It has been more than one year since UAB football announced the program would be returning, and the excitement continues to build as we get closer to seeing the Blazers back out on the field.
According to a report from al.com, UAB has raised an impressive $14 million towards the university’s new football operations building and turf field.
The project is expected to cost upwards of $20 million, so there is still more fundraising that must be done.
“We have solid pledges in hand,” Tommy Brigham, a member of the UAB Athletics Foundation, said. “We’re right at 14 million dollars with another eight million (that we’ve asked for) out there right now that we’ve made proposals to.
“It’s overwhelmingly successful in terms of the response of both the public and private sector from our perspective. We think it sends a resounding message to our community that our city is unified in making sure that UAB football and UAB as an institution is a centerfold in being the most important economic engine in our city.”
If everything goes according to plan, UAB will break ground on their new operations building in August with the hopes of finishing the project by the 2017 season.
In the meantime, the Blazers are slated to play at Legion Field in 2017, with hopes of eventually securing a downtown stadium.
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Photo Credit: UAB Athletics
