Legion Field
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| Legion Field | |
|---|---|
| "Football Capital of the South" | |
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| Location | 400 Graymont Ave W Birmingham, AL 35204 |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Owner | City of Birmingham |
| Operator | UAB |
| Surface | Turf |
| Construction cost | $439,000 USD |
| Tenants | UAB Blazers (NCAA) (1991–present) Team Alabama (AAFL) (2008–present) Papajohns.com Bowl (NCAA) (2006–present) Birmingham Americans (WFL) (1974) Birmingham Vulcans (WFL) (1975) Alabama Vulcans (AFA) (1979) Birmingham Stallions (USFL) (1983–85) Birmingham Fire (WLAF) (1991–92) Birmingham Barracudas (CFL) (1995) Birmingham Thunderbolts (XFL) (2001) Dixie Bowl (NCAA) (1948–1949) |
| Capacity | 71,594 |
Legion Field is a large stadium in Birmingham, Alabama primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but is occasionally used for other large outdoor events. The stadium is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans. At its peak it seated 83,091 people for football. Today, after the removal of the upper deck, Legion Field seats approximately 71,594 spectators. Legion Field currently serves as the home field of the UAB Blazers, who compete in Conference USA. It previously served as a home stadium for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team alongside of their on-campus Stadium.
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[edit] Stadium history
The first game ever played at Legion Field occurred between nearby Howard College (now Samford University) and Birmingham-Southern College. Howard College won this game 9-0.
Legion Field is best-known for hosting the season-ending game between Alabama and Auburn each year from 1948 to 1988. Because of Birmingham's major industry of iron and steel manufacturing, the game became known as the "Iron Bowl". From the series' resumption in 1948 to 1987, tickets for the game in Birmingham would be split 50/50 to each school. As Auburn sought to make this a home-and-home series in the late 1980s, the ticket allocation changed to reflect a home game. In 1989 Auburn moved their home games in the series to their own stadium, although they did play one last home game at Legion Field in 1991. Alabama followed suit in 2000. Alabama holds a 32-15 edge over their in-state rival in games played at Legion Field.
Due to its size and location, both Alabama and Auburn have used this stadium for other games. The University of Alabama once played up to three home football games there every season, including their games against the University of Tennessee and the entire 1987 home slate. The last Alabama game at Legion Field was a 40-17 victory over the University of South Florida on August 30, 2003. Due to the disrepair of the stadium, Alabama and the City of Birmingham ended their contract in 2004, moving nonconference games Alabama scheduled at Legion Field for 2005 to Tuscaloosa.[1] Auburn University also used Legion Field less extensively, primarily due to size and the difficulty of transportation to Auburn in the early 1900s. This included Auburn's home contests with the University of Tennessee. Over time, Auburn moved all their home games to Jordan-Hare Stadium, including the Iron Bowl.[citation needed]
In 1969, lights were added to Legion Field to accommodate night games. In the 1970s, Astroturf was used for the stadium, which remained until 1995 when Bermuda grass was placed down to accommodate Olympic soccer. In 2006, the stadium changed back to an artificial surface.
Legion Field served as home to the Hall of Fame Bowl played on December 31 from 1977 to 1985. In 1986 the Hall of Fame Bowl was relocated to Tampa, Florida and later the name changed to the Outback Bowl. It currently hosts the Papajohns.com Bowl, which had contracts with the Big East Conference and Conference USA. On April 30th, 2008, the Big East and Southeastern Conference announced that they will now play in the Papajohns.com bowl.
In 1979 and 1980, the facility played host to the Drum Corps International World Championships. In the summer of 1996, Legion Field served as a soccer venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
[edit] Post-season college football games
Legion Field also hosted four post-season college football games, the Dixie Bowl (1947-1948), the Hall of Fame Classic (1977-1985), the All-American Bowl (1986-1990), and the first two Southeastern Conference championship games (1992-1993). It still hosts the title football game for the historically black Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
[edit] Other American football
The venue also served as home field for the Birmingham Americans (Vulcans) of the World Football League (1974-1975), the Alabama Vulcans of the American Football Association (1979), the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (1983-1985), and the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football (now NFL Europe) in 1991-92. Afterward in 1995, it was the home field of the Birmingham Barracudas for their single season of play as part of the short-lived expansion of the Canadian Football League into the U.S. Later (2001), it was the home field for the single season of the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the XFL. On August 19, 2004, the University of Alabama announced that they would not be playing any further home games at the venue, leaving UAB football as the sole collegiate tenant.
