The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Sights and Sounds from UAB Football Groundbreaking Ceremony
8/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
PHOTO GALLERY
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - History was made on Monday morning when the UAB Department of Athletics broke ground on the Football Operations Center and Legacy Pavilion.
Approximately 500 people were in attendance for the ceremony, which included remarks from UAB President Dr. Ray Watts, Director of Athletics Mark Ingram, Head Coach Bill Clark, Chairman of the Campaign Committee Hatton Smith and President and CEO of Legacy Community Federal Credit Union Joe McGee.
Coach Clark was then joined by Watts, Ingram, Smith, McGee and other local business leaders who contributed to the Football Operations Center for a ceremonial first dig.
QUOTES:
Director of Athletics Mark Ingram:
"Thanks everybody for being here. I remember last year, June 1, thinking what a big day that was, and how we're going to have so many more wonderful moments in our history together, like this one here today. This is just another big moment in our athletics department's history. There's a lot of people to recognize and thank."
"(The Gang of Seven's) tireless efforts, along with Dr. Watts and our board, has positioned us to be more successful than ever before. Coach (Bill) Clark and I, along with several members of our staff, have spent the last nine months working with our local architects, Goodwyn Mills & Cawood, and Kansas City architects, HOK, to design one of the most efficient facilities of its kind in the country. I've had other athletic directors, four that I can think of off the top of my head, that have seen the design, and are calling to ask about it, `How did we come up with this?' I assure you, we may be the first, but we won't be the last, because it's that special and that unique."
"Our contractor was identified just the other day. We look forward to working with M.J. Harris Construction on this exciting project. I know a few of their representatives are here today, somewhere in the crowd. Coach, we're going to need to get these guys a jersey, because they're a part of the team."
"Projects like this have a whole group of people that are behind the scenes doing things, and working hard to make it happen. I really do appreciate the work of our local facilities team here on campus, who I antagonized with questions, and ideas, and thoughts, and all of those things. They haven't quit yet, which I appreciate as well. Don't get too cocky guys, there's more work coming and more questions, I promise."
"This new football operations center is going to be 46,000 square feet. It's going to have a locker room, training room, offices, meeting rooms, weight room for our football team, and attached to that will be a covered field like we've talked about, called Legacy Pavilion. This facility is going to be a tremendous advantage to our teams, so that we can practice in inclement weather. This is something that we have not had before and I know it will be special, and certainly football."
"This program has been given a second chance, and this facility indicates we're making the most of it. We've all been looking forward to today, and I know as soon as we break ground here in just a minute, we'll also be eagerly looking forward to the day that we get to cut the ribbon, so I look forward to everybody joining us here next summer and helping us do that."
Head Coach Bill Clark:
"If you don't get a little emotional right now, I was just sitting there thinking of where we came from."
"I do this sometimes when I'm talking to the team, and the former players I see here who have bled and sweated on this field before to represent this community, let's thank those guys for fighting."
"Football is not more important than academics, it's not more important than your faith, it's not more important than family, but it is important. Of course, I'm a football coach. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for fighting for our community."
"We're looking for, what did we say Mark, about a year from now? Next July, we're going to be here. Right across town, we're going to be looking for something else real soon too. That's the next step. Right now, we're looking at this."
Chairman of Campaign Committee Hatton Smith:
"This grass that you're on, this tent, the building over there, what do they have in common? They are going to be history! It won't be here anymore. What you want to do is get a little grass, because you'll have it as a memento."
"This was a vision. It was about UAB, because UAB matters. UAB is the most powerful engine in our community. This gift was to the community, for Birmingham. This was a gift because we believe in our city. We are marching forward. This is going to be the city in which to live. It's a victory for our city.
"We are going to win."
UAB President Ray Watts:
"UAB and our community have been so important to one another over the last 50 years."
"We are still young but we are still growing and we are excited about everyone being with us. So many people helped make today possible, and they also helped make the tremendous campus you see around us."
"Out staff, our students, our student-athletes, our supporters, our community, our community partners, our elected officials, and our UA System leadership and trustees we're so grateful for your participation in this."
President and CEO of Legacy Community Federal Credit Union Joe McGee:
"We're happy to be a part of this historic occasion which represents a visible beginning of the journey that is UAB Athletics."
"Today, as we commemorate the groundbreaking, we are celebrating among friends. Friends who share our vision of the future for UAB and the Birmingham community. Friends who recognize the role that UAB plays in higher education and the vital key that it is as an economic engine in this community. Friends who are leaders, who will inspire the next generation to make their own contributions. Friends and donors who have stepped up to expand their level of support and make this concept a reality."
"While we are just breaking ground today, we will soon see tangible evidence of our project."
