Protective Stadium is an outdoor multi-purpose stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown

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 ...

, U.S. Since its opening in 2021, the stadium has been named for

Protective Life Protective Life Corporation is a financial service holding company in Birmingham, Alabama.https://protective.newshq.businesswire.com/sites/protective.newshq.businesswire.com/files/press_kit/file/We_Are_Protective_Life_-_Company_Overview_and_Finan ...

, a financial service holding company based in Birmingham, which pays $1 million per year as part of a 15-year

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

deal. It is the host site of the annual

Birmingham Bowl The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham ...

, and serves as the home stadium of the

UAB Blazers football The UAB Blazers football team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the sport of American football. The Blazers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Americ ...

team, the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

of the United Football League (UFL) and

Birmingham Legion FC Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birming ...

of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

History

Football

The stadium replaced

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ...

as the home of the

program. The Blazers played their first game in the stadium on October 2, 2021 against

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

. The stadium has a capacity of over 47,100. In December 2021, the stadium hosted the Super 7, the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

championship games of the

Alabama High School Athletic Association The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), based in Montgomery, is the governing body for interscholastic athletics and activities programs for public schools in Alabama. The AHSAA is a member National Federation of State High ...

(AHSAA), as part of a three-year rotation with

Bryant–Denny Stadium Saban Field at Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the Southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the S ...

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

and

Jordan–Hare Stadium Pat Dye Field at Jordan–Hare Stadium (properly pronounced as ) is an American football stadium in Auburn, Alabama on the campus of Auburn University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Auburn Tigers football, Auburn Tigers football ...

in Auburn that will run through at least 2032. The stadium has hosted the annual

since the bowl's 2021 edition—played on December 28, 2021, it was the first event at the venue to sell out. 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 ...

(USFL) played most of its 2022 games in Birmingham at Protective Stadium with the rest played at

. In 2023, Protective Stadium became one of the league's four hub sites, hosting home games for the

and also "home" games for the New Orleans Breakers.

Soccer

, a

USLC The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

soccer team, has played at Protective Stadium since the 2022 season. Birmingham Legion FC set a club-best attendance mark of 18,418 fans in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match played against

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS) club

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...

on June 7, 2023.

Other events

On June 4, 2022, The Stadium hosted its inaugural concert, featuring country music legend

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

. This event marked the first concert at the stadium and Brooks’ first performance in Birmingham in seven years. The concert attracted over 50,000 attendees, setting a new attendance record for the venue. It was also the only stop of Brooks 2022 Stadium Tour. in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. The stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies 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 ...

in July 2022. A round of the 2024

Monster Energy Monster Energy is a brand of energy drink, energy drinks that was created by Hansen Natural Company (now Monster Beverage Corporation) in April 2002. In 2022, Monster Energy had a 30.1% Market share, share of the American energy drink market, th ...

American Motorcyclist Association The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its motto, mission statement is "t ...

(AMA)

Supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...

Championship Series was held at the stadium in March. It is the second Supercross race held in Alabama during the 50-year history of the series.

Monster Jam Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some addition ...

came to the stadium on March 23, 2024 as part of the Stadium Championship Series West. This was the first Monster Jam stadium show in Alabama.

Attendance records

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Birmingham Landmarks College football venues in Alabama UAB Blazers football Sports venues completed in 2021 Sports venues in Birmingham, Alabama 2021 establishments in Alabama Soccer venues in Alabama College soccer venues in the United States