Legion Field is an outdoor
stadium
A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...
in the
southeastern United States in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, primarily designed to be used as a venue for
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in honor of the
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
, a U.S. organization of military
veterans.
The stadium served as the primary venue for
Alabama Crimson Tide home games until the late 1990s and was for many years the site of the annual
Iron Bowl rivalry game against
Auburn. The
UAB football team played at Legion Field from their inception in 1991 through the 2020 season. It has also hosted teams from various professional football leagues.
Since the removal of its east-side upper deck in 2005, Legion Field has a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of approximately 71,594. At its peak, it seated 83,091 for football and had the name "Football Capital of the South" emblazoned from the facade on the upper deck. Legion Field is colloquially called "The Old Gray Lady" and "The Gray Lady on Graymont".
Stadium history
Construction of a 21,000-seat stadium began in 1926 at the cost of $439,000. It was completed in 1927 and named Legion Field as a
war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
in honor of the recently established
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
. In the stadium's first event, 16,800 fans watched
Howard College (now known as
Samford University
Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...
) shut out
Birmingham–Southern College 9–0 on November 19, 1927.
Over the years, the stadium grew. The expansions didn't follow the designer's initial intent on the stadium becoming a monumental horseshoe-shaped amphitheater. Capacity was increased to 25,000 in 1934 and to 45,000 in 1948, and the bowl was enclosed. In 1961, a 9,000 seat upper deck was added to the east side of the stadium, increasing capacity to 54,600. In 1965, a new press box was built in the stadium and capacity was further increased to 68,821. The first nationally televised night college football game at Legion Field was between
Ole Miss and Alabama on
October 4, 1969.
In 1970, the natural grass turf was replaced with
Poly-Turf, which was in turn replaced by
AstroTurf in 1975.
Seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
was increased to 75,808 in 1977 and further increased to 83,091 in 1991. The turf was changed back to a natural
Bermuda grass surface in 1995 in order to host
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
events for the
Summer Olympics in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. In 2006, the field went back to an artificial surface with infilled
FieldTurf. The field has a conventional north–south alignment at an approximate
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
.
In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, a structural evaluation determined that the 9,000 seat upper deck would need major remediation to meet modern building codes. With little prospect of adequate repairs on the way, the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
withdrew the few home games it still scheduled for
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. The city removed the upper deck in 2005 since the capacity was greater than the need for its tenants. In 2015, renovations took place including general improvements and overall renovations including a new and larger video scoreboard along with a new and improved sound system.
The stadium's future beyond the 2020 college football season is uncertain. The Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center Authority started construction of a new stadium on the
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex grounds in July 2019. UAB football moved into the new 47,000-seat
Protective Stadium
Protective Stadium is an outdoor multi-purpose stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Since its opening in 2021, the stadium ...
, in 2021.
College football
UAB Blazers
Legion Field served as the home field of the
UAB Blazers, members of
Conference USA, from 1991 to 2020. The Blazers temporarily left Legion Field without a primary tenant during the school's two-year hiatus from football. The Blazers returned to Legion Field for the first time in two years on September 2, 2017, setting a new attendance record in a 38–7 victory over
Alabama A&M.
Iron Bowl
Legion Field was well known for hosting the regular season-ending rivalry between Alabama and Auburn each year from 1948 to 1988. Because of Birmingham's major industry of iron and steel manufacturing, the game became known as the "
Iron Bowl." From the series' resumption in 1948 to 1987, each team rotated claiming home-field rights, with Alabama as the nominal home team in even-numbered years and Auburn as the nominal home team in odd-numbered years. Tickets were split equally between the two athletic departments to sell, similar to other rivalries like the
Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas or the
World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party between Georgia and Florida.
For many years, the Iron Bowl was played in Birmingham more or less out of necessity. Neither Alabama's
Bryant-Denny Stadium nor Auburn's
Jordan-Hare Stadium were nearly large enough to accommodate the large crowds that attended the game even in the 1950s. Additionally, Birmingham was much more accessible to the rest of the state well into the 1970s.
