MOBILE, Ala. — The University of South Alabama Board of Trustees on Saturday approved Phase II of construction on the school’s planned on-campus football stadium, a step that keeps the project on schedule to open for the 2020 season.
Trustees also affirmed that the full stadium plan will be carried out despite the lack of funding from the city of Mobile. The board will control the timeline and approve each remaining phase as funding allows.
What Phase II Includes
Phase II covers the cast-in-place concrete lower seating bowl, the shells for the press tower and the athletic administration building, and underground utility work. Construction on Phase II is expected to begin in January or February.
The stadium site sits in the northwest corner of campus, next to the football field house and the Jaguars’ practice facilities. Work on the site has continued since Phase I.
Trustees approved Phase I in May. That phase included infrastructure and preparatory groundwork on the site, including relocating the former intramural fields and installing water and sewer lines.
Stadium Master Plan
The master plan for the stadium includes:
- A large video board and sound system
- An end-zone terrace
- 16-seat suites
- An 800-seat club level
- About 1,500 parking spaces, which Director of Athletics Joel Erdmann said is similar to what is available at Ladd-Peebles Stadium
- Green spaces for tailgating
- An access road from the stadium to Old Shell Road intended to ease game-day traffic
Funding Path After City Vote
South Alabama had sought $10 million from the Mobile City Council over 20 years toward the stadium project, with a lump-sum reimbursement to the city once the stadium received its certificate of occupancy.
The proposal became complicated when the resolution tied construction of the new stadium to the demolition of Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Ladd-Peebles may be protected by the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017, which shields architecturally significant structures more than 40 years old.
The proposal drew public opposition, both over the possible demolition of Ladd-Peebles and over directing city money to the university while other city infrastructure needs remained. After the university said it could withdraw the proposal, the council took a vote, and the measure failed.
In August, the university launched its “Get On Campus” initiative, which allows the public to donate directly to the stadium fund. The campaign has drawn about $348,000 in pledges since then.
The Mobile County Commission later approved $2.5 million toward the project in exchange for naming rights to the stadium’s academic center.
Moving On From Ladd-Peebles
South Alabama has played its home football games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium since the program was founded. The city-owned stadium opened in 1948 and seats about 40,000. It is also home to the Senior Bowl and to the Dollar General Bowl, which has been played there under several sponsors. Both events are expected to move to the new stadium.
The Jaguars have sold out Ladd-Peebles once, when Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State visited in 2014. Concession operators, typically local high school booster clubs and similar groups, were unable to keep up with demand from the capacity crowd on a hot, humid day, and water availability became a significant problem. Afterward, the university changed its policy to allow fans to bring up to two bottles of water per person into home games.
Erdmann: ‘Change Who We Are’
Erdmann said the on-campus stadium will “change who we are” for South Alabama athletics.
“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 said the stadium will shape traditions over the long term. “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,” Erdmann said. “The ultimate impact on this is generational.”
The university showed a video about the stadium project at halftime of the Jaguars’ home game against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday as part of the announcement.
South Alabama competes in the Sun Belt Conference and is in its first season under head coach Steve Campbell.
