Editing Legion Field (section)

==Stadium history==

Construction of a 21,000-seat stadium began in 1926 at the cost of $439,000. It was completed in 1927 and named Legion Field as a [[war memorial]] in honor of the recently-established [[American Legion]]. In the stadium's first event, 16,800 fans watched [[Samford Bulldogs football|Howard College]] (now known as [[Samford University]]) shut out [[1927 Birmingham–Southern Panthers football team|Birmingham–Southern College]] 9–0 on November 19, 1927.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82553977/howard-bulldogs-snarl-way-to-victory-in/|work=The Birmingham News|title=Howard Bulldogs snarl way to victory in new stadium|date=November 20, 1927|accessdate=July 31, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

Over the years, the stadium grew. The expansions didn't follow the designer's initial intent on the stadium becoming a monumental horseshoe-shaped amphitheater.<ref>"[http://stadiumdb.com/news/2015/09/new_stadiums_old_gray_lady_and_others New stadiums: Old Gray Lady and others]" (September 25, 2015) StadiumDB.com</ref> Capacity was increased to 25,000 in 1934 and to 45,000 in 1948, and the bowl was enclosed. In 1961, a 9,000 seat upper deck was added to the east side of the stadium, increasing capacity to 54,600. In 1965, a new press box was built in the stadium and capacity was further increased to 68,821. The first nationally televised night college football game at Legion Field was between [[Ole Miss Rebels football|Ole Miss]] and Alabama on [[1969 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|October 4, 1969]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Drehs | first=Wayne | title=Football fading away | website=ESPN.com | date=2004-11-04 | url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/footballinamerica/news/story?id=1915891 | access-date=2025-05-26}}</ref>

In 1970, the natural grass turf was replaced with [[Poly-Turf]], which was in turn replaced by [[AstroTurf]] in 1975. [[Seating capacity]] was increased to 75,808 in 1977 and further increased to 83,091 in 1991. The turf was changed back to a natural [[Cynodon dactylon|Bermuda grass]] surface in 1995 in order to host [[Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics|soccer]] events for the [[1996 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Atlanta]].<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1996/1996v1.pdf 1996 Summer Olympics official report.] Volume 1. p. 541.</ref> In 2006, the field went back to an artificial surface with infilled [[FieldTurf]]. The field has a conventional north–south alignment at an approximate [[elevation]] of {{convert|570|ft}} above [[sea level]].

In [[2004 in sports|2004]], a structural evaluation determined that the 9,000 seat upper deck 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, Alabama|Birmingham]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20040820101853/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5762465/ Alabama forced to abandon unsafe Legion Field]" (August 19, 2003) Associated Press</ref> The city removed the upper deck in 2005 since the capacity was greater than the need for its tenants. In 2015, renovations took place including general improvements and overall renovations including a new and larger video scoreboard along with a new and improved sound system.

The stadium's future beyond the 2020 college football season is uncertain. The Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center Authority started construction of a new stadium on the [[Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex]] grounds in July 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.al.com/news/2019/07/crews-dig-in-at-new-birmingham-stadium-site.html |title=Crews dig in at new Birmingham stadium site |first=Anna |last=Beahm |website=[[Advance Publications|al.com]] |date=July 25, 2019 |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref> UAB football moved into the new 47,000-seat [[Protective Stadium]], in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.al.com/news/2019/04/protective-life-gets-naming-rights-for-birminghams-new-stadium.html |title=Protective Life gets naming rights for Birmingham's new stadium |first=Roy S. |last=Johnson |website=[[Advance Publications|al.com]] |date=April 11, 2019 |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2020/06/18/protective-stadium-to-have-a-1-200-seat-increase.html |title=Seating capacity increased for Protective Stadium |first=Tyler |last=Patchen |publisher=Birmingham Business Journal |date=June 18, 2020 |access-date=September 24, 2020}}</ref>