By the 1980s, Jordan-Hare Stadium had expanded to seat over 80,000 people. Combined with Legion Field's decades-long association with Alabama football (see below), this led Auburn fans to lobby for making the Iron Bowl a home-and-home series, or at the very least allow Auburn to move its home games to Jordan-Hare. At the time, Alabama was Auburn's only major rival to have never played a game on the Plains. Ultimately, in
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
, Auburn moved its home games in the series to Jordan-Hare. Thus, tickets for games held at Legion Field were no longer split equally. Auburn did host an Iron Bowl home game at Legion Field in 1991, but since then all Iron Bowls have been played at Auburn in odd-numbered years. In
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, Alabama followed suit and decided to no longer play its home games against Auburn at Legion Field. Alabama holds a 32–15 advantage over Auburn in games played at Legion Field.
Other Alabama and Auburn football games
Alabama and Auburn used Legion Field as an alternate home stadium for much of the 20th century. At its height, Legion Field seated over 20,000 more people than Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium and Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium, making it a natural choice for games likely to attract large crowds. Between its use for the Iron Bowl and as an alternate home stadium for the Crimson Tide and Tigers, Legion Field played host to many of the most important football games in Alabama's history.
Well into the 1980s, Alabama played most of its important games, as well as the Iron Bowl, at Legion Field—to the point that most of Alabama's "home" football history from the 1920s to the 1980s took place in Birmingham.
In addition to the larger capacity, Birmingham was more accessible than Tuscaloosa for much of the 20th century—even though Tuscaloosa is only 45 minutes west of Birmingham. The Crimson Tide hosted Tennessee in odd-numbered years in Birmingham until 1998, and hosted LSU in even-numbered years from 1964 through 1986, except for 1980. Well into the 1990s, Alabama usually played anywhere from three to four home games a year at Legion Field. Alabama also played its entire 1987 home schedule at Legion Field due to major renovations at Bryant–Denny Stadium.
The stadium's association with Alabama football was so strong that from the 1980s onward, Auburn lobbied to have its home games in the Iron Bowl played in Auburn.
Until 1999, Alabama played at least three games at Legion Field every season. In 1998, Alabama double-decked the east stands at Bryant-Denny, bringing its capacity to a few hundred more seats than that of Legion Field. Due to the disrepair of Legion Field and the added capacity in Tuscaloosa, Alabama moved major conference games on campus. In the ensuing years, Alabama decreased the number of games scheduled in Birmingham. The last home game for Alabama at Legion Field was against the
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
on August 30, 2003. Though Alabama had a couple of games scheduled at Legion Field in 2005 and 2008, the stadium's poor state of repair (see above) led Alabama to end its contract with the city of Birmingham in 2004 and move all home games to Tuscaloosa.
Auburn also used Legion Field for some home games well into the 1970s due to the larger capacity and the difficulty in traveling to Auburn for most of the 20th century. Auburn played all home games against Tennessee at Legion Field until 1978, except in 1974, when the game was played in Auburn. Auburn also played all home games against
Georgia Tech at Legion Field until 1970. Auburn played its last home game at Legion Field in 1991, but took part in the
Birmingham Bowl at the same stadium in 2015 as a postseason bowl game.
Other college football games
Legion Field has hosted a number of other college football games. The annual
Magic City Classic between
Alabama A&M University and
Alabama State University has been played here since 1946. The Steel City Classic featuring
Miles College and
Stillman College is also played at Legion Field. The
MEAC/
SWAC Challenge was played at Legion Field from 2005 to 2007, but moved to Orlando in 2008.
Birmingham–Southern College played against Mississippi College's junior varsity team in Legion Field on September 6, 2007, in their first football game since 1939.
In terms of postseason play, the Southwestern Athletic Conference used the stadium for their
conference championship from 1999 to 2012, but moved to Houston's
NRG Stadium in 2013. The
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
played their first two conference title games here in 1992 and 1993.
