Statement from Mayor Stimpson on the Mobile Civic Center

Nov 24th, 2015

In order to develop and deliver to the citizens of Mobile the best plan possible for the redevelopment of the Civic Center complex, I am delaying the closure until March 1, 2018. The reason for this decision is simply that we need more time to get this right, and we have too much at stake to rush it.

Last January, my Administration released a notional schedule for the redevelopment of the Mobile Civic Center, knowing that the deadline would create action. Because of the impending deadline, Mardi Gras organizations looked out over the next five years and defined their challenges. Our performing arts community also collaborated in identifying their needs. And, SMG stepped up utilization of the facility reducing the building's financial loss.

Over the past year, we embarked on major pursuits and have delivered measured results that have also affected this self-imposed time frame, such as passing the Map for Mobile and the 2016 Capital Improvement Plan, as well as announcing Carnival Cruise Lines' return to Mobile. We learned from these successes that collaboration is critical to finding the correct pathway.

Following the success of Map for Mobile, the redevelopment of the Civic Center complex will be a very public process and it is our expectation that stakeholders, developers and the public will be willing to share ideas about what we need as a community.

We project that the time frame to deliver this roadmap will be approximately two years. Effective immediately, we are asking SMG to grant scheduling requests up until March 1, 2018, which is after the 2018 Mardi Gras festivities.