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On campus is the best long term option by far. We will be sitting in the southside stadium one day!

(06-11-2015 09:34 PM)oldragon Wrote:  On campus is the best long term option by far. We will be sitting in the southside stadium one day!

No doubt about that, and it would be the PERFECT size for the Alabama HS Super-6 (guess Super-7 now).

The OCS is a project that is good for UAB whenever it is built.

It would do next to nothing for the city's needs which are only served by replacing Legion Field with the projected MPF. That is why UAB will have to find other financing for any OCS than from the city. The city must maintain Legion Field until it can be replaced by an equal capacity structure (MPF).

If the MPF is the only alternative to Legion Field, then UAB would be wise to use it in order to be able to use its scarce funds for much needed on campus practice facilities and other essential infrastructures it needs to catch up to the facilities its competition has had now for a long time. Besides, FBHC Clark reportedly placed the OCS several places down his priority list for needed facility improvements.

People often judge a crowd based on how many empty seats they see, not full ones. Even though UAB's attendance compares favorably with similar programs, uninformed assumptions have been used by respected media outlets giving ammo to our enemies in their attempts to take away our program. The city wants a stadium as big as Legion Field to host the Magic City Classic. I agree that playing in such a facility would be better than Legion Field, but this isn't in the best interest of UAB football.

As an example, if the Barons played in a 70,000 seat baseball park everyone would be laughing at them for poor crowds and suggesting they relocate to another city.

As both an alumnus of UAB and a resident and taxpayer of the city of Birmingham, I'd rather see the city work on a facility that will hit most of what Legion Field needs, not every single thing. It would be much better to have a 30,000 seat stadium that could host concerts, UAB football, high school football, and I think even the bowl game. Whereas if we have a 70,000 seat MPF so that we can accommodate the Classic, then it will be a poor venue for literally everything else. Spiff up Legion Field for the Classic, and let those schools invest in LF if they want to keep it going.

(06-12-2015 12:19 PM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  As both an alumnus of UAB and a resident and taxpayer of the city of Birmingham, I'd rather see the city work on a facility that will hit most of what Legion Field needs, not every single thing. It would be much better to have a 30,000 seat stadium that could host concerts, UAB football, high school football, and I think even the bowl game. Whereas if we have a 70,000 seat MPF so that we can accommodate the Classic, then it will be a poor venue for literally everything else. Spiff up Legion Field for the Classic, and let those schools invest in LF if they want to keep it going.

Like a famous BB coach said about having a less stellar BB player who is 7' tall, "I can coach him to play better, but I can''t coach a shorter player to be 7' tall". The city needs a capability to accommodate 70,000 or so and 30,000 won't do it. If 30,000 serves UAB well, that is what UAB should build one day, but it should not expect B'ham to feel compelled to be involved.

"Everything else" includes the larger conventions that B'ham needs to attract that the present BJCC can't handle. A lot of MPF designs have been evolved since 1998 when the MPF was first voted on. If we can build in 2016 or later, we should make use of those newer designs to have a state of the art building that will be competitive in its marketplace.

When the GA Dome was damaged by the tornado, the manager stated that repairs had to be rushed since they had "over 200 events" scheduled for the facility and he didn't want them moved elsewhere. NOTE: He did not say 200 football games, but in 2014 they did accommodate all GA State home games, the Falcons, the Peach Bowl and a couple specially arranged college games.

There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

(06-12-2015 01:19 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

You may be correct that the MPF will never be built. As we have seen in the history of UAB football, at one time we defeated LSU, Baylor and TCU and played Louisville, Cinncy, Houston, USF and Tulsa and others as conference foes. Today we wonder when UAB will field its football team again. The state has shown that it is willing for the city and anything in it to atrophy and even be killed if it serves other powerful state entities.

Years ago, B'ham used to compare itself with Atlanta (when I was a child, the two were about equal in population and both played baseball in the Southern League), Nashville, Memphis, etc. Today, because of its past leadership and that of its state, it compares to none of them. Even in banking, a former economic engine strong point, it now has only "foreign owned" banks with only one possible exception. BTW, How do you count the Bryant Bank?

If the state and its political forces continue to strangle B'ham, we may see it slip even further, even within state population rankings. BTW, In the 1940s, Alabama had 9 U.S. Representatives and now has only 7 and in 2020 may drop to 6. That means where Alabama had 11 electoral votes, it may after 2020 have only 8. It is not just B'ham that the state leadership has damaged over the past 7 decades.

(06-12-2015 01:19 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

Never is a long time.

(06-12-2015 04:22 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(06-12-2015 01:19 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

Never is a long time.

YES!! NEVER is a long, long time, Legion Field is not likely to collapse anytime soon and UAB's future is whatever the BOT decides for it unless the rules in the system are changed by the state legislature. Right now it looks like UAB will be playing the Centennial Celebration football games in Legion Field in 2026 if the MPF is NEVER built. Let's get those on campus facilities built ASAP so we can perform on a par with the best we have to face.

