UAB reinstates football for 2016

bamaslammer

All-American
Jan 8, 2003
4,440
1,104
282
Argo, AL, St Clair
www.kirkwoodhouse.com
I do believe Legion Field is the noose around UAB's neck. While Avondale and Southside are experiencing a renaissance thanks to brew pubs the part of Birmingham where Legion lies remains a dangerous unpleasant place with no direct interstate access. Birmingham should have burned it to the ground 10 years ago and built a small 40K seat stadium downtown. Everybody will flock there for their first game but as others have noted their first team is going to be a boat load of green epic suck, they are going to lose and lose huge week after week. Nobody is gong to drive to Legion to see that. I feel for them. They would be better off moving their games to one of the larger high school stadiums. At least they would fill the place
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
Heh. I always roll my eyes at the pics people love to post of the near-empty seats in Legion Field. A pic of Legion would appear cavernous for most mid-majors. No team in CUSA is going to sell out Legion. That ballpark was never intended for a school of UAB's caliber. Even on the few times when they've half-filled the place, that shouldn't be considered a litmus test of what literal picture of their attendance should look like, in winning times. I went to games that were pretty packed back in the day, for UAB, and there were still lots of empty seats and tarped-up end zones. They simply need a smaller, and as you said, more "comfortable" venue. It would have to be a multi-purpose facility, and I don't know if that will ever fly in B'ham either.
To be honest UAB should either look into using the BJCC or the Hoover Met until they can get a "mythical" stadium provided to them by Bham. UAB should learn from their mistakes of trusting Birmingham or its the Scorpion and the Toad story all over again.
 

TRU

All-SEC
Oct 3, 2000
1,466
192
187
Tampa, FL
I personally am glad that football is back at UAB. Canceling the football program was a setback to the UAB administration's decade long effort to convert UAB from a first rate medical research institution into a third rate undergraduate college. Given that they have pretty much completed this conversion, having driven off the vast majority of their successful researchers, it would have been a shame for the program to be derailed on the home stretch. Reviving a losing football program will be a perfect symbol of the UAB admin's success.
 

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
10,615
4,540
187
44
kraizy.art
I do believe Legion Field is the noose around UAB's neck.
When is the last time you heard an Alabama fan say, well I really wanted to go to that Alabama game in town, but I really didn't want to go to that part of town? It just won't happen, Alabama fans would crawl through broken glass it that's what it took.

Legion Field is not the problem, no fans, that's the problem... they are just giving away tickets and yes, may be people won't take the free tickets and go sit in the seat because of the issues with the stadium, but that's not why no one wants to pay to watch UAB football.
 

AUDub

Hall of Fame
Dec 4, 2013
16,268
5,939
187
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
When is the last time you heard an Alabama fan say, well I really wanted to go to that Alabama game in town, but I lreally didn't want to go to that part of town? It just won't happen, Alabama fans would crawl through broken glass it that's what it took.

Legion Field is not the problem, no fans, that's the problem... they are just giving away tickets and yes, may be people won't take the free tickets and go sit in the seat because of the issues with the stadium, but that's not why no one wants to pay to watch UAB football.
I personally think a small 25k-35k seat stadium in the southside would do very well. The aforementioned renaissance is doing wonders for the nightlife in the area.

Full disclosure. I work down there by the new baseball stadium. It's fun to head down there and catch a game with the wife and kids after work. Could do the same for football. Never been to a UAB game I didn't enjoy.
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
20,947
15,956
282
Boone, NC
When is the last time you heard an Alabama fan say, well I really wanted to go to that Alabama game in town, but I really didn't want to go to that part of town? It just won't happen, Alabama fans would crawl through broken glass it that's what it took.

Legion Field is not the problem, no fans, that's the problem... they are just giving away tickets and yes, may be people won't take the free tickets and go sit in the seat because of the issues with the stadium, but that's not why no one wants to pay to watch UAB football.
It's ignoring reality to not acknowledge that LF is part of the problem with UAB football. It's at least the "tree limb" the rope is hanging from!

