UAB new Protective Stadium

[commadore]

https://protectivestadium.com/

Final cost somewhere between $179 and $200 million. Seats 47,000.

[charlestonalum]

Waste of money.

[BrentVU]

Nicer than the Iron Bowl, for sure.

[SCSA]

Waste of money.

well in this case I think the choice was new stadium or no football for UAB. Our issue is that a flat-pack design stadium (it's the same stadium as UNCCharlotte, etc). like this wouldn't fit in the footprint of The Dud, which would seem to make the rebuild cost even higher.

[DS2001]

It's just a basic low cost stadium, but it fills the bill for UAB and gives the program some excitement. They no longer have to play in the Rat Bowl. Maybe someday our football program will have a little excitement. So far, not much.

[FayetteDore]

It's good for Birmingham and UAB. It will be used for many events other than Blazers football games. At $175 million, it's a relatively modest civic investment that will give the city some pride.

[VUaskew]

The post title threw me for a minute. I saw Protective Stadium and I thought this was some new state of the art COVID-free venue.

Like a giant plastic bubble or something...

[Doreknox]

If the new UAB/City of Birmingham stadium is a waste of money, then whatever we are spending on refurbing Dudley is setting money on fire. At least people can easily get in and out of Protective Stadium and have lots of room to walk around its concourse. I bet there are plenty of restrooms, too. We still have inadequate space for a modern stadium and no cosmetic changes will address that.

[charlestonalum]

titans stadium.jpg (93.66 KiB) Viewed 3981 times

Nashville has a big stadium now for the Titans and if/when Vanderbilt needs a bigger stadium to play in we can rent that one. My understanding is that the bulk of the money VU is poised to spend mainly addresses things that directly benefit the student athletes and program staff. That is money well spent and is what can help the players. If we need to show recruits pictures of a big stadium that already exists show them the city, the stadium...

[MrMemorial]

It looks sort of like a cross between Chattanooga's stadium and MTSU's stadium.

Now that Chattanooga lost the FCS championship game, semi-pro soccer might be all it has other than the Mocs and I can't recall MTSU's stadium ever having anything other than football. Not sure how much of an economic windfall the stadium in Birmingham is going to be. Not trying to be negative about it, just realistic. Maybe they can throw together some concerts that make it a destination a couple of times every year.

[belair]

I have thought for some time that what could be done with the DUD is turn it into a 20-25000 seat ultra luxury venue. By wrapping the Bridge around with all suites and creating an upper concourse you could have a truly unique venue. 3 games a year if warranted play in the Titans stadium.
I have always envisioned replacing the seats in the North end zone with a section of a retired battleship like the pirate ship in Tampa.
Could display some Naval History to tour along with some Hall of Fame Vanderbilt sections.
One can dream I guess.

[Doreknox]

titans stadium.jpgNashville has a big stadium now for the Titans and if/when Vanderbilt needs a bigger stadium to play in we can rent that one. My understanding is that the bulk of the money VU is poised to spend mainly addresses things that directly benefit the student athletes and program staff. That is money well spent and is what can help the players. If we need to show recruits pictures of a big stadium that already exists show them the city, the stadium...

I was thinking more in terms of new, spacious and comfortable rather than increasing the number of seats. I still get ill thinking about John Ingram's shiny new VU football/soccer stadium not being on campus.

[MrMemorial]

Here's the thing about the Nolensville Road soccer facility. If there is a game like the one this weekend that is expected to be lightly attended, playing one isolated game there as a novelty might be acceptable.

But only something like that. There is no stock car race there this weekend, so....

[AuricGoldfinger]

I don't think it's unreasonable for a city the size of Birmingham to have a stadium of this size and caliber. Yes, the more prudent thing might have been to maintain and renovate Legion Field over the years, but that obviously didn't happen. But in a metro area of a million or so people, the venue will also be used for high school football, concerts, soccer, and other events.

[VU1970]

I can remember when Legion Field was the best place on earth to watch a football game. And it was a short drive from Rickwood, the best place to watch a baseball game. All things must pass. And yet the Dud still stands.

[shelbz75]

Looking forward to when the AHSAA starts hosting the high school football state title games there, will be a much better atmosphere then playing at Auburn or Alabama.

[admin]

We could renovate our stadium and have it look better than that for far less.

[admin]

I do think it was something they needed badly. Legion Field is a dinosaur and way too big.

[coachinwaiting]

I can remember when Legion Field was the best place on earth to watch a football game. And it was a short drive from Rickwood, the best place to watch a baseball game. All things must pass. And yet the Dud still stands.

When I first visited Legion Field in 1977 (Bama 24, ut 10), it was still highly regarded but the years were already being unkind to The Old Gray Lady. It got progressively worse sadly, and the cost to get her back in shape is now out of all reason. A new stadium may one day take its place, but highly doubtful.

Vanderbilt's stadium is probably in better shape that Legion was then, when it could have been saved by a resuscitation of funds. That is possibly the only option that Vanderbilt has too. Building a new facility seems far-fetched at best. The idea of a 20k-30k luxury stadium would probably be the best of all options. It certainly beats a half-empty stadium on a good day or one that has a majority of road fans.

[VU1970]

Nix nix on the luxury. If big shots want to see Vandy play, they can sit with the rest of us.