Jefferson County Commission votes to increase federal funds for The World Games

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The World Games Leaders are inching closer to erasing their $14 million deficit.

Thursday Jefferson County Commissioners voted to amend the amount of federal funds given to The World Games to $6.5 million. Commissioner Sheila Tyson voted against the resolution.

County Commission President Jimmie Stephens stresses the money is not coming from your tax dollars. The commission chose to use the last of their federal American Rescue Plan Funds.

Commissioner Stephens says the funds were marked for tourism relief and in his eyes this is a very appropriate use.

A Jefferson County Commission spokesperson said ARPRA funding is federal funding that the County was given to help with COVID impacts.

The resolution increases the amount of reimbursable funds available to The World Games by an additional $4 million that would be paid out if and when they submit more documentation. That’s a total of $6.5 million. The documentation also has to follow ARPRA guidelines.

The City of Birmingham contributed $5 million, and the Visitors Bureau gave an additional million.

The World Games leaders released this statement Thursday:

“The World Games 2022 elevated our entire region’s image around the world. And our community leveraged this moment to make many improvements. The Organizing Community is grateful to all of our public and private partners including the City of Birmingham and the Jefferson County Commission who worked as a team to support this effort. And we are equally grateful to all of our vendors who worked tirelessly to help us deliver The Games. We’ve made substantial progress over the past few weeks in honoring all outstanding commitments. And we continue to work with our corporate partners to help us close out the remaining obligations.”

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