I personally think a small 25k-35k seat stadium in the southside would do very well. The aforementioned renaissance is doing wonders for the nightlife in the area.

Full disclosure. I work down there by the new baseball stadium. It's fun to head down there and catch a game with the wife and kids after work. Could do the same for football. Never been to a UAB game I didn't enjoy.
I tend to agree with this assesment too. I was at UAB hospital yesterday and it's amazing how much construction is taking place between the medical district and uptown and around Regions Field.
 

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
10,615
4,540
187
44
kraizy.art
It's ignoring reality to not acknowledge that LF is part of the problem with UAB football. It's at least the "tree limb" the rope is hanging from!
Ok, so the problem isn't a state of the size of Alabama having 5 FBS programs? The problem isn't the massive popularity of Alabama, Auburn, and the rest of the SEC in the state? The problem has nothing to do with the fact that UAB football can't even muster enough fans to hold a real rally? The fact is they can't get their fans to show up anywhere.

Last time I checked, neither Troy, nor South Alabama, not to mention the dreadful UAB, were selling out stadiums left and right. There simply is no real demand, period, end of story. When you can take those three programs, combine their attendance and still fall far short of Auburn's attendance, you know what's going on. Michigan has the same problem to (too many FBS programs no one cares about), they have a program that has the city buying up tickets to keep it eligible, like Birmingham does with UAB. Oh wait, I'm sure it's their stadium to that's the problem right? Not that everyone is fan of another team?

Why on earth would any SEC fan miss out on SEC games, or even worse an Alabama game a short drive away to see UAB play? The simple answer is they won't, and they don't, and they wouldn't even if UAB was playing on a field made of gold. Birmingham regularly comes in as the best TV market for college football, and they're not tuning into UAB games, they're watching real teams play.

Alabama always had good attendance at Legion Field, UAB never did. The idea that the problems are the field is just so... ignorant of reality. They couldn't get anyone to go to their games, period, they can't give away tickets, but the problem is where they play, yeah... they need to spend 50 million so they can have a nice fancy, empty stadium. Is Legion Field a crappy place to play now? Sure is, and it's better than UAB football deserves. The UAB program was started under the delusion that they could get Alabama fans in the area to cheer for another team instead, but clearly that isn't happening.

Let's try to puzzle our way through it. How many fans do you think UAB would get hosting a conference game at Bryant-Denny? How many fans would Alabama bring in if they did a conference game at Legion Field? We all know the answer... it's not the stadium.
 
Last edited:

Moro Creek

All-SEC
Jan 21, 2014
1,831
668
137
Equine country
Why build a new stadium when the fairly new Barons baseball field is only a few blocks off campus. I would think it would seat about 10k people and that would be plenty. Is it big enough to line out a football field?
 

Rama Jama

All-American
Jan 4, 2011
3,303
240
82
Tuscaloosa
OK, they build a stadium on Southside that has 40,000 seats. Tell me where the money to pay for it coming from. They lose money as it is now with a free stadium, imagine adding an estimate 100 to 150 million dollar bond issue around their neck. The University of Alabama system will have to pick up the tab which means that the students in Tuscaloosa will have to subsidize their B'ham brethren. And to those that say they would sell that stadium out, convince me that 40,000 football fans will decide to go to a UAB game rather than an Alabama or Auburn game. The problem can only be fixed by fans paying to go thru the turnstile, period. Having municipalities give away tickets is a bad idea in the long run. There is no value to going to the games when it is free.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
36,284
30,899
187
Beautiful Cullman, AL
OK, they build a stadium on Southside that has 40,000 seats. Tell me where the money to pay for it coming from. They lose money as it is now with a free stadium, imagine adding an estimate 100 to 150 million dollar bond issue around their neck. The University of Alabama system will have to pick up the tab which means that the students in Tuscaloosa will have to subsidize their B'ham brethren. And to those that say they would sell that stadium out, convince me that 40,000 football fans will decide to go to a UAB game rather than an Alabama or Auburn game. The problem can only be fixed by fans paying to go thru the turnstile, period. Having municipalities give away tickets is a bad idea in the long run. There is no value to going to the games when it is free.
This. Does it hurt that UAB has to play at Legion Field? Of course. But how is UAB going to afford to build a proper stadium on or near campus? They can't because the fan support simply isn't there. That is where the rubber hits the road and that is what's frustrating as a citizen of this state to hear Tim Brando blame Paul Bryant Jr. and the BOT, and then have Stewart Mandel piggyback on Brando's statements as if they were the gospel truth and not the ramblings of a bitter LSU fan. And of course you have the state media who collectively ignore truth and reality in order to spin the narrative of the evil big bad Tuscaloosa empire which won't allow UAB to have its football program. It's absurd.

