Birmingham Legion FC, the new sports team looking to bring second-division professional soccer to Birmingham, has a home for its inaugural season in 2019, and it’ll be right in the heart of the city.
Legion FC and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have signed an eight-year leasing agreement to play home matches at BBVA Compass Field on UAB’s campus. The field has been the home field for UAB’s soccer teams since the facility’s opening in 2015. According to the agreement, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees will perform upgrades and renovations to the field worth $7.3 million, including the construction of a video screen and a grandstand that would boost seating capacity to 5,000 attendees.
Some say the newly-founded United Soccer League club in the school’s plans could see UAB’s sporting teams benefit even beyond the improvements to the field. “This will do wonders for both our men’s and women’s teams as far as the fan experience and recruiting,” UAB men’s soccer coach Mike Getman says.