mink and Kacee Smith. On September 19, 2015, the league announced a mer ...

. It is named in honor of Bill Harris, longtime athletics director for Birmingham City Schools. In 2022, it served as the venue for the

artistic roller skating Artistic roller skating is a competitive sport similar to figure skating but where competitors wear roller skates instead of ice skates. Within artistic roller skating, there are several disciplines: * Figures: the individual follows the figu ...

and

inline hockey Inline hockey or roller hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport is a v ...

competitions at the

2022 World Games The 2022 World Games, commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines ...

Professional teams

In 1985, the Puerto Rico Coquis of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

considered moving to Birmingham, but discussions with the Alabama State Fair Authority did not progress quickly enough to secure a commitment. The CBA did come to the Bill Harris Arena in 1991 when the

Pensacola Tornados The Pensacola Tornados was a basketball team that played in Pensacola, Florida in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1985–1991. 1985–1986 season Ted Stepien bought a CBA franchise for Toronto in 1983 after threatening to mo ...

relocated to Birmingham as the

Birmingham Bandits The Birmingham Bandits were a professional basketball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They played 1 season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Association (NBA). History ...

. The Bandits played for a year before moving again to Rochester, Minnesota. The Birmingham Power of the

National Women's Basketball League The National Women's Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NWBL, was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States. The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The leagu ...

played home games at the arena and at

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) was a private liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SA ...

Bill Battle Coliseum Bill Battle Coliseum is a 2,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The arena opened in 1981 and was home to the Birmingham-Southern College Panthers basketball team. The arena will be the venue for karate, Ju-jitsu at the 2022 Wo ...

during the 2001–02 season. In 2005 the Magic City Court Kings of the

World Basketball Association The World Basketball Association (WBA) was a semi-professional men's spring basketball league in the United States. The league suspended operations after the 2013 season. History The WBA was conceived in 2009, with seven teams scheduled to play. ...

played home games at Bill Harris Arena and

Miles College Miles College is a private historically black college in Fairfield, Alabama. Founded in 1898, it is associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME Church) and a member of the United Negro College Fund. History Miles College b ...

Other events

A February 2001 basketball game between

Stillman College Stillman College is a Private college, private historically black colleges and universities, historically black Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It awards Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees i ...

and Miles College was interrupted by repeated brawls between fans of the opposing teams. The game was ended by order of the Birmingham Police Department and the 2,000 fans sent away. The Bill Harris Arena has hosted numerous basketball championships for the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black col ...

and the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...

. The arena currently hosts the monthly flea market at the fairgrounds, held on the first full weekend of each month.

References

Sports venues in Birmingham, Alabama Indoor arenas in Alabama 1987 establishments in Alabama Sports venues completed in 1987 Basketball venues in Alabama {{Alabama-stadium-stub