2+2=4, not 5, despite what all the media and the few "protesters" would have you believe.
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
20,947
15,956
282
Boone, NC
Ok, so the problem isn't a state of the size of Alabama having 5 FBS programs? The problem isn't the massive popularity of Alabama, Auburn, and the rest of the SEC in the state? The problem has nothing to do with the fact that UAB football can't even muster enough fans to hold a real rally? The fact is they can't get their fans to show up anywhere.

Last time I checked, neither Troy, nor South Alabama, not to mention the dreadful UAB, were selling out stadiums left and right. There simply is no real demand, period, end of story. When you can take those three programs, combine their attendance and still fall far short of Auburn's attendance, you know what's going on. Michigan has the same problem to (too many FBS programs no one cares about), they have a program that has the city buying up tickets to keep it eligible, like Birmingham does with UAB. Oh wait, I'm sure it's their stadium to that's the problem right? Not that everyone is fan of another team?

Why on earth would any SEC fan miss out on SEC games, or even worse an Alabama game a short drive away to see UAB play? The simple answer is they won't, and they don't, and they wouldn't even if UAB was playing on a field made of gold. Birmingham regularly comes in as the best TV market for college football, and they're not tuning into UAB games, they're watching real teams play.

Alabama always had good attendance at Legion Field, UAB never did. The idea that the problems are the field is just so... ignorant of reality. They couldn't get anyone to go to their games, period, they can't give away tickets, but the problem is where they play, yeah... they need to spend 50 million so they can have a nice fancy, empty stadium. Is Legion Field a crappy place to play now? Sure is, and it's better than UAB football deserves. The UAB program was started under the delusion that they could get Alabama fans in the area to cheer for another team instead, but clearly that isn't happening.

Let's try to puzzle our way through it. How many fans do you think UAB would get hosting a conference game at Bryant-Denny? How many fans would Alabama bring in if they did a conference game at Legion Field? We all know the answer... it's not the stadium.
Calm down. I said LF is PART of the problem.

I'm not arguing for the city to build them a stadium but as long as they play in LF it's an issue for them.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

bamahippie

All-SEC
Apr 8, 2000
1,971
0
0
47
Cullman, AL
I can't believe there's not enough money in the 'Ham to be able to build a multi-purpose facility, without the taxpayers having to foot the bill. With a nice enough facility, we may be able to attract some of the events that we've lost over the years.

That's the way to go, for UAB, in my opinion. Legion...is not.
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
20,947
15,956
282
Boone, NC
This. Does it hurt that UAB has to play at Legion Field? Of course. But how is UAB going to afford to build a proper stadium on or near campus? They can't because the fan support simply isn't there. That is where the rubber hits the road and that is what's frustrating as a citizen of this state to hear Tim Brando blame Paul Bryant Jr. and the BOT, and then have Stewart Mandel piggyback on Brando's statements as if they were the gospel truth and not the ramblings of a bitter LSU fan. And of course you have the state media who collectively ignore truth and reality in order to spin the narrative of the evil big bad Tuscaloosa empire which won't allow UAB to have its football program. It's absurd.

