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There have been protests, tweets and columns all written about the recent decision by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees’ decision to not include discussion about a proposed football stadium for the UAB Blazers as part of the agenda for their upcoming meeting.
I’ve got a better idea – why not pack out Legion Field on Saturday night as the first step at showing the trustees that there is Blazer pride for more than basketball in Birmingham, AL? Incidentally, I’d be curious to know how many tickets are sold for Saturday’s game compared to how many folks will be at Bartow this evening for the preseason opener against Florida Tech (starting at 8 PM CT)…
A crowd of more than 32,000 would be a much louder message than having 100+ fans protesting the trustees meeting. It would be one that locals would have to pay attention to as well – especially considering all of the attention being shown to the game of the century happening about an hour down the road Saturday evening between the Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers (at the same time no less).
There will be 101,000 fans in Bryant-Denny and countless more milling about outside. Wouldn’t it be nice to see the Old Gray Lady looking a little more like herself on Saturday, almost in a way defying the belief that the state of Alabama can’t support three large crowds in one day. It’d also be interesting since all of UAB’s top 10 attendance totals at Legion Field are before 2006. Granted, there hasn’t been a winning season since 2004 (and they haven’t finished higher than fourth in their Conference USA division since then either).
Those facts make it tough to not understand why the trustees didn’t necessarily vote the Blazers’ way. The largest crowd in Blazer football history – 44,669 – showed up primarily to see Ruben Studdard perform back in 2003, though the Blazers did put on a show, barely losing to Southern Miss by a score of 12-17. No doubt many of them wanted to try to score tickets to the Velvet Teddy Bear’s concert the next night at the BJCC. The closest they came to that total again that season was for homecoming against Army, with a gathered crowd of 22,020.
Some folks would argue that the home field should be closer to UAB’s campus. A quick drive down Graymont Avenue towards their current home reminds you of just how close it is to campus (though not as close as most supporters of the new stadium would want) and how powerful the experience could be if some folks felt like investing in redevelopment along the street – not just for UAB fans approaching from campus, area interstates and Highway 280, but also for those attending other sporting events like the Magic City Classic and the SWAC Championship among other things.
A UAB campus creeping ever so closer towards Birmingham’s Entrepreneurial district would make it easier to do those types of projects and help accelerate many of the long held dreams for that part of the city, though probably not soon enough for those who want to see something happen as soon as possible.
That said, Legion Field has issues and they’re more than enough to justify wanting a new home or a commitment of some sort towards a significant renovation – something not necessarily in the immediate future during these difficult economic times.
A new stadium would have humble beginnings if built, especially considering it’d be a little larger than Legion Field was when it was first constructed in 1926 (it originally held 21,000). Perhaps playing in cozier quarters would help gain some additional fan support. That would be something difficult to come by considering the large contingents of Alabama and Auburn fans in the metro area.
If success – on the field and in the box office – followed though it wouldn’t stay cozy for long. That’s one reason why suggestions to make changes to the proposed plan for a baseball-only stadium adjacent to Railroad Park accommodate the Blazers seem a little far-fetched. The Barons already play in the largest home field in the Southern League (10,800); any future expansion necessary to suit the needs of the Blazers would force them to be looking for a new home a lot faster. Considering the Barons would still be the primary tenant of such a facility (six month baseball season vs. 2½ month football season), I don’t see that ending well for the Blazers long term either.
Which takes us back to Saturday…
It’d be a powerful message to the team and the trustees – and one that would do more to move forward efforts for a new home in the long term – if they saw a sea of green and gold at Legion Field on Saturday night. A crowd somewhere around 40,000 wouldn’t hurt either. You’ll still get to see a BCS team play too – and it may not be on television locally.
There’s still time to trade in your tickets to the game of the century in Tuscaloosa for a ticket to Legion Field. I’ve got a feeling this one may also mean more in the future – for the team and the city – than the hotel rooms occupied for the showdown an hour south.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below…
André Natta is The Terminal’s stationmaster.
No excuses – time to make your voice heard!
Considering some of the conversations I got to be a part of this holiday weekend, people definitely have an opinion (well, after they share their thoughts on college football in the state and the immigration bill).
The Area 4 meeting is scheduled to take place at Carver High School (3900 24th Street, North) from 5:30-7:30 PM and focus primarily on portions of the city located on its Northside. There are two more meetings scheduled for this week – Area 5 (Southside) will take place tomorrow (Tuesday, November 29) at Glen Iris Elementary School; Area 6 (think Highway 280) will take place on Thursday, December 1, at the Cahaba Pumping Station Museum (a.k.a. the Pump House). Both of those meetings are also scheduled to go from 5:30-7:30 PM.
There’s additional information available via a flier that’s been made available on the official website for the comprehensive plan process.
Let’s address some of those reasons that could potentially pop into your head to keep you from attending, shall we?
But [insert name of local meteorologist here] says it’s going to snow tonight!?! Yes, that’s true, the National Weather Service is calling for snowfall this evening. The winter weather advisory currently announced for Jefferson County doesn’t even go into effect until 12 AM though – well after the meeting is scheduled to be finished.
It doesn’t matter what we say, it’ll never happen. If you don’t go and your ideas aren’t shared, of course it’ll never happen, since it may never be considered. The notion behind the process, whether or not it’s been easy to actually know when or where the meetings are, is to engage as many people as possible
Didn’t they already do a big session at the CrossPlex? They did. The purpose of that public meeting was to establish a starting point for what the citizens in the city wanted to see from the planning process – a vision statement that will help guide the plan.
I didn’t know there were more meetings taking place. You may not have. It’s not necessarily as sexy as reporting about the Iron Bowl, the ongoing issues surrounding the stalled UAB football stadium project or anything else that seems more exciting. That said, perhaps a better job could have been undertaken by City Hall to help spread the word about the meetings. Hopefully any future opportunities for public input into the Comp Plan will receive that support and exposure from the City. You know now though, and you’ve got two more chances (tomorrow and Thursday) to show up and have your voice heard.
The area being focused on isn’t where I live. The future of the city of Birmingham is dependent on what’s happening everywhere, not just what’s happening in your neck of the woods.
There are no doubt countless more reasons that could and will be given in the coming days, but I figured I’d stop while I was ahead.
I plan on attending a meeting either tonight (Monday), or Tuesday, or both. I’m hoping that many of you will consider making it part of your plans this week as well. If you can’t attend either of these meetings, hopefully other opportunities to make sure your voice is heard, either via the website or at additional public meetings, will be made known to you in the immediate future.
There’s no time for excuses anymore, only the beginning of a solution.
André Natta is The Terminal’s stationmaster as well as a member of the City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan’s steering committee.
Photo: Children amaze me. acnatta/Flickr
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Posted in Commentary
Tagged Birmingham, comp plan, excuses, public meetings