Alabama Aims for Latest Upgrades, Including to Bryant-Denny Stadium, to be a Giant Step Forward

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It pretty much goes without saying that among those involved in any way with the University of Alabama athletic program, from the fans to the administrators and the athletes, everyone will have a favorite new thing stemming from the numerous changes made since the last football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

That was last November 23rd when Alabama celebrated Senior Day with a 66-3 victory over Western Carolina. Construction crews subsequently got to work shortly the final whistle, while other projects were already under way.

Consequently, Alabama hosting Texas A&M (2:30 p.m. CBS) will be a landmark occasion in addition to being the rescheduled home opener of the 2020 college football season. It'll signal the conclusion of all the projects that had already begun when collegiate sports were shut down in March due to health and safety concerns, and the completion of the first phase of the massive Crimson Standard initiative.

“I’m very pleased,” Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said. “It’s worked out well to have a couple of extra weeks, to put on the finishing touches.”

Fans will notice some of them at Bryant-Denny Stadium even before entering, as a tunnel was added to the end of the Walk of Champions. It leads into an upgraded home locker room.

“I like the locker room,” junior wide receiver Devonta Smith. “It’s really nice.”

Also on the exterior, a student plaza was added to the south side of the stadium, and is covered to help protect those coming and going from both the sun and rain. It’s almost directly opposite where the recruiting room was expanded and nearly doubled in size.

The light at the end IS the TUNNEL!#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/pipdX7DY24
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 30, 2020

Inside, new club areas and the addition of premium seats and skyboxes led to the press box being moved to the east side of the stadium. Those changes also resulted in adding some more elevators plus a wider upper-level concourse on the west side.

More eye-opening to most fans are the larger video boards in the four corners of the stadium.

“There were areas that we needed to pay attention to,” Byrne said. “Just on the forefront our video boards were past their due date. They needed to be addressed, and I think they’ll be a great addition for all of our fans. We had opportunities to have improvements in some areas in the concession and restaurant areas, not the entire stadium, but parts of it. We’ve enhanced the experience of students to keep them engaged on game days. And it’s important that we continue to take steps and continue to evolve as our world evolves.

“There’s more that we want to do down the road, but this was a good first step for us.”

Meanwhile, the latest renovations to the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility were wrapped up over the summer, including a renovated and expanded football locker room, training room, equipment room and lobby.

Specifically, the locker room was enhanced to feature 135 larger and more private lockers. Each has all the bells and whistles one can imagine, including a personalized Zero Gravity chair, storage space with wireless charging for a tablet, phone and watch, and an elaborate drying system for everything from cleats to shoulder pads. The room even has an LED lighting system.

NEW Alabama Gameday Locker Room 🔥🔥🔥

But wait, THERE’S MORE...#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/gNUAeADFVi
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 30, 2020

The equipment room features specialty storage compartments and new automated high-density storage systems that are nothing short of jaw-dropping. Think of the most elaborate folding compartment shelving cabinet you’ve ever seen and then multiply it by about a billion to handle everything from shoes and helmets to full pads.

The medical facilities and training room were overhauled as well.

“I really enjoy the training room,” junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “That’s where I spend a lot of my time when I am not on the field. I like the training room a lot.”

Last, but not least, there’s the new building addition. Two years after Alabama cut the ribbon on the new Athletics Dining Facility on the north side of the football complex, a state-of-the art Sports Science Center has been added to the southern side, attached to the strength and conditioning areas.

What Alabama aimed for was to improve anything and everything that impacts the training and health of its athletes. What it got was a facility unlike any other.

“From what we’ve done here at Mal Moore, with the improvements in our infrastructure for our student-athletes, both from a medical and just overall experience and first-class science center, it’s something that no one else in the country has,” Byrne said. “From our training room to our virtual-reality area, to our sleep chambers, to cryotherapy, and then also from a mental-health areas that we’ve devoted, the entire well-being of the student-athlete is at the forefront of what we’re doing here at the University of Alabama.”

Even though tweets and Zoom calls, prospects are taking note.

“They can see that there’s a commitment to the well-being of the student athlete,” said Byrne, “to allow them to develop themselves physically, emotionally, academically and not just athletically.”

As for what’s next, it’s hard to say.

The Crimson Standard was initially conceived as a 10-year vision to raise $600 million. In January, Alabama announced the capital initiative had already surpassed the halfway point in under two years.

“We’re continuing to raise money, but we’re also being very respectful of the realities that everyone’s facing.” Byrne said.

“We’ve been blown away by the generosity of our donors.”

Phase one covered other renovations, including at Rhoads Stadium, where the softball team was getting used to its latest upgrades before the 2020 season was suddenly suspended and cancelled in the spring.

The initial plans for phase two included overhauling Coleman Coliseum, with another round of Bryant-Denny Stadium upgrades to be at the core of phase three. Obviously, with there being so much uncertainly and turmoil in the world now is not the time to start those, but even with phase one things were continually tweaked and modified as they moved forward.

As such, the goals have remained the same: to ensure the longevity and long-term success of Alabama athletics.

If anything, everything that’s been completed is serving as a daily reminder that there’s still more on the way.

“I’d have to say my personal favorite so far is the sports science center,” Byrne said. “It’s something that all of our student-athletes will be able to use and it’s going to have a positive impact on their total development as a person.”