2+2=4, not 5, despite what all the media and the few "protesters" would have you believe.
I agree. Good post.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
I can't believe there's not enough money in the 'Ham to be able to build a multi-purpose facility, without the taxpayers having to foot the bill. With a nice enough facility, we may be able to attract some of the events that we've lost over the years.

That's the way to go, for UAB, in my opinion. Legion...is not.
there is enough to build it but Birmingham wont do it. Birmingham poltics ruins anything that is semi good for the city. City stages is a good examples of it. Bham ever since Arrington has gotten more and more corrupt. Basically if you run for office you might as well make bed reservations in your favorite jail. The only intrest Bham has in UAB is the Med School. Unless Alabama threathens to relocate it to T-town if Bham doesnt build a football stadium for UAB then Bham aint helping UAB in that endeavor. The only way get one with outside help is if UA or one of the suburbs help out.
 
Last edited:

Rama Jama

All-American
Jan 4, 2011
3,303
240
82
Tuscaloosa
there is enough to build it but Birmingham wont do it. Birmingham poltics ruins anything that is semi good for the city. City stages is a good examples of it. Bham ever since Arrington has gotten more and more corrupt. Basically if you run for office you might as well make bed reservations in your favorite jail. The only intrest Bham has in UAB is the Med School. If Alabama threathens to relocate it to T-town if Bham doesnt build a football stadium for UAB then Bham aint helping UAB in that endeavor. The only way get one with outside help is if UA or one of the suburbs help out.
I think he was referring to private funds. It is laughable to think that there is enough private funds to build a stadium. It took 14 municipalities contributing for them to get 20 million. What would they get out of it. There is not a professional team in B'ham and probably never will be. The city of B'ham has no willingness or ability of the city to build a multi-use facility either. They have been bouncing around the idea of a dome multi-use facility for 40 years and there still isn't one. It will only happen when the PTB in B'ham can get a significant cut of it.
 

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
10,615
4,540
187
44
kraizy.art
I'm not arguing for the city to build them a stadium but as long as they play in LF it's an issue for them.
I just don't think a lot of people get the reality of those other three programs in the state. They are all losing money, they all have limited fan interest, they all are heavily subsidized. So, the main thing I'm arguing is that UAB can't just magically break out and do better, there's just no demand for what they're selling.

Did you know UAB actually had the highest attendance of UAB, Troy, and South last year? It was still sad and pathetic, but between overnight fans and the city buying a larger allotment of tickets, they averaged a whole 21,000 in listed attendance. And they still lost a lot of money...

I can't believe there's not enough money in the 'Ham to be able to build a multi-purpose facility, without the taxpayers having to foot the bill. With a nice enough facility, we may be able to attract some of the events that we've lost over the years.
This is one huge reason I hate to see the public sector insist on doing things the private sector is perfectly capable of doing. Do we really think there would be no stadiums without the government? However, it's kind of a big deal when someone actually goes out and builds their own stadium now. It's a given that the government will pony up. Furthermore, we have cities and states competing against each other, and this doesn't help consumers one bit either. They still have to pay for it, they just don't get to chose.

A lot of my angst, a lot of it... comes from the fact that the powers that be at UAB never tried to make something that was financially viable, they never gave it a chance, and never were responsible. They just acted like people tend to act when it's not their money. The right way, all along, would have been to start at a lower level, in a fitting facility, and may be (though I find it unlikely) the interest would have gradually grown into one that could support the FBS program. Now though, what we have is basically someone who doesn't even know how to walk, trying to run.
 
Last edited:

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
35,306
31,375
187
South Alabama
Did you know UAB actually had the highest attendance of UAB, Troy, and South last year? It was still sad and pathetic, but between overnight fans and the city buying a larger allotment of tickets, they averaged a whole 21,000 in listed attendance. And they still lost a lot of money...


