What’s the Future of Legion Field?
It won’t be long before construction starts on the new Protective Stadium at the BJCC in downtown Birmingham. It’s expected to be finished in 2021. That brings up a big question: what happens to Birmingham’s current stadium, Legion Field? An article published Friday in the Birmingham Business Journal explores some options. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager spoke about those with BBJ editor Ty West.
Interview Highlights
Turning Legion Field into a youth sports complex:
“That’s an idea that we talked to some experts about and they think there is some potential there. But they cautioned us that that’s a very competitive marketplace. There’s a lot of competition for big national events that would bring tourism dollars and would bring a lot of visitors. There’s less competition, there’s a lot of demand for more regional events, things that would be Alabama-type tournaments or tournaments from the South.”
Examples from other cities:
“When the Nashville Sounds, their minor league [baseball] affiliate, built a new stadium recently, they just elected to demolish the old stadium and they’re incorporating it into a public park … Obviously the [Atlanta] Braves recently moved to a new stadium. Instead of demolishing this stadium they had a third party come in, Georgia State University. But also the land around the stadium is being redeveloped into a new commercial real estate property … Montgomery had the Cramton Bowl, similar to Legion Field, [a] historic stadium … They’ve tried to keep the Cramton Bowl alive and competitive by rethinking it as a multi-use, multi-sport complex. They are able to recruit basketball, wrestling, a lot of indoor sports.”
What will drive the decision in Birmingham:
“There’s a lot of feelings about the Magic City Classic and its future. That’s frankly a big question with Legion Field because they haven’t committed to going to Protective Stadium at this point. From what we understand, that’s going to be up to the schools, Alabama State and Alabama A&M. I do think what happens with the Magic City Classic is going to play a big role in that because if the Classic says we’ll stay in Birmingham but only if we can stay in Legion Field, then the city is going to have to look for ways that they can reinvest and keep that environment at Legion Field, maintain that facility. Obviously that would cary some costs. I think that’s going to be a key question and how that question gets answered could go a long way to determining the future of Legion Field.”
Photo by Andre Natta
DHS ends Temporary Protected Status for thousands from Nicaragua and Honduras
Some 76,000 people from Nicaragua and Honduras were covered by TPS, which provides protection from deportation and grants work permits to people from certain nations affected by war or natural disasters.
BRICS nations push back as Trump warns of tariffs
Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies meeting for their annual summit had hoped to downplay any differences with the U.S. But even a toned down group proclamation drew the ire of President Trump.
DOJ says no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a ‘client list’ or blackmailed associates
The two-page memo outlines the "exhaustive review" the department conducted of the Epstein files in its possession, and also reiterates that Epstein died by suicide, contrary to some conspiracy theories.
Floods are getting more dangerous around the country, not just in Texas
The deadly floods in Central Texas were caused by extremely heavy rain. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.
Near old Montana mine, special clinic for asbestos-related illness fights to survive
The Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana, closed in May after a court judgment. The clinic's federal funding is also threatened. Patients with scarred lungs worry about what's next.
4 things to know about the deadly Texas floods and ongoing search efforts
Search efforts continue for the dozens of people still missing after Friday's floods, as questions swirl over what went wrong. Here's what we know so far.
