In December 1992, the authority received an initial $800,000 grant from the FAA to formally begin the study for the proposed facility. Initially ten separate sites were evaluated as possible locations for the facility. The selections were then narrowed down to two sites as possible locations for the airport. The first was located in Chilton County near Buxahatchee and the second was located in St. Clair County near Gadsden. By July 1993, the existing Birmingham Airport also emerged as a possibility for the new facility through an aggressive expansion plan.