Making a site visit to BamaJam

May 28, 2008

Debbie Ingram

Someone on the accent desk at the newspaper got the email from a bluegrass fan in Birmingham on Tuesday.

The gist of it was, “Hey! Is this BamaJam thing really gonna happen? Eight of us were planning on headin’ down. But, is this gonna happen?“

I relayed that message to Ronnie Gilley an hour or so later during a scheduled interview. He shook his head and responded:

“When are people gonna realize, yes, it’s gonna happen. We have proven and proven and proven it. I guarantee it will happen. With eight musicians coming who are top eight ACM artists, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd ... This concert has more clout than any event in the country. It’s hard to believe it, but it is and it’s happening in Coffee County, Alabama.

“Yes, it’s really gonna happen and yes, Trace Adkins, Miranda Lambert and Hank Jr. are all gonna be here at BamaJam. BamaJam is really gonna happen.“

‘Nuff said. Believe it, folks.

Tickets sales increase daily. Music fans from as far away as Scotland and England are coming. Hank Jr. has his own BamaJam helicopter pad for transport. (He hates traffic, promoters say.) The Bama Slam Saloon is near completion. Security is tight and plentiful.

BamaJam is gonna happen and in a big way. Gilley and his vice president, Billy Graham, who is taking care of all the BamaJam stuff while Gilley concentrates on Country Crossing, are expecting all 30,000 tickets to be sold. Another 12,000 are being given away.

Eagle photographer Jay Hare and myself visited the site Tuesday in its, I call it, “virginal” farmland-type state. Right now it is lots and lots of land—parking to accommodate more than 10,000 vehicles. Campgrounds for more than 650. And a few trailers and portable buildings here and there. Pipes for fresh drinking water, a couple of roads and lines and lines of fencing.

It is a bit difficult to grasp that on this site could be a huge crowd of music lovers of various genres. Vendors. Entertainers. Fans. Campers. Police, EMA, volunteers, beer girls, car parkers .... And you can’t ride by there without feeling it.

There’s an overwhelming excitement to it all. Seven days as of this blogging and the fun begins!!!!

CYA there!

County Commission to examine I-10 resolution today

May 22, 2008

Debbie Ingram

Houston County Commissions will look over a proposal for a joint resolution with Focus 2000, a non-profit agency spearheading the creation of a toll Interstate 10 Connector that would eventually connect Montgomery to the beaches of Panama City.

This type of public/private partnership, officials say, is the only way to get the interstate constructed. State and federal highway department officials have said they barely have the funds to keep up with maintenance, much less the construction of new roads.

Houston County commissioners will vote on the proposal at their regular meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 27.

Geneva and Dale counties are considering similar resolutions over the next week, and Focus 2000 is also working with Florida counties to continue the process there.

Ozark Police Reports

May 21, 2008

Ebony Horton

Ozark Police Department charged the following with driving under the influence:
Ricky Minze, 54, of Sharon Lane in Ozark

The following crimes/incidents were reported to the Ozark Police Department on Monday, May 19. Information provided by the Ozark Police Report.
1 Delayed Accident Report
2 Harassing Communications
3 Theft of Property 3rd
2 Domestic Harassment
1 Domestic Dispute
1 Burglary 3rd
1 Criminal Mischief 3rd
1 Leaving the Scene of an Accident
2 Harassment
1 Discharging Firearm in the City Limits

Ronnie Gilley talks about Country Crossing

May 15, 2008

Debbie Ingram

The B-I-N-G-O word hardly came out of Ronnie Gilley’s mouth Thursday when he addressed the annual meeting of the Dothan Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Country Crossing, he said, was never ABOUT bingo. It is about entertainment. Country music entertainment, and creating a destination unlike any in the world. Where else could you pick any weekend of the year and find a top country act performing. This will happen, he says, on Highway 231 South at Smithville Road, the site of the development.


Click here to see a sketch of Country Crossing.

Gilley hopes, once again, to break ground on the site within 90 days. The project has been delayed by boundary surveys and legislative, uh ... “issues.“ Houston County records do not show where Gilley or his partners have purchased the land yet, but there is a conceptual drawing, based on the general layout of the land. That drawing is prone to change.

And the clock is ticking. He hopes the second annual BamaJam Festival will coincide with the grand opening of Country Crossing. That would be early June 2009.

For the first time, Gilley talked about the project’s residential component. That’s right. Your address could be Country Crossing, Alabama, and your new home could be a patio home, luxury condo or townhouse. Gilley is clear that his target market are the boomers. Their numbers are increasing, they have money and they are prone to move. They are also very interested in entertainment when it comes to vacations and relocating.

Gilley took a question from someone who asked about the prospect of Dolly signing on as one of those top country entertainers at CC. Gilley response drew laughter. “I can’t get close enough to her.“ In all likelihood, he said, Dolly would stick to her own developments/interests, which are many, and not be inclined to commit to Country Crossing.

Gilley did tease the audience with a vague comment about a potential NFL and sports connection to the development, but said nothing is set in stone. He declined to speak further on it.

Right now, those 600 or whatever acres of land about seven miles north of Enterprise are being prepared to host the first BamaJam Music and Arts Festival. Thirty entertainers have signed on to perform. There will be three stages and the 3-day festival is getting plenty of play in the music circles. A quick google search turns up the BamaJam name in various country music publications, radio station Web sites, blogs and on the sites of musicians. Word is getting around.

The husband and I will for sure be there. With his camper and Harley and my laptop. I will be both blogging and filing stories from the festival and depending on when we can set up camp, we might even get there early. I’m shipping the 6 year old off to her grandparents’ in Georgia and will work hard to see that the teenager has a full work schedule that weekend at Chick fil A. Sometimes the best vacations are those right at home.

$3.59 gas anyone?

Legislative Update

May 05, 2008

Lance Griffin

Rumors have been flying that Senate Democrats may attempt to resurrect Sen. Harri Anne Smith’s bingo bill—the one that would have reversed regulations allowing electronic bingo at Country Crossing. Shortly after introducing the bill, Smith asked that the bill not be considered. The rumor is that some Democrats whose own bingo bills were not considered, nor supported by Smith, may attempt to bring Smith’s bill to the Senate floor.

Even if this happens, the bill must have unanimous consent to move forward, and that isn’t going to happen. We will know as early as Tuesday if the bill gets reported out of the Senate Tourism Committee onto the Senate floor. The committee is chaired by Sen. Bobby Singleton, who had hoped to get a bingo bill related to Greene County passed, but did not have the votes.