If you have recently attended a game in Tuscaloosa Alabama at Bryant-Denny stadium or watched one of the many game on television lately you may have noticed something interesting going on down on the South end of the stadium.
It is hard to miss all the cranes and construction taking place so you may have asked yourself, what is all the excitement about?
Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium will be expanding again in 2010. What began as a 12,000 seat stadium in 1929 under coach Wallace Wade has grown over the years to its present seating capacity of 92,138 is under construction again.
Bryant-Denny's south end zone will be enclosed by adding more than 10,000 additional seats. This will bring the seating capacity to approximately 101,000, making it among the largest on-campus football stadiums in the nation. The expansion is shown in the artist rendition above.
What has happened to cause all of this to take place?
There are many reasons for all the expansions, but the two main reasons are athletic director, Mal Moore, and Alabama's head coach Nick Saban.
In the past 10 years Moore has been instrumental in Bryant-Denny Stadium's expansion, including all the improvements in and around Bryant-Denny and The Walk of Champions. Moore was also instrumental in bringing Nick Saban to Alabama.
The hiring of Nick Saban has assured that all those 100,000 plus seats will be full.
Presently there is a six to seven-year waiting list for season tickets that I am told will not be solved by the 10,000 seat expansion to the south end zone.
Imagine having a capacity of 102,000 fans and still having a waiting list of tens of thousands extending more than five years into the future.
Much has been made of Saban's highly lucrative contract by detractors, well I am here to tell you that Nick Saban may be the best investment ever made in college football.
With all the excitement and optimism created by Saban and the resurrection of Alabama football to a championship program again, money is flowing into Alabama's coffers at a record rate.
Many may have wondered if all these expansions were necessary and if paying, what was at the time, the highest salary ever paid a college coach to Saban was wise.
It would appear now that they were not only a sound investments, it was like Alabama hitting the jackpot!
While many schools' athletic departments are struggling to fill seats and make ends meet, Alabama is having to turn fans away and is swimming in money.
That is why Alabama officials are sure when it comes to expanding Bryant-Denny Stadium;
"If We Build It They Will Come".
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