Protective Life Stadium will have turf with option for sod over artificial surface – AL.com

The future home of the UAB Blazers will be outfitted with artificial turf that can have sod laid over it after the BJCC board of directors approved the move at its meeting Friday.

Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority Board Chairman Dennis Lathem noted that the surface is pricier than other options such as grass or hyrbid turf, but he said the type of turf the board went with makes the most sense" because it offers more flexibility.

He did not say how much the playing surface would cost or the types of events that would be played on sod, but the stadium is expected to hold World Games events in 2022 after the festivities were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Construction on the $174 million open-air stadium is on track to be completed by the end of October 2021 with the whole project expected to be finished by November 2021, Lathem said. The Blazers will be moving from Legion Field to Protective Life Stadium.

In other business, the hotels owned by the BJCC -- the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel and the Westin Birmingham -- have been severely impacted by COVID-19 with the hotels operating at a nearly $500,000 loss last month combined, the board reported.

The Sheraton, where there are no occupied rooms, lost $195,000 in April and only generated a little more than $8,100 in revenue.

The Westin, which had a 29.1 percent occupancy rate, lost $289,000 in April and had $216,000 in revenue against a $1.26 million budget.

Also at the meeting, which was held at the North Civic Hall and via teleconference because of the pandemic, the board approved a measure that decreases the cost of construction of the Legacy Arena renovation by more than $301,000.

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Protective Life Stadium will have turf with option for sod over artificial surface - AL.com