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Today’s edition · Thurs., Nov. 5

Birmingham lands 6th in Nielsen's college basketball fandom index

Plus, Lambda names itself as the company behind Lowndes County's $33 billion data center

The Daily Birmingham team2 stories19 sources6 min read

SportsTop story

Birmingham ranks 6th in the country for college basketball fandom, Nielsen says

Birmingham lands one spot outside the top five

Nielsen Scarborough's Local College Basketball Fandom Index, top 20 markets

6thof 20

Birmingham
Des Moines/Ames 3rd
Des Moines/Ames 3rd
1 Most avid fansLast in top 20 20

Sources: The Bama Buzz, insideradio.com

View as table
PlaceRank of 20
Des Moines/Ames3rd
Birmingham6th

If you've always called Birmingham a football town, Nielsen has a second opinion. The Magic City ranked 6th in the first Local College Basketball Fandom Index, a list of the 20 markets with the most avid fans of men's and women's programs. That's one spot from the top five.

  • Metrics: eight, including TV viewership, apparel and live attendance
  • Also in the top 20: Omaha, Knoxville, Kansas City, Syracuse, Columbus
  • Earlier Nielsen fandom reports: NFL, college football and NBA

Lexington and Louisville lead the list, with Des Moines/Ames third. Nielsen's report says smaller markets such as Birmingham and Knoxville tend to generate higher merchandise sales than media hubs such as Atlanta.

Five markets ahead of Birmingham are home to these teams

MarketTeams
Lexington, Ky.Kentucky Wildcats
Louisville, Ky.Louisville Cardinals
Des Moines/Ames, IowaIowa State, Iowa
Raleigh-Durham, N.C.Duke, UNC, NC State
IndianapolisButler, Indiana, Purdue

Source: insideradio.com

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Data Centers

Lambda names itself as the company behind the $33 billion Lowndes County data center

If you've followed the Lowndes County data center fight, the operator now has a name. San Francisco-based Lambda, Inc. announced Wednesday it will invest $33 billion in , developed by Cloverleaf Infrastructure. The site will have six buildings spanning 3 million square feet at U.S. Highway 80 and Alabama Highway 21 in Hayneville. Construction is expected to start in the first few months of 2027 and take up to five years.

Project Red Clay's six buildings will span 3 million square feet

Floor area of the Project Red Clay campus, beside places you know

The Project Red Clay campus3,000,000 sq. ft.Six buildings
A football field57,600 sq. ft.end zones included

52 football fields would fit inside the Project Red Clay campus

Source: AL.com

View as table
Floor area
The Project Red Clay campus3,000,000 sq. ft. (Six buildings)
A football field57,600 sq. ft. (end zones included)
  • Jobs: more than 1,000 construction, at least 225 full-time
  • Local tax revenue: about $2.85 billion over 20 years
  • Water: 100,000 gallons a day at first, closed-loop cooling

would supply the power, pending regulatory approval, and Lambda says it will pay the full cost of the power and grid infrastructure so those costs aren't passed on to existing customers. Opponents have packed county meetings since the summer. Two nearby residents, the group Protect Lowndes County and the Alabama Rivers Alliance are suing the county commission over billions of dollars in tax breaks.

1,500 megawattsProject Red Clay's power capacity, up to

would supply it. AL.com says that can power roughly 1 million homes.

Sources: AL.com, Yellowhammer News

News Notes

Data centers

Irondale's City Council was scheduled to introduce an ordinance Wednesday, Nov. 4, setting rules for where data centers can be built, how much noise they can make and how they use water and electricity. It would create three classifications by size and power demand, with stricter requirements for larger facilities. Mayor James Stewart Jr. called moratoria "the easy way out," and he said "We are not recruiting data centers." WBMAalwbrc.com

Football

In the Alabama Sports Writers Association's final poll of the season, Thompson is No. 2 in Class 6A, Vestavia Hills is No. 4 and Spain Park is No. 8. Briarwood stays No. 1 in Private Class 2A and advances after St. John Paul II forfeited. First-round playoff games are Fri., Nov. 6: Vestavia Hills hosts Huntsville, No. 6 Homewood in Class 5A hosts Theodore and Spain Park travels to Buckhorn. Times-Journal280 LivingVestaviaVoice.comthehomewoodstar.com

Prattville leads the final Class 6A poll with 228 points

Source: Times-Journal

View as table
Value
Prattville228 pts
Thompson170 pts
Central-Phenix City153 pts
Vestavia Hills128 pts
Hewitt-Trussville87 pts
Auburn83 pts
Fairhope75 pts
Spain Park63 pts
Sparkman42 pts
James Clemens30 pts

Christmas Village

The 45th Christmas Village Festival runs at the BJCC through Sunday, Nov. 8: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Early Shopper ticket holders can enter an hour earlier each day. Alabama's 42

Samford lot

The Homewood Planning Commission voted 6-1 Tuesday to recommend that the City Council approve Samford University's plan for a 280-space student parking area along Shelburne Lane. Seven people spoke at the public hearing, mostly Saulter Road, Saulter View and Colony Circle residents raising concerns about stormwater, tree removal, lighting, noise and construction. thehomewoodstar.com

Irondale jobs

Sandblast by Creative Concepts Inc. is proposing a $3.785 million expansion of its candy factory at 1500 Georgia Road in Irondale, with 60 new jobs. City leaders are considering tax incentives to help make the project happen, and the $3.785 million investment and 60 jobs come from documents in the Irondale City Council's Nov. 4 meeting agenda. WBMA

