UAB Dreams of On-Campus Stadium are Crushed.

UAB’s Dreams of On-Campus Stadium Crushed In mid-September 2011, a petition was sent to the UAB Board of Trustees proposing funding and resources for a much needed on- campus stadium for the football team. Currently, the team plays its games at Legion Field, which, according to UAB booster Jimmy Filler, is run down and “Many times there is no hot water and they have dressing rooms like the 1930s.” Many students, parents, and faculty have shown great support for the on campus stadium, but on November 1st, just as they were getting their hopes up, the Board of Trustees crushed them. To add insult to injury, the board did not even give the proposal a chance of being discussed at the next meeting on Thursday and Friday, November 3rd and 4th; it was scrapped from the agenda and the board issued a blunt statement denouncing the idea. “”A majority of the Board believes that an on-campus football stadium is not in the best interest of UAB, the University System or the state,” they decided. “In these difficult economic times of rising tuition and decreasing state funds, we cannot justify the expenditure of $75 million in borrowed money for an athletic stadium which would only be used a few days each year. The UAB football program has not generated sufficient student, fan or financial support to assure the viability of this project.” So, in essence, the building of the stadium would be a waste of time and money, and the wrong project at the wrong time. The board’s stance that there is not enough student support of the stadium could also be challenged, as there are many students championing the cause. All around campus, there are flyers and petitions being pushed to sign to show just how important the cause is to UAB students. There is even an online petition, started by UAB’s student government association, which can be signed at www.change.org. So far, it has over 1,800 signatures. Also, on Thursday, November 3rd, hundreds of students and faculty chartered buses to Tuscaloosa to attend the Board of Trustees meeting, and to prove to them that there is a huge support base for the building of the stadium. UAB’s USGA president, Brad Watts, said he would attend. “We know the trustees have the best interest of the institution at heart,” he said. “We just really want them to know that there is student support for the project. We want to see it happen.”