Metro Roundup: Birmingham Legion FC announce Protective Stadium as new home

Following three years at what is now PNC (formerly BBVA) Field, the Birmingham Legion FC announced on Tuesday the club will play their home games at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham beginning with the 2022 season.

The club, which is part of the United Soccer League (USL), announced they had mutually agreed to end their lease with UAB at PNC Field and began looking for a new home at the end of the 2021 season. The move to Protective Stadium, the new home of the UAB Blazers football team that sits a little more than 47,000 people, is a “huge statement” for the club, said president and general manager, Jay Heaps. It will also enhance the game-day experience for fans, he said.

“It’s really going to professionalize every aspect of what we’re doing,” Heaps said.

With such an increase in capacity, Heaps said there are plans to make the stadium feel smaller as they work to boost attendance.

“We are confident we can make Protective Stadium an exciting place to watch a professional soccer game,” Heaps said. “We will start by outfitting Protective Stadium to feel like more of a soccer venue by scaling down capacity to around 15,000 by adding tarps and branding. We’ve also made all tickets, season tickets as well as single game tickets, substantially more affordable in order to boost attendance as well as continuing to increase our marketing efforts.”

Season ticket prices have been lowered, beginning with $100 for some general admission, $125 for supporters section, ranging up to $775 for club access. The goal is to bring as many people to the club’s matches as possible, Heaps said. The team is especially reaching out to young people in Birmingham and utilizing a pilot program to teach soccer to students in Birmingham City Schools, with plans to get them to the games.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said he is a huge Legion fan and said city residents need to fully support the club. Having local ownership and local players – seven players on the 2021 squad are from Alabama ­– is something to be celebrated, along with the club’s commitment to serve the community.

On the field, the club has made the postseason in each of its first three seasons, beginning with the 2019 campaign. This year, the Legion were set to host their first-ever home playoff match before an outbreak of COVID-19 forced the visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC to cancel the match, sending the Legion to the second round, where they lost on the road to the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“We have something special here,” Heaps said. “I think a lot of people outside of Birmingham see it; we have to continue to show it here in Birmingham and get people to come out and get people to support what we’re doing here in Birmingham.”

Following three years of success both on and off the pitch, Heaps said the next level of success is one word -- championship.

Coach Tommy Soehn, who is also the club’s technical director, said the ability to play in a stadium like Protective will help the team “tremendously” as they seek to advance further in the playoffs and hopefully host multiple postseason matches.

“Coming here and seeing the infrastructure that we’re moving to is something that only excites us,” Soehn said. “It’s our job to continue to improve the play on the field and getting the facilities to do that … is going to help us tremendously.”

Heaps and Soehn both said playing at the stadium will also help in the recruitment of players to the club.

Matt Van Oekel, the club’s goalkeeper, who is up for USL Goalkeeper of the Year, said Heaps and Soehn have recruited the “right types of guys” for the club, and added he can’t wait to begin the new campaign at their new home.

“We’re really excited to be here,” Van Oekel said.

Midfielder Anderson Asiedu, originally from Ghana and a fan favorite, recently re-signed with the club that he said has given him an opportunity to play the sport he loves.

“Birmingham made me who I am,” Asiedu said. “I feel welcome here.”

Soehn said the players buy into the idea of doing everything better than everybody else, and they plan to continue that at their new home next season.

“We aspire to do more,” Soehn said.

For information on the club and season tickets, visit bhmlegion.com.