12-15-2019, 04:12 PM
https://patch.com/alabama/birmingham-al/...gn-mistake
They have tempered their rhetoric a bit...even generated a lazy attempt at an alternative design on the same basic footprint (below).
As you can see, all they did was replicate Legion Field's west side to Protective's scale...even including the infamous "gold seats" unnecessarily.
While I am no fan of the total design myself, it is way past time when any of these concerns should have been raised. The basic design has been public for over a year. Well before the money was finalized and approval was given. One huge question is why didn't they speak up during the design process? Why did the wait until construction had actually begun?
Let's look at their points, suppositions and allegations:
First, the 30 rows of seats are not gone. They never existed.
Secondly, is the east side of the stadium in Tuscaloosa "less-desirable"?. How about the southeast side of the stadium in Auburn? The answer is no they are not. So why then would the east side of this stadium be different? Bresler is a former high school coach (Homewood) with a high school football mentality regarding stadium sides. Further, the ludicrous claim that east side seating is less desirable for the bowl game is laughable if you consider the fact the bowl currently actively tries to seat visiting fans on the east side of Legion Field facing the television cameras.
I'm sure we are all glad they favor the stadium, but not so much to raise concerns before plans were finalized and construction underway. The time is way over for any such concerns to have been raised. The project is too far along for any substantive changes to be made. All this talk now, is just that talk.
Strangest football stadium ever built? The San Francisco 49ers stadium is of a similar design philosophy and I believe it even hosted the College Football national championship game.
No one is going to "force" him and/or his family to sit anywhere. He is free to purchase tickets at whatever level he is comfortable with or NOT. To say he is being sent to the back of the bus is an injustice to Rosa Parks and others that fought true injustice. He is assuming much about a ticket pricing plan that has not yet been formulated. Sounds like he wants something that is unrealistic, but that we would all truthfully like...prime seating at non-prime pricing.
As for the issue of the sun. This is the South and this is an open air stadium. It is going to be HOT at time; COLD at times and WET at times. Every part of the seating bowl will be in the sun at some point. It is inevitable. To whine about the sun in the South is just to make another excuse of a reason to stay home. I have sat in the sun at Legion Field MANY times...near the 50 on the WEST side. It was my choice to sit there...I also had the option of moving myself to a shaded area, so let's not blame the sun. Even with an expected increase in attendance at the new stadium, there will still be many un-occupied areas in which to relocate for most games if one so desires.
What future use is he speaking of? This design is expandable should it be needed for a "future use". As stated before, the 49ers stadium is very similar in design on a larger scale for use on a "bigger stage".
As far a "serious" football fans...those generally come to games to see the game and couldn't care less about how pretty the stadium is. It's the casual fans that won't come for a myriad of reasons. Still, I have never heard of anyone not attending a game because the stadium is not "pretty enough" or is "strange". They will or not attend based upon whether they want the hassle of getting to the game...parking...ticket prices...weather, etc.. That is true for every game, every sport, every team or program and every single stadium...pretty...odd...strange...or not. Let's not forget the bells and whistles that are being included in this "smaller" stadium. It was enough that the mighty UAT decided to spend big bucks to renovate their ancient stadium to keep up with Birmingham. When was the last time that happened?
Counting the seats (as best I could) per section from the official seating plan:
East Side Bowl (between the 20s)
Sec 147: 693
Sec 148: 363
Sec 101: 297
Sec 102: 495
Sec 103: 297
Sec 104: 363
Sec 105: 693
TOTAL - 3,201
East Side Bowl (between the 20s-Goal)
Sec 145: 785
Sec 146: 726
Sec 106: 726
Sec 107: 785
TOTAL - 3,022
TOTAL EAST SIDE (between goal lines) - 6,223 (6,891 with box seating & handicap seating)* approx
One thing to note. The tv camera locations are once again on the east side. Most of us have battled the perception of attendance due to the majority of patrons sitting on the same side as the cameras, making the stadium appear less full than it actually is. By having "only 6,200 seats on the east side, that forces more to the side facing the cameras which will only enhance the perception of the support for the program.