This stadium has also hosted four different bowl games in its history:
*
Dixie Bowl (1947–48)
*
Hall of Fame Bowl (1977–1985) This game moved to
Tampa, Florida
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
in 1986 and was renamed the Outback Bowl in 1995.
*
All-American Bowl (1986–1990)
*
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl (2006–2020)
Professional football
Legion Field has served as the home stadium for various professional football teams in Birmingham. It served as home field for the
Birmingham Americans (1974) and
Birmingham Vulcans (1975) of the
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...
(1974–1975), the
Alabama Vulcans of the American Football Association (1979), the
Birmingham Stallions of the
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(1983–1985), and the
Birmingham Fire of the
World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...
(later
NFL Europe
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...
) in 1991–92. In
1995, it was the home field of the
Birmingham Barracudas for their single season of play as part of the short-lived expansion of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
into the United States. In
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, it was the home field for the single season of the
Birmingham Thunderbolts of the
XFL. In
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, it was the home field for the
Birmingham Iron of the
Alliance of American Football. There have also been at least two
NFL preseason games here, on August 8, 1970, when the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
defeated the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
33–10, and on August 27, 1988, when the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
defeated the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
34–17.
In 1968, the
Boston Patriots of the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...
played one "home" game against the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
at Legion Field. The Jets, featuring former Alabama quarterback
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...
, won the game 47–31.
The inaugural
2022 season of the
USFL was played at
Protective Stadium
Protective Stadium is an outdoor multi-purpose stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Since its opening in 2021, the stadium ...
and Legion Field. For the
2023 season, Protective Stadium served as the home stadium for the
Birmingham Stallions and
New Orleans Breakers.
High school football
Legion Field has hosted various high school football games throughout its history. From 1996 until 2008, Legion Field was used by the
Alabama High School Athletic Association for the Super Six high school football championships.
Soccer
Legion Field has been used as a site for major
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
events, including
preliminary matches in the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
—the opening match between the United States and
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
drew 83,810 spectators, the stadium's all-time record for any event. All of the later-round soccer games moved to
Athens, Georgia
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
, after preliminary games had been played in various other cities.
Legion Field has also hosted exhibition games by the
U.S. men's and
women's national soccer teams. The men's team played a
World Cup qualification match against
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
at the stadium on March 30, 2005.
When the City of Birmingham changed back to an artificial turf field in 2006, the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...
announced that it would no longer be scheduling men's national team games for Legion Field.
1996 Olympic Soccer Men's tournament matches
1996 Olympic Soccer Women's tournament matches
Concerts and other events
Legion Field has also been used as a concert venue, hosting famous artists of many different genres, including
U2,
Ruben Studdard,
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
, and
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
.
In 1979 and 1980, the facility played host to the
Drum Corps International World Championships.
If Protective Stadium had not been completed in time for the
2022 World Games
The 2022 World Games, commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines ...
, that event's opening and closing ceremonies would have been held at Legion Field. It remains in use at least through the World Games, as it served as the venue for
flag football
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...
.
Gallery
Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama.jpg, Exterior, from Graymont Avenue
Image:Legion Field - with upper deck.jpg, Before the upper deck came down
Image:Legion Field Scoreboard.jpg, Old scoreboard
Image:Legion Field - Alabama.jpg, Satellite view, 2004
File:PaulBearBryantMemorial.jpg, Memorial: "The Bear"
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 1 ...
References
;Notes
External links
*
{{Authority control
Venues of the 1996 Summer Olympics
NCAA bowl game venues
ReliaQuest Bowl
Canadian Football League venues
Birmingham Americans
Birmingham Fire
Birmingham Iron
Birmingham Stallions stadiums
Birmingham–Southern Panthers football
Samford Bulldogs football
UAB Blazers football
United States Football League venues
United States Football League (2022)
World Football League venues
Sports venues in Birmingham, Alabama
College football venues in Alabama
Soccer venues in Alabama
1927 establishments in Alabama
Sports venues completed in 1927
Canadian football venues in the United States
Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
High school football venues in Alabama