Background

Braly Stadium has served as the home of the North Alabama Lions football team since 1949. Despite its long tenure as host, the main complaint against the stadium was the fact that it was off-campus. In 2018, the university’s SGA created a resolution supporting an on-campus stadium. Following this, the university began exploring the potential of a new stadium. While student input was a key factor in the decision, the university had become aware of the downsides of renting Braly Stadium from the City of Florence. These issues, along with the impending jump to Division I, led the university to begin exploring options. Unofficial designs were unveiled in April of 2019^[4] and fundraising began in 2021. But the stadium was not official until June 2023 when the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the project. It was announced that the stadium would be located at the current Bill Jones Athletic Complex, where both the women’s soccer and baseball programs are housed. It was also announced that these programs would join the football team as tenants at the stadium. With the inclusion of the baseball program, it was announced that Bank Independent Stadium would be a multi-purpose stadium. After the announcement, the stadium entered a 12 to 16 month designing phase with the goal to complete construction by the 2026-27 academic year. ^[5]