(06-03-2018 10:32 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(06-03-2018 10:02 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(06-03-2018 12:06 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(06-03-2018 09:32 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  South Alabama's board just approved a new on campus stadium. Capacity 25k, with easy expansion to 40k. Project should be complete by 2020. While the stadium will be on USA's campus, the stadium itself will be a County/City/University joint project with the University putting up much of the initial outlays and the land, and the City/County will be financing much of the debt. That way, there will be no new student fees or tuition based subsidy for the facility. The Go Daddy Bowl has already agreed to move from Ladd. The Senior Bowl should be moving too.

https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2018...animo.html

Looks perfect for USA. I assume Ladd Field will be torn down or re-purposed.

Ladd is almost 70 years old. Outside of the DG Bowl, the Senior Bowl, and USA football, the facility is only used by 4 Mobile County Public High Schools. Most Mobile County Public Schools use other facilities, and the other 2 public systems in the County don't use it at all. The thinking is....see if the Mobile County Public School system wants Ladd (which would be given to them for free), and if they don't (they don't - it would be cheaper for them to build a small stadium for the 4 schools than to pay the upkeep on such a vast and old stadium) just tear the thing down. There's really not much of a repurposing to do with the property.

If the schools don't want it, what next? Tear it down and build a park? Close it up to rot?

While not a huge parcel, it is large enough to build a decent high school stadium (two I'd think) or build a high school stadium, and a another couple facilities like baseball, softball, and soccer.

EDIT.
I hope Mobile doesn't have to deal with the dumb attitude Little Rock had to fend off with Ray Winder Field. People wanted to save it because it was the third oldest pro baseball stadium confusing old with charming. Ladd-Peebles has some structural value but I really doubt it could be rehabilitated at useful price for anyone who didn't regularly need 40,000 seats.

The smart move is to just tear it down. If the City/County acquires some ownership interest/rights in USAs stadium...theres little use left for the stadium. And the County and City shouldnt be in the business of providing a free place to play for just 4 of the counties football programs. Murphy HS can figure out where to play football.