I don't ever want to hear UAB Football and a MPF mentioned in the same sentence ever again.

(06-12-2015 12:19 PM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  As both an alumnus of UAB and a resident and taxpayer of the city of Birmingham, I'd rather see the city work on a facility that will hit most of what Legion Field needs, not every single thing. It would be much better to have a 30,000 seat stadium that could host concerts, UAB football, high school football, and I think even the bowl game. Whereas if we have a 70,000 seat MPF so that we can accommodate the Classic, then it will be a poor venue for literally everything else. Spiff up Legion Field for the Classic, and let those schools invest in LF if they want to keep it going.

+1

(06-12-2015 04:22 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(06-12-2015 01:19 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

Never is a long time.

Never might be sooner than you think. There is a legitimate developer (not local), who has experience in similar development, significant financial backing, and extensive plans for a multi purpose facility. They are in ongoing discussion with the City.

However you feel about it, there is probably more likelihood of this than the City financing an OCS.

I don't expect the city to finance it. I also don't expect this UAB administration to pay for it, nor do I expect this current UA Board to be of any use, but like jay said, never is a long time.

(06-12-2015 11:41 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(06-12-2015 04:22 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(06-12-2015 01:19 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

Never is a long time.

Never might be sooner than you think. There is a legitimate developer (not local), who has experience in similar development, significant financial backing, and extensive plans for a multi purpose facility. They are in ongoing discussion with the City.

However you feel about it, there is probably more likelihood of this than the City financing an OCS.

I never expected the city to finance an OCS nor should I think they should. UAB needs to finance it with the help of boosters, private donations, and bonds.

(06-12-2015 11:41 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(06-12-2015 04:22 PM)blazerjay Wrote:  

(06-12-2015 01:19 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  There will never be a dome. NEVER. Legion Field will fall in one day and the City won't replace it. UAB's future is her own.

Never is a long time.

Never might be sooner than you think. There is a legitimate developer (not local), who has experience in similar development, significant financial backing, and extensive plans for a multi purpose facility. They are in ongoing discussion with the City.

However you feel about it, there is probably more likelihood of this than the City financing an OCS.

As long as the city or county isn't the one putting up $500 million, then let them build whatever they want. And regardless of what gets built or where UAB plays in the short term, I still want UAB to play in a 30,000 seat outdoor stadium on campus or no further away than Regions Field.

REALITY CHECK:
#1- Legion Field will not self destruct in our lifetimes and until a similar capacity facility (like the MPF) is built, it will not be torn down.
#2- The city and its multicounty metro area need the MPF for more than sports, just like the GA Dome is annually used for over 200 more events than just sports. Atlanta's new MPF is due in 2017 replacing the GA Dome perhaps putting our metro area further behind in convention appeal.
#3- UAB can choose its athletic priorities WHEN it raises the needed funding. FBHC Clark stated a list of needed on campus facilities upgrades, and the OCS was not at the top.
#4- If and when the MPF is built, UAB can CHOOSE to play there and use its scarce funds for more immediate on campus athletic department facilities needs than an OCS. UAB can then CHOOSE to build that OCS if it wishes.
#5- UAB has not had a chance to get used to large funding numbers, but it will need to have an ANNUAL income over the coming decade in excess of $30 to $40 million to be a competitive athletic program in all sports it plays. For comparison, UA and AU Athletic Departments each have such annual incomes far in excess of $100 million now.
#6- When conventions come to the MPF, their visitors will probably go shopping and patronize food places around the area, particularly in the arc from Trussville and along I-459 to the Galleria area. It will be a good thing for the entire metro area economy, not just the city.

(06-13-2015 10:01 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  As long as the city or county isn't the one putting up $500 million, then let them build whatever they want. And regardless of what gets built or where UAB plays in the short term, I still want UAB to play in a 30,000 seat outdoor stadium on campus or no further away than Regions Field.

This.

(06-13-2015 03:23 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(06-13-2015 10:01 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  As long as the city or county isn't the one putting up $500 million, then let them build whatever they want. And regardless of what gets built or where UAB plays in the short term, I still want UAB to play in a 30,000 seat outdoor stadium on campus or no further away than Regions Field.

This.

The MPF is potentially a valuable asset for both city AND the metro area and should be financed by them all along with any other interested parties. Of course, it is a common Alabama thing to expect someone else (like the federal gov't) to pay for what they want to use.
.
UAB will play in some stadium in 2016 or 2017 and continue to play there until a new facility is made available. The realistic expectation is that the location will be Legion Field and UAB will probably be playing the stadium's Centennial Celebration games there in 2026 and some years after that if it must wait for an OCS. There are too many more pressing (and expensive) on campus facility needs to be built before that.