[SpawnOfVulcan]

Alabama to present plans for major overhaul to Sewell-Thomas Stadium at upcoming BOT meeting

By Andrew Gribble
AL.com
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Alabama athletics director Bill Battle will present a plan for expansive renovations to Sewell-Thomas Stadium at next week's UA System Board of Trustees meeting.

Battle confirmed the plans to AL.com during an interview Thursday. He called it a "rebuild that will satisfy people."

"I think it will take our baseball stadium from one of the lowest rankings in the SEC to one of the highest," Battle said. "I think it will be very fan-friendly.

"The big ifs are if it gets approved by the board and if we can raise enough money to get it going. We're optimistic on both fronts."

Battle declined to provide an estimated cost for the project. The athletic department can not raise funds for the project unless it is approved by the Board, which meets next Thursday and Friday in Tuscaloosa.

"Hopefully when it is," Battle said, "we'll hit the ground running."

The Tuscaloosa News first wrote about the potential overhaul of the 65-year-old baseball stadium in May. Citing anonymous sources, it estimated that the project could cost as much as $30 million.

The stadium underwent major renovations in 1996 and 2001. A video board was added in 2007 and Alabama's clubhouse, meetings rooms, coaches locker rooms and team rooms were completely renovated in 2010.

Battle said Thursday that the planning for this project dates back several years. An alternate location was considered, but cost and the attractiveness of the stadium's current location -- which sits in front of Coleman Coliseum and adjacent to the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility on Paul W. Bryant Drive -- made renovation the best option.

Alabama will officially unveil the Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza next month. The shrine to Alabama's past SEC and national champions sits behind Sewell-Thomas Stadium's right-field fence and will give fans another view to watch the baseball team.

"We think we've got everything we need to make it at the top of the league," Battle said. "We can use the infrastructure that's in place, the base infrastructure, but everything else will be totally new and it will look a lot different."