Bryant-Denny Stadium, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is the home stadium for the University of Alabama football team. The stadium opened in 1929, and was originally named Denny Stadium, in honor of former Alabama president (and food service mogul) George Hutchenson Denny. However, the stadium’s name was amended to Bryant-Denny Stadium in 1975 after the Alabama legislature chose to honor famed Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant as a partial namesake. It currently has a seating capacity of 92,138+, and is the fourth largest stadium in the SEC, and the seventh largest on-campus stadium in the nation.

	Capacity		92,138
	Opened		1929
	Owner		University of Alabama
	Operator		University of Alabama
	Surface		Grass
	Location		100 Bryant Dr Tuscaloosa, AL 35487

Denny Stadium opened on September 28, 1929 and was officially dedicated the following week at Homecoming ceremonies against the Ole Miss Rebels, a game the Tide would go on to win 22-7. Originally, the stadium had a capacity of 12,000 people. In 1937, the first expansion of the stadium took place as 6,000 seats were added on the east side and capacity was raised to 18,000. In 1950, further expansions raised capacity to 25,000. In 1961, the grandstands reached sixty-one rows and capacity was boosted to 43,000, before being boosted to 60,000 in 1966 as a result of further upgrades. For the 1988 season, an upper deck was added to the west side of the stadium, boosting capacity to 70,123. During construction of the west side upper deck, the Tide was forced to play its entire 1987 home schedule at Legion Field, 56 miles from campus in Birmingham.

In 1998, an upper deck was added to the east side of the stadium, raising capacity to 83,818. The new upper deck provided 10,000 additional bleacher seats and 81 skyboxes on two levels. The skyboxes were built in two sizes: 24-seat capacity (18) and 16-seat capacity (63). In 1999, four additional skyboxes were built to bring total skybox capacity to 85. Also, a scoreboard with video display capabilities was erected in the south endzone, as well as new light towers for the east side of the stadium. A new east side entrance tower a brick facade and reception areas for the Scholarship and A-Club level patrons was also added during the 1998 expansion.

North endzone expansion (2006)

Following the 2004 football season, the university spent approximately 47 million dollars on an expansion to the North endzone, which was completed days before the 2006 season opener against Hawaii. The expansion added a new upper deck to the North endzone area, complete with three different levels of skyboxes, which collectively are known as “The Zone.” Two large video screens made by Daktronics were placed in each corner of the North endzone, and 3 & 1/2 feet high and 422 feet long LCD ribbon screens were placed along the East and West upper deck facades.

Additions were made to the exterior of the stadium with the Walk of Champions. Included in the Walk of Champions are four bronze statues, one for each Alabama football coach who has led the Tide to a national championship. Each statue has a wall behind it bearing the coach’s name and the year(s) he led the team to a national championship. There is an empty space with a blank wall next to the four statues, presumably reserved for the next coach to lead Alabama to a national title. In addition, there are stones laid in the immediate pathway leading to the stadium recognizing all of Alabama’s SEC and national championship teams throughout the years. Finally, there are also two bronze statues of Alabama football players at the entrance to the North endzone, and the two statues are holding a large Alabama flag. The player on the left is wearing the number 18, and the player on the right is wearing the number 92. These statues honor the entire Alabama football program, which began in 1892.

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