[edit] Soccer events
Recently, Legion Field had been used successfully as a site for major soccer events, including matchups in the 1996 Olympic Games – the opening match between the United States and Argentina drew 83,810 spectators, the stadium's all-time record for any event. Legion Field had also hosted exhibition games by the U.S. men's and women's national soccer teams, and in 2005 it hosted a World Cup qualifier between the U.S. and Guatemala. U.S. Soccer will no longer be scheduling games for play at Legion Field because of a switch from natural grass to artificial turf.
May 3rd, 2008, The US Women's National team defeated Australia in stoppage time at Legion Field.
[edit] Rock concerts
The Rolling Stones played at Legion Field on August 4, 1994 during their Voodoo Lounge tour. The Counting Crows opened that evening. Psychedelic Rock group Pink Floyd also played at Legion Field on May 1, 1994 during the worldwide "Pulse" tour.
[edit] Attendance records
| Opponent | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Miss (2003) | 44,669 |
| 2 | Mississippi State (2006) | 36,104 |
| 3 | TCU (2004) | 33,280 |
| 4 | Troy (2006) | 32,818 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech (1998) | 31,897 |
| 6 | Southern Miss (2005) | 31,363 |
| 7 | Kansas (1998) | 30,543 |
| 8 | Houston (1999) | 28,573 |
[edit] Current uses
Outside of serving as the home field for the UAB Blazers football team, the city uses the stadium for occasional high school football matchups and for the annual "Super-Six" AHSAA state high school football championships. The Magic City Classic featuring Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University as well as the Steel City Classic featuring Miles College and Stillman College are played at Legion Field. The MEAC/SWAC Challenge is also played at Legion Field.
On April 27, 2006, the NCAA approved a proposal by ESPN Regional which would bring a bowl game back to Birmingham. The Papajohns.com Bowl, formerly known as the Birmingham Bowl, was played on December 23rd at Legion Field and featured University of South Florida vs. East Carolina University.The USF Bulls defeated the ECU Pirates 24-7.
Birmingham-Southern College played against Mississippi College in Legion Field on September 6, 2007 in their first football game since 1939. They won this game 41-13.
[edit] Recent changes
In 2004 a structural evaluation determined that the 9,000 seat upper deck, installed in 1961, would need major remediation to meet modern building codes. With little prospect of adequate repairs on the way, the University of Alabama withdrew the few home games it still scheduled for Birmingham.[1]
Without Crimson Tide football, the city determined that the stadium's capacity was greater than necessary for its other tenants and proceeded to dismantle and remove the upper deck in the summer of 2005.
In 2006, to accommodate high school football games, the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board reconverted the grass surface back to artificial turf. Because the field is also used for soccer, a FIFA 2-Star synthetic field turf was specified. FieldTurf completed the installation on October 30, 2006, but FIFA has not yet certified the field for play. (list). The US Soccer Federation had recommended against the change and has not scheduled any events at Legion Field since the change.
[edit] Photographs
 Legion Field Scoreboard |
 Exterior View from Graymont Avenue |
 Bear Bryant Monument in Front of Stadium |
 Satellite image taken in January 2004 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Alabama forced to abandon unsafe Legion Field" (August 19, 2003) Associated Press
[edit] External links
- Legion Field at City of Birmingham official web site[dead link – history]
- Legion Field Seating Chart
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of UAB Blazers 1991 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of Papajohns.com Bowl 2006 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of SWAC Championship Game 1999 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of SEC Championship Game 1992 – 1993 |
Succeeded by Georgia Dome |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of Dixie Bowl 1947 – 1948 |
Succeeded by defunct |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of Hall of Fame (Outback) Bowl 1977 – 1985 |
Succeeded by Tampa Stadium |
| Preceded by continuation after departure of Hall of Fame (Outback) Bowl |
Host of All-American Bowl 1986 – 1990 |
Succeeded by defunct |
| Preceded by Mile High Stadium |
Host of the Drum Corps International World Championship 1979 – 1980 |
Succeeded by Olympic Stadium (Montreal) |
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