Agree with the stadium design or not, Protective will be a game changer for UAB. If you are actually a supporter of the program it's time to accept facts. Nothing you say or do is going to change anything. The window for this discussion is closed. It's simply too late.
Birmingham's past is rife with a near-sighted lack of vision when it came to proposed and attempted projects, almost too numerous to change. At one time, Birmingham was considered a world-class city. With vision (and less greed), Birmingham could have remained the great city it once was. The resistance to progress and change has hamstrung this area for far too long. It is the reason Birmingham stagnated while other Southern cities, one after another caught and passed the "Magic City" in prominence. Thankfully that has changed to a degree with the advent of the 21st century. The old adage of "get on board or get left behind" is appropriate here. Both Huntsville and Mobile are on the verge of now surpassing Birmingham. Birmingham is late to re-joining the "party", but it is time to fan the flame to rekindle the magic.
That's the way I see it. Agree or not, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and will each have to choose for themselves whether this stadium design will keep them away from cheering on our future Blazers.
Whichever side of this discussion you are on, keep the discussion civil and somewhat logical. There will be no tolerance for name-calling, threats or snarky ridiculing others for stating their opinion.
They have tempered their rhetoric a bit...even generated a lazy attempt at an alternative design on the same basic footprint (below).
As you can see, all they did was replicate Legion Field's west side to Protective's scale...even including the infamous "gold seats" unnecessarily.
While I am no fan of the total design myself, it is way past time when any of these concerns should have been raised. The basic design has been public for over a year. Well before the money was finalized and approval was given. One huge question is why didn't they speak up during the design process? Why did the wait until construction had actually begun?
Let's look at their points, suppositions and allegations:
Quote:More than 30 rows of seats between the 45-yard lines on the home side are gone because of the luxury boxes and press boxes, which would place season ticket holders who pay top dollar for prime seating in a less-desirable spot in the stadium, (Alvin) Bresler said...
The VIP boxes' placement means that the vast majority of the seats will be located on the east side, corners and end zones of the stadium, which Bresler says are less-desirable seats for UAB season ticket holders and visitors for the Birmingham Bowl and other games.
First, the 30 rows of seats are not gone. They never existed.
Secondly, is the east side of the stadium in Tuscaloosa "less-desirable"?. How about the southeast side of the stadium in Auburn? The answer is no they are not. So why then would the east side of this stadium be different? Bresler is a former high school coach (Homewood) with a high school football mentality regarding stadium sides. Further, the ludicrous claim that east side seating is less desirable for the bowl game is laughable if you consider the fact the bowl currently actively tries to seat visiting fans on the east side of Legion Field facing the television cameras.
Quote:One point Bresler said he wants to make clear is that he and his group are in favor of the stadium and its location. However, the issue pointed out most frequently in conversations among those opposed to the design is the sustainability of the stadium with its current plan:
I'm sure we are all glad they favor the stadium, but not so much to raise concerns before plans were finalized and construction underway. The time is way over for any such concerns to have been raised. The project is too far along for any substantive changes to be made. All this talk now, is just that talk.
Quote:T.J. Perine, who also played at Auburn and at Jacksonville State, backs Bresler's sentiments. "Birmingham's going to carry the burden of having the strangest football stadium ever built," Perine said. "When I take my family, where am I going to sit? Am I going to be forced to sit in the end zone, the corners or on the visitors' side in the sun? I'll feel like I'm being sent to the back of the bus — and I won't be alone."
Strangest football stadium ever built? The San Francisco 49ers stadium is of a similar design philosophy and I believe it even hosted the College Football national championship game.
No one is going to "force" him and/or his family to sit anywhere. He is free to purchase tickets at whatever level he is comfortable with or NOT. To say he is being sent to the back of the bus is an injustice to Rosa Parks and others that fought true injustice. He is assuming much about a ticket pricing plan that has not yet been formulated. Sounds like he wants something that is unrealistic, but that we would all truthfully like...prime seating at non-prime pricing.
