Birmingham advances $500 drone fine ahead of Magic City Classic

TLDR

• Birmingham City Council voted on 20 October to advance a $500 first-offence fine for drones near ticketed events.¹
• ABC 33/40 says the vote was a first reading, and final adoption and the effective date are unconfirmed.¹
• The Magic City Classic is due at Legion Field on 31 October, according to DroneXL.²

Birmingham City Council voted on Tuesday 20 October to advance on first reading a measure adding a first offence under Alabama's ticketed-event drone law to the city's fine schedule, setting the amount at $500, ABC 33/40 reports.¹ The state law, Alabama Act 2026-306, took effect on 1 October and prohibits certain drone operations within 400 feet of or above qualifying ticketed events held behind gates or barriers.¹ Exemptions include operators with consent from someone with authority over the event, operators lawfully authorised under federal regulations, and middle and high school sports.¹ A second or later violation is a Class A misdemeanor.¹ ABC 33/40 says the ordinance's final adoption and effective date remain to be confirmed.¹

Councilor Hunter Williams said officers must see the person operating the drone before issuing a citation, and described the measure as "a tool to keep our visitors and our citizens safe."¹ DroneXL, which calls the law HB 429, reports that police asked for the fine to be in place before the Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M and Alabama State at Legion Field on 31 October, that the stadium seats 71,594, and that the council approved $1.5 million last year for 16 DJI Matrice 4TD drones for the police department.² DroneXL also reports that police told the committee they already have drone detection equipment and are still building the capability.² It argues that the FAA stadium restriction, which bans drones within 3 nautical miles and below 3,000 feet around NCAA Division I football stadiums of 30,000 seats or more from one hour before kickoff to one hour after the game, means the federal-compliance exemption will not help pilots flying without a waiver on game day; that reading is DroneXL's own analysis.² ABC 33/40 notes only that a Part 107 certificate alone does not show a flight meets all federal requirements.¹

Why it matters: the ordinance gives a city police force a local enforcement route for a state ticketed-event drone law just before a large stadium game, and the line-of-sight requirement for citing an operator means enforcement will turn on whether officers can find the pilot; the vote is only a first reading, so the final ordinance may still change.