Legion Field 2021 — Legion Field on May 15, 2021. Photo by Pat Byington via Bham Now

The Old Gray Lady—Legion Field—is in line for some upgrades in 2022.

Earlier this week, the Birmingham City Council approved $750,000 in various upgrades and repairs to the historic stadium that was dedicated in 1927.

Here is a list of the work that was provided to us from the Mayor’s Office slated to be done on Legion Field this fiscal year.

Press box roof replacement
Replace seating in two premium seating areas
Repaint rails at lower premium seating (East and West Sections)
Repaint seat numbers
Repaint row numbers
New electric hand dryers at some restrooms
Toilet partition replacement, grab bars, misc.
New concession and restroom wayfinding signs.

Events On Tap for 2022

Time to buy the best gifts of the year with even better sales. Photo via The World Games

Even though Legion Field lost UAB Football and the Birmingham Bowl this year as primary tenets, the 95-year old stadium that seats 71,000+ people has several major events scheduled in 2022 — including:

If the present proposal to play USFL games in Birmingham happens this spring, Legion Field may see some additional nationally televised games.

Historic Landmark

Opening ceremony for soccer for the 1996 Olympics at Legion Field. Photo from Shawn Wright

Nearing its 100th year in 2027, last year the Birmingham City Council passed a resolution calling on Legion Field to be added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) with the United States Department of Interior.

National Historic Landmark designation is given to buildings, sites, structures, districts and objects that are determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be significant in American history and culture. There are almost 2,600 of these sites throughout the country, including Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor, the Apollo Mission Control Center, Alcatraz and the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Darrell O’Quinn, who represents Legion Field in his council district said this about Legion Field and its historic significance in December 2020.

“The purpose of this resolution is to reinforce the history that is already there. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people have memories of spectacular plays during pivotal games, or perhaps they went to a Rolling Stones concert and U.S Olympic Soccer. The structure and the place is worthy of the designation. Zooming out and looking at Smithfield as a community, it is one of the many levers we are using to drive investment into the community.”