Tag Archives: soccer

Digging into the UAB athletics announcement: A timeline of interest emerges

There are two slides that were added to the presentation made to the Alabama chapter of PRSA on Tuesday, January 13, before it was uploaded for sharing. These slides (numbers 13 and 14) represent a timeline of events occurring between October 28 (the date the UAB Football Foundation was formally announced via several media outlets) and November 12 (the date the foundation announced initial members appointed to its board). The information contained within was shared verbally with those in attendance on the 13th:

01132015 PRSA Alabama presentation

01132015 PRSA Alabama presentation2

The timing of the events included in the first slide and the significance of the soccer announcement as explained in the second slide (in addition to this report on it as it ran on November 10 — after securing a rendering of the proposed facility) are also significant considering a report from the UAB athletic financial analysis committee on December 19 made available earlier this month as a PDF.

More specifically, this passage from page two of the committee’s report is most significant:

At this point, no further work was performed based on the original contract or the two subsequent modifications. UAB reached back out to CarrSports during the week of October 6th to finalize the report. A draft was presented to UAB during the November 7th timeframe, with the final report being issued to UAB on 11/18/14.

It becomes significant when you begin to look at who knew what — specifically, the boosters — and when.

UAB announces new soccer facility, $1.5 million BBVA Compass gift towards construction

BBVA Compass field rendering from SEBBVA Compass and UAB officials released a statement on Friday announcing a $1.5 million gift to be used to construct a new 2,500 seat stadium for the school’s men’s and women’s soccer teams. The unveiling of these plans follow recent public written statements (including one released by UAB president Dr. Ray Watts and another by the university’s athletic director Brian Mackin) in response to a letter penned by the members of the newly formed UAB Football Foundation and first published on SB Nation’s Underdog Dynasty. The exchange is leading many to wonder if the UAB football team will be taking the field in 2016 and beyond.

Digital renderings of the new facility, to be called BBVA Compass Field, were posted to the UAB men’s soccer team’s fan page on Facebook on Saturday morning, November 8. It would place two of athletic department’s top three performing programs (soccer and baseball) on prominent display for those arriving on campus from the west along University Boulevard. Its location is approximately where a proposed facility was suggested in the long-range plan for the university previously prepared by KPS Group. The field would replace the current team home, the West Campus Field. It is also not the global financial institution’s first foray into the naming-rights arena as BBVA Compass Stadium, a 22,000 seat facility in Houston, TX nicknamed “The Oven,” houses the MLS’s Houston Dynamo and NWSL’s Houston Dash; their Spanish-based parent company, BBVA Group, sponsors La Jiga — the top division in Spain’s soccer league system.

In related news, the men’s soccer team, currently ranked No. 22 in the nation, will play against Marshall at 3:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, November 12, in Norfolk, VA. in a quarterfinal match for the Conference USA championship. They will play the winner of the first match of the day — Kentucky vs. South Carolina (1 p.m. CT).

Will World Cup Soccer return to Birmingham?

Soccer ball. thebuffafamily/FlickrLost in the talk about the City Council approving an extra $250,000 for this year’s City Stages (bringing the total amount to $550,000) was the announcement by Mayor Langford that Birmingham, AL would be submitting a proposal to be one of the facilities that could be used for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Now, to put this in perspective, there are 37 potential host cities (with 45 facilities total) across the United States being asked to submit for a chance to hose the soccer matches. The hope is to have the final list ready by the end of the year, allowing them to be included in the bid book, due in May 2010.

If successful, it would be the first time Birmingham sees World Cup action since the 2005 qualifying match between the U.S. and Guatemala at Legion Field. The U.S. is competing against several countries for the honor, including the United Kingdom, meaning that our sister city across the pond wants in on it too.

Photo: Soccer ball. thebuffafamily/Flickr

National Women’s soccer to return to Legion Field

U.S. forward Lindsay Tarpley (5). The United States (USA) defeated Norway (NOR) 4-1 during the third place match of the Women's World Cup China 2007 at Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai, China, on September 30, 2007.Ironically on the anniversary of the Olympic soccer countdown beginning at Legion Field for the 1996 Olympics, it was reported that the U.S. women’s national soccer team will make its return to Birmingham and The Old Gray Lady on May 3. It’s a tune-up for the national squad as they prepare for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the first time that Legion Field has been used by either of our national soccer teams since the installation of an artificial turf playing surface in 2006.

Photo credit: Norway vs United States, WWC Third Place Match,  G romano/Flickr