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After the Huntsville Stars minor league baseball team left for Biloxi in 2015, Joe Davis Stadium's future has been studied and speculated upon, including possibly converting the site into an amphitheater.

While any potential repurposing has yet to be determined, live music will soon return to Joe Davis.

On Sept. 28, a rap concert headlined by Lil Baby - whose recent single "Yes Indeed" rose to number-six on the Billboard 100 and included a cameo from Drake, one of contemporary music's biggest superstars - will take place in the stadium's parking lot. Other acts on the bill include Miami group City Girls and Georgia rapper Gunna. Showtime is 7 p.m. and gates open at 5 p.m. Tickets start at $35, available via eventbrite.com.

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At a Sept. 13 Huntsville City Council meeting, the city entered into a facility use agreement with the concert's promoter, Power Play Empire, to rent the Joe Davis Stadium parking lot for the event. In an email to AL.com, Huntsville Director of Communication Kelly Schrimsher emphasized "the concert is in the parking lot outside of the stadium - not inside the old stadium" and that besides site rental "the city is not involved in the event." The facility use agreement's provisions include that no alcohol be served or brought into the event. Power Play Empire is responsible for clean-up after the concert and obtaining liability insurance in advance.

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Although Lil Baby isn't exactly a household name yet, the Atlanta MC is trending. Since being released in May, that Drake collabo "Yes Indeed" has garnered 198 million Spotify streams, 63 million YouTube views. The track boasts minimalist, throbbing production and Lil Baby's alto flow. His debut album "Harder Than Ever" debuted at number-three, right below rap star Post Malone's "beerbongs & bentleys" LP, on the Billboard 200.

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In 2017, AL.com's Paul Gattis reported Huntsville City Council approved a $48,000 study by Matheny Goldmon Architects for "adaptive reuse" of the city-owned Joe Davis Stadium, address 3125 Leeman Ferry Road S.W. Gattis also reported minor league baseball insiders had told the city no team would be interested in the outdated stadium. The Stars began playing at Joe Davis in 1985.

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In 2020, neighboring Madison will become home to a minor league team called Rocket City Trash Pandas, following the Mobile BayBears' relocation there. In June, Madison broke ground on a $46 million stadium, expected to have a capacity of around 7,000. The team will be a double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels.

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During it's '80s and '90s baseball heyday, Joe Davis Stadium occasionally hosted concerts. Acts performing there ranged from Willie Nelson and Tanya Tucker to Bad Company and Ted Nugent. Other Joe Davis Stadium concert notables over the years included The Beach Boys, Alabama, Kenny Chesney, Peter Frampton, Jefferson Starship, Huey Lewis and the News and even a version of Badfinger.

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In 1995, the stadium's parking lot was the site of one of Huntsville's largest-ever concerts, when a rowdy Southern rock/outlaw country bill featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. drew a crowd of between 17,000 and 21,000. Most other Joe Davis Stadium concerts took place inside the 10,000-ish capacity venue.

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In an April AL.com story, Huntsville Director of Urban Development Shane Davis detailed plans for a city-funded 8,500-seat amphitheater at MidCity, the sprawling mixed-use facility being built on the former Madison Square "super mall" grounds, on University Drive. Davis indicated plans were for construction to begin in 2019 and the first concerts in summer 2020. Huntsville has heretofore been without a large-scale amphitheater, leaving a glaring hole in the city's venue mix. Many touring acts specifically tailor production during warmer months for amphitheaters - so markets without an amphitheater are likely to be bypassed for such tours.

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This spring, the City of Huntsville hired London firm Sound Diplomacy to conduct a "music audit." In addition to data on Huntsville's existing musical resources (talent, venues, industry support infrastructure, etc.), Sound Diplomacy's final report is expected to provide a plan for maximizing existing resources and building up different musical genres, as well addressing music-friendly municipal codes, ordinances and zoning and potential for regional music collaborations. Huntsville is paying Sound Diplomacy $165,000 for the audit over a 14-month contract period. "We definitely are not looking to become the next Nashville or Memphis," Davis told AL.com in April regarding the music audit. "But if you look at cities we compete with for both industrial growth and workforce talent, they have a diverse offering in culture, with music being a large portion of the mix."

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