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Around Alabama

UAB clinic

UAB's School of Dentistry broke ground Monday, Nov. 2 on a community clinic at Decatur Morgan Hospital's Parkway Campus. The roughly 7,200-square-foot building is planned to have nine dental treatment rooms. 256 Today

Cross country

The 71st AHSAA Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday in Oakville. Hazel Green's Nehemiah Johnson, last year's Class 6A winner, and Hewitt-Trussville's Noah Jordan have the two fastest times this season. AHSAA.com

Two runners have posted the fastest times of the 2026 season

15:06.10
Nehemiah Johnson's 2026 best, the fastest this season
15:09.90
Noah Jordan's time, second-fastest in 2026
15:49.85
Johnson's winning time in last year's Class 6A race

Source: AHSAA.com

Flag football

Mountain Brook lost 40-12 to Boaz Tuesday night in the first round of the Class 5A flag football state playoffs. The Sand Mountain Reporter

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Asked

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Today’s puzzles

A new puzzle in each one every morning, played right here.

All 13 games

Quoted

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

— Sylvia Plath

Things to Do

Things to Do

Birmingham, AL

Thursday, Nov. 5

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Today, get out and vote.

“Let us be the David against the Goliath of Authoritarianism. I pray for us all. https://substack.com/@williamjbarberii/note/p-223167302?r=5as85w&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action”

— A neighbor, Woodlawn

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The Wrap

Tom Dameron spent more than 50 years as a hospital pharmacist while making art and music on the side. Now 51 of his pieces from the past 30 years hang at Aldridge Gardens, starting today through Jan. 4. Look for Monet-inspired water lilies, plus portraits of Birmingham musicians and the owner of Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato. A fine reason to linger among the flowers.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Birmingham-area teams open the football playoffs Friday night

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Every source in this edition19 links · 17 outlets
  1. The Weather Channelweather.com
  2. The Bama Buzzthebamabuzz.com
  3. insideradio.cominsideradio.com
  4. AL.comal.com
  5. Yellowhammer Newsyellowhammernews.com
  6. WBMAabc3340.com
  7. alal.com
  8. wbrc.comwbrc.com
  9. Times-Journaltimes-journal.com
  10. 280 Living280living.com
  11. VestaviaVoice.comvestaviavoice.com
  12. thehomewoodstar.comthehomewoodstar.com
  13. Alabama's 42alabamas42.com
  14. thehomewoodstar.comthehomewoodstar.com
  15. WBMAabc3340.com
  16. 256 Today256today.com
  17. AHSAA.comahsaa.com
  18. The Sand Mountain Reportersandmountainreporter.com
  19. Birmingham events calendardailybirmingham.com

Past issues

  1. Wed., Nov. 4Birmingham-area teams open the football playoffs Friday night
  2. Tues., Nov. 3Election Day is here, and Alabama tips off at 6:30 tonight
  3. Mon., Nov. 2Alabama A&M beat Alabama State 31-28 to end a four-game skid
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Daily Birminghamto me · Thurs., Nov. 56:00 a.m.

Birmingham lands 6th in Nielsen's college basketball fandom index

Plus, Lambda names itself as the company behind Lowndes County's $33 billion data center

The TLDR

  1. Birmingham ranks 6th in Nielsen's college basketball index
  2. Lambda will build the $33 billion Lowndes County data center
  3. Irondale's council was set to introduce data center rules Wednesday
Read this edition

More stories this week

From Daily Birmingham’s other editions

All the news
High School FootballBirmingham-area football teams open the state playoffs Friday nightIf you follow Friday night football, the road to the State Championships in Mobile begins this week. Vestavia Hills (7-2) hosts Huntsville (4-6), and the Rebels are the heavy favorite if starting quarterback Charlie Taaffe returns after missing their Oct. 23 finale. Hoover (4-6) is the favorite at Bob Jones (5-5), and the Bucs could get quarterback Kaleb Freeman back.Wednesday’s editionRead Food & DrinkShrimp Basket has closed its Gardendale spot and four other Alabama locationsIf Gardendale's Shrimp Basket is your fried shrimp stop, you'll need a new one. Artistry Restaurants, the chain's owner, shuttered five Alabama locations: Bay Minette, Gardendale, Cullman, Tuscaloosa and Auburn. The Cullman restaurant closed Sunday, Nov. 1.Wednesday’s editionRead SportsAlabama opens its basketball season tonight against Sam Houston at Coleman ColiseumIf you follow the Crimson Tide, tonight's the night. Alabama hosts Sam Houston at Coleman Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. to open the season, ranked No. 18 in the USA TODAY Sports preseason Coaches Poll after going undefeated through three October exhibitions. It's one of four Alabama programs opening their men's seasons over three days.Tuesday’s editionRead

Around Birmingham

From Shelby County Reporter, WBRC and 5 more newsrooms, gathered by 6AM News, 6AM City’s local news service.

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    We’re starting off the morning with some pretty dense fog across the area.

  3. Yellowhammer News2 hours ago

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    A new dental clinic planned for Decatur will give UAB students and residents another place to train while expanding access to care for patients across North Alabama. The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry broke ground Monday, Nov. 2, on the community clinic at Decatur Morgan Hospital’s Parkway Campus, located at 1874 Beltline

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