http://www.rammerjammeryellowhammer.com/weblog/2004/08/this_is_depress_1.html
This is depressing. The Birmingham News reports(sorry: r/r) that the City of Birmingham has declared that the upper deck at Legion Field is structurally unsound, and cannot handle spectators. The 72,000 seats in the main stadium structure are unaffected, the city reports, though something tells me spectators might be more than a wee bit nervous about sitting under the condemned upper deck. The finding also means that last year's season opener was likely Alabama's last game in Legion Field (I was there but didn't think to pay my last respects) since the upper deck closure means that Legion Field no longer has enough seats to accommodate the Tide, which had tentative plans for as many as three more games at the stadium. For someone who grew up watching Alabama play in Birmingham, this is beyond depressing. I saw Bear Bryant win his 315th at Legion Field, and great games with Notre Dame, USC, Penn State, Tennessee and LSU, and of course, many an Iron Bowl, back in the days when the tickets were split 50/50 between the red and the blue. I actually have a piece of astroturf from Legion Field, sold in swatches when it was taken up and replaced with grass. It's also a bummer because Legion Field's steep design made it about three times as loud as Bryant Denny's open bowl shape. And the thundering of pounding feet in the upper deck truly made for an anxious, exciting, frenetic atmosphere at college football games. Legion Field makes a couple of appearances in RJYH ... "a battleship gray structure atop a cross-hatch of I-beams -- in a steel town like Birmingham, no one would've thought to slap a facade on something so beautiful as a girder -- that hovers gloomily over the neighborhood like a summer thunderhead..." and in the book, it's the site of a soul-wrenching last second loss, and an ensuing mini-riot in the student section. At any rate, I sincerely hope that if the City of Birmingham doesn't have the will or the money to properly renovate the stadium, that they'll call in a demolition team subito and put that noble place out of its misery, rather than letting it fall apart one lug-nut at a time. We should have a party and say a collective, hearty goodbye. RIP Legion Field. [...] kurt ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
