Since the upper tier was dismantled in 2004, the Legion Field has accommodated 71,594 spectators. Previously it had 83,091 seats and was entitled "Football Capital of the South" ("Football Capital of the South"). It is also called "The Old Gray Lady" or "The Gray Lady on Graymont". The football team from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (Birmingham Blazers) and the Birmingham Iron from the Alliance of American Football currently play their home games here.
history
In 1926, construction began on a 21,000-seat stadium. This cost 439,000 US dollars , was completed the following year and was named Legion Field. The first college football game in front of 16,800 spectators took place on November 19, 1927 between Howard College and Birmingham Southern College (final score: 9-0).
Over the years the stadium was expanded several times: in 1934 to 25,000 seats, in 1948 to 45,000 seats. In 1961, a second tier with around 9,000 seats was built on the east side of the stadium, which increased the capacity to 54,600 seats. With an additional expansion in 1965, the number of places rose to 68,821.
In 1970 the lawn was replaced by artificial turf (Poly-Turf), in 1975 by AstroTurf . By 1977 the capacity increased to 75,808 places. In 1991 the stadium reached its largest capacity with 83,091 seats. In 1995, the artificial turf was replaced by natural turf, so that games of the football tournament of the 1996 Summer Olympics , which were held in Atlanta , could take place in the stadium. In 2006 the turf was again replaced by artificial turf ( FieldTurf ).
An appraisal in 2004 showed that a thorough renovation of the upper tier would be necessary in order to be able to meet the requirements of the current building regulations. Since the capacity of the stadium was now too high for the users at the time, the city of Birmingham decided instead to demolish the upper tier, which took place in 2005.