As for the issue of the sun. This is the South and this is an open air stadium. It is going to be HOT at time; COLD at times and WET at times. Every part of the seating bowl will be in the sun at some point. It is inevitable. To whine about the sun in the South is just to make another excuse of a reason to stay home. I have sat in the sun at Legion Field MANY times...near the 50 on the WEST side. It was my choice to sit there...I also had the option of moving myself to a shaded area, so let's not blame the sun. Even with an expected increase in attendance at the new stadium, there will still be many un-occupied areas in which to relocate for most games if one so desires.
Quote:The future use of the stadium is what concerns Bresler and his group most. "These issues make me believe that Protective Stadium will not be celebrated nationwide as Regions Field was when it opened, nor will this win any awards as one of America's great stadia," Bresler said. "And that would be a shame for 'The Football Capital of the South.'"
Bresler added, "There is a real chance that serious football fans, who are increasingly difficult to attract due to the pervasiveness of live streaming, photographic quality of television screens at home, will choose not to support a stadium of this design with their presence."
What future use is he speaking of? This design is expandable should it be needed for a "future use". As stated before, the 49ers stadium is very similar in design on a larger scale for use on a "bigger stage".
As far a "serious" football fans...those generally come to games to see the game and couldn't care less about how pretty the stadium is. It's the casual fans that won't come for a myriad of reasons. Still, I have never heard of anyone not attending a game because the stadium is not "pretty enough" or is "strange". They will or not attend based upon whether they want the hassle of getting to the game...parking...ticket prices...weather, etc.. That is true for every game, every sport, every team or program and every single stadium...pretty...odd...strange...or not. Let's not forget the bells and whistles that are being included in this "smaller" stadium. It was enough that the mighty UAT decided to spend big bucks to renovate their ancient stadium to keep up with Birmingham. When was the last time that happened?
Quote:"We'll be building a stadium with a capacity of 45,000 and yet there will be only 2,500 good seats on the home side," Perine said. "This is worrisome, since UAB Football has sold 10,000 season tickets, and many loyal UAB fans won't have good seating options."
Counting the seats (as best I could) per section from the official seating plan:
East Side Bowl (between the 20s)
Sec 147: 693
Sec 148: 363
Sec 101: 297
Sec 102: 495
Sec 103: 297
Sec 104: 363
Sec 105: 693
TOTAL - 3,201
East Side Bowl (between the 20s-Goal)
Sec 145: 785
Sec 146: 726
Sec 106: 726
Sec 107: 785
TOTAL - 3,022
TOTAL EAST SIDE (between goal lines) - 6,223 (6,891 with box seating & handicap seating)* approx
One thing to note. The tv camera locations are once again on the east side. Most of us have battled the perception of attendance due to the majority of patrons sitting on the same side as the cameras, making the stadium appear less full than it actually is. By having "only 6,200 seats on the east side, that forces more to the side facing the cameras which will only enhance the perception of the support for the program.
Agree with the stadium design or not, Protective will be a game changer for UAB. If you are actually a supporter of the program it's time to accept facts. Nothing you say or do is going to change anything. The window for this discussion is closed. It's simply too late.
Birmingham's past is rife with a near-sighted lack of vision when it came to proposed and attempted projects, almost too numerous to change. At one time, Birmingham was considered a world-class city. With vision (and less greed), Birmingham could have remained the great city it once was. The resistance to progress and change has hamstrung this area for far too long. It is the reason Birmingham stagnated while other Southern cities, one after another caught and passed the "Magic City" in prominence. Thankfully that has changed to a degree with the advent of the 21st century. The old adage of "get on board or get left behind" is appropriate here. Both Huntsville and Mobile are on the verge of now surpassing Birmingham. Birmingham is late to re-joining the "party", but it is time to fan the flame to rekindle the magic.
That's the way I see it. Agree or not, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and will each have to choose for themselves whether this stadium design will keep them away from cheering on our future Blazers.
Whichever side of this discussion you are on, keep the discussion civil and somewhat logical. There will be no tolerance for name-calling, threats or snarky ridiculing others for stating their opinion.