USA Board Of Trustees Approve Phase II Of On-Campus Stadium Construction
The University of South Alabama Board of Trustees approved going forward with Phase II of the new on-campus stadium in a Saturday morning meeting.
In a rare Saturday morning Board of Trustees meeting on the campus of South Alabama, the board approved “Phase II” of the school’s on-campus football stadium construction. The bids that comprise this phase total $24.5 million of the $74 million total price tag of the finished product.
Phase II consists of the concrete cast-in-place lower bowl for seating and the shells for the press tower, athletic administration building, and underground utility work. Construction work for Phase II is expected to begin in January or February and keeps the timeline in place for opening for the 2020 season.
The location work has continued from Phase I on the location of the stadium which is adjacent to the football field house and practice facilities nestled in the northwest corner of campus.
Ever since the football program was founded the Jags have played their home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, which has also been home for the Dollar General bowl and its previous incarnations under different sponsors as well as the Senior Bowl. Both of which are expected to move to the new stadium.
Ladd-Peebles opened in 1948 and seats around 40,000. South Alabama has only sold out the stadium once when SEC opponent Mississippi State visited in 2014. Unfortunately the game was marred for fans as the concession vendors, typically local high school booster clubs and the like, were unable to keep up with the demand of a sold-out crowd on a hot and humid day. Additionally, the availability of water was a huge issue and led to changes for games where fans could bring up to two bottles of water per person to home games.
Phase I was approved back in May which included infrastructure work on the proposed site and preparatory ground work which included relocation of the former intramural fields, water and sewer installation.
The school’s attempt to get the entire projected green-lit hit a huge snag when it went to the Mobile City Council seeking $10 million over 20 years toward the stadium project with a lump sum reimbursal to the city once the stadium received it certification of occupancy. The hitch in the plan was when those involved in putting forth the resolution tied the new stadium to the demolition of Ladd-Peebles Stadium, which may be protected under the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 which shields “architecturally significant” buildings over 40 years old.
There was community backlash to the commissioners on both the mentioned demolition of Ladd-Peebles and giving money to the school when city infrastructure had been neglected for many years. After forcing the council’s hand by threatening to withdraw the proposal, they finally receiving a failing vote. The school announced its “Get On Campus” initiative in August to allow the public to donate to the stadium fund directly. Since August, the initiative has only received around $348,000 in pledges. But it received a big shot in the arm when the Mobile County Commission approved $2.5 million towards the project in exchange for naming rights for the stadium’s academic center.
On Saturday, the Board of Trustees affirmed that the full stadium plan will be executed despite the lack of funding support from the city. However they will have control over the timeline and approve each phase as funding dictates.
The stadium master plan includes a large screen video board and sound system, an end-zone terrace, 16-seat suites, a club level with 800 seats, 1,500 parking spaces which Director of Athletics Joel Erdmann says is similar to what is available at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, green spaces for tailgating, and an access road from the stadium to Old Shell Road to ease traffic congestion on gameday.
Erdmann says the on-campus stadium with “change who we are.” “There is a public perception on what is considered a traditional college game day,” Erdmann said. “The majority of those traditional college game days are on college campuses. The campus comes alive and uses its geography and its buildings and green spaces. As opposed to 25,000 people going off-campus, they’re coming onto campus.” He continued by talking about the long-range impact on traditions, “People will go to the same places (on game day), and then their children will come with them and their grandchildren will come with them. The ultimately impact on this is generational.”
Below is a video that was shown at halftime of the Jaguars game against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday as part of the announcement.