This is one huge reason I hate to see the public sector insist on doing things the private sector is perfectly capable of doing. Do we really think there would be no stadiums without the government? However, it's kind of a big deal when someone actually goes out and builds their own stadium now. It's a given that the government will pony up, but at least in most those cases.
Hoover in 2013 had a game that had 15,000 while UAB never got over 10,600. Enough said, I really dont get why people act like there is some kind of hidden support for UAB that negates the fact that a high school team has a larger attendenc, and possibly making more money, than a D1 team. You are right that there is not any kinda of substantial support at UAB, and I honestly think if you were to poll all of Birmingham whether they wanted to take a two year break from the Magic City Classic or discontinue UAB football they would say " To heck with UAB".
 

RobK

All-SEC
Aug 27, 2004
1,506
7
0
47
Holts Summit, MO
knodell.blog-city.com
The problem is that UAB is an urban commuter-heavy school in a mid-major conference--smack in the middle of SEC country--with no long history or real tradition of its own. At a macro level, it really isn't a whole lot different than Cincinnati, Tulane, Memphis, or South Florida in that respect (but those schools have done better because they have longer FB histories, have tasted at least a little more success on the field, and/or have newer/smaller/more modern or updated stadiums...which is why they all got promoted up to the American Athletic Conference while UAB remained in C-USA with the schools promoted up from the Sun Belt).

Lacking a traditional campus status and any longstanding football tradition, UAB has to rely more on the "casual" football fan in the Birmingham metro area that likely has a very thin connection--if any--to the university or the team. And those fans demand to see a winning product and/or to have a modern, comfortable, enjoyable stadium that becomes the socially "in" place to be on football Saturdays. In these regards, UAB and Legion Field fail miserably. And artificially propping up the finances with taxpayer subsidies and private donations to cover operating costs won't solve either problem.
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
The problem is that UAB is an urban commuter-heavy school in a mid-major conference--smack in the middle of SEC country--with no long history or real tradition of its own. At a macro level, it really isn't a whole lot different than Cincinnati, Tulane, Memphis, or South Florida in that respect (but those schools have done better because they have longer FB histories, have tasted at least a little more success on the field, and/or have newer/smaller/more modern or updated stadiums...which is why they all got promoted up to the American Athletic Conference while UAB remained in C-USA with the schools promoted up from the Sun Belt).
Those schools have also done better in getting fans because of their respective city's population.

Cincinnati: 297,517
New Orleans: 378,715
Memphis: 653,450
Tampa: 352,957
Orlando (UCF): 255,483
Birmingham: 212,113

Lacking a traditional campus status and any longstanding football tradition, UAB has to rely more on the "casual" football fan in the Birmingham metro area that likely has a very thin connection--if any--to the university or the team. And those fans demand to see a winning product and/or to have a modern, comfortable, enjoyable stadium that becomes the socially "in" place to be on football Saturdays. In these regards, UAB and Legion Field fail miserably. And artificially propping up the finances with taxpayer subsidies and private donations to cover operating costs won't solve either problem.
Overall, I agree with this. I do want to add something, though. Birmingham's location hurts UAB more than it helps. Look at the other commuter and/or smaller schools in the state.

UNA does well because Florence is over 2 hours away from Tuscaloosa and almost 4 hours away from Auburn. How many folks from Florence are making that day trip? Not many. They can then attend an UNA game and become fans.

Jacksonville State is the same way. It's 2 hours away from Auburn and Tuscaloosa. That's 4 hours in the car. Instead, folks can chose to tailgate at a JSU game, watch the Bama/Auburn games and then go to the JSU game.

Troy is almost 3 hours away from Tuscaloosa and an hour and a half from Auburn. What do you think most folks in Pike County end up doing?

South Alabama is 3 hours away from Auburn and Tuscaloosa. Any guesses on which game folks in Mobile end up attending?

UAB is an hour away from Tuscaloosa and 2 hours away from Auburn. Depending on what side of Birmingham a person resides, that trip is even shorter.

Which game is the Auburn fan picking if he lives in the Birmingham metro area? What about the Alabama fan?

UAB is too close to the main schools in the state, which hurts their attendance compared to the other schools. Krazy mentioned UAB had more attendance than either South or Troy. I wonder how those numbers compare when considering the population of the surrounding areas.
 

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.