Protective Life Corporation and the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) have collaborated to mint a unique piece of digital art, known as an NFT (non-fungible token), on the Ethereum blockchain.
NFTs of late have taken the digital trading community by storm, and now individuals have the opportunity to purchase the one-of-a-kind digital asset of Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.
The winner of the NFT auction will receive two tickets for every event slated for Protective Stadium in 2022. The state-of-the-art stadium this year is set to host UAB football, The World Games, Birmingham Legion, the United States Football League (USFL) and more.
The auction is open on the OpenSea website and will close March 10. The NFT auction is one of the first-ever launched by an Alabama entity.
Auction proceeds will be donated to Prosper, a civic coalition consisting of community and business leaders who have coalesced to build an inclusive Birmingham economy.
Tad Snider, BJCC Authority CEO and executive director, indicated that the auction is an innovative way to spark interest in the stadium and serves as a way to assist the community.
“Within just a few months of opening, Protective Stadium has been able to attract new tenants, hold multiple large-scale events, and host tens of thousands of visitors,” stated Snider. “There’s been so much excitement around what’s to come, and we look forward to building on this momentum by supporting initiatives that give back to our community.”
Protective president and CEO Rich Bielen touched on the company’s commitment to positively impacting the communities in which they operate.
“We continually search for ways to positively impact our communities, this time through innovative use of technology,” advised Bielen. “Protective Stadium’s NFT is another way for us to be a good neighbor and directly impact the community.”
Mayor Randall Woodfin expressed excitement over the intrigue Protective Stadium has garnered.
“We are proud to see Birmingham-based organizations collaborating to support programs making a difference in our community, like Prosper,” said Woodfin. “We’re not even a full calendar year into Protective Stadium being open and already are seeing unique initiatives to support our residents. We hope the community is enthusiastic about participating.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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