It looks like there will be a new football stadium built in downtown Birmingham after the city council approved the allocation of $90 million toward a $300 million master plan that would improve athletic facilities in the city. The new stadium will cost about $174 million and will seat around 55,000, about 16,000 fewer seats than are at the decaying Legion Field.
UAB will be the primary tenant at the stadium and it is likely the SEC-affiliated Birmingham Bowl will be played there, too. Other possible uses are for international soccer, college and high school football teams in the state, and concerts.
UAB has some momentum right now. Last summer it opened a nice football facility, then went to a bowl game in its first season after its reinstatement. The practice facility looks good and stands out when you are driving down I-65. We drove past it last year on our way to Florida.
UAB football reminds me a little of the resurgence of Cal baseball after it was nearly shut down in the fall of 2010. The Bears were in the College World Series the next season.
Oddly, the shutting down of the UAB program actually brought it much-needed publicity to make it relevant with its reinstatement. UAB became a feel-good story that found a small niche in an Alabama-Auburn dominated world. If it rides this wave of publicity just right, UAB could become even more relevant in its conference in the years to come.
If they can honestly repurpose the old Carraway Hospital and include it into these plans this will be an incredible turnaround in North Birmingham. The city has made a great start developing the Uptown District around the civic center complex which includes the SEC offices. Topgolf opened there about a month ago as well and is walking distance to both Uptown and Carraway.
My daughter graduated from Birmingham Southern College and lives there. I have always liked B’Ham more than Memphis. My daughter loves it there. Beautiful area with all the hills. A lot of great restaurants if you are a foodie. Plus only 4 hours from Beach.
Legion field down street close to Birmingham Southern. Worst part of town. I drove by it one day and was fearful to even get out of car in that part of town. They do have great security at BSC though. Still was concerned for my daughter going to and from
My daughter graduated from Birmingham Southern College and lives there. I have always liked B’Ham more than Memphis. My daughter loves it there. Beautiful area with all the hills. A lot of great restaurants if you are a foodie. Plus only 4 hours from Beach.
[/quote]I also had daughters in Birmingham, one graduated from Southern and the other from Samford and love Birmingham. One of the two remained in Birmingham, so we still get there pretty often and find Birmingham a very nice city. The new stadium would be a great addition to the downtown and probably a nice reward to UAB football who has seemingly been treated pretty shabby by the University Board.
