PNC Field

BBVA Field (formerly BBVA Compass Field) is a soccer field at 800 11th Street South, south of the northbound I-65 offramp onto University Boulevard in Birmingham's Southside. It is home of the UAB Blazers men's and women's soccer teams and the Birmingham Legion of the United Soccer League.

Development of the facility was supported by a $1.5 million gift from BBVA Compass bank in November 2014. The field opened on October 20, 2015 with a women's match against Southern Mississippi. The men played their first match on the pitch a week later on November 7, 2015 against Charlotte.

In November 2017, before the final phase of construction began, the University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved an expansion of the seating capacity (and associated restroom and concession facilities) to 5,000 seats. The total cost for the project was increased from $4.5 million to $7.3 million, with the difference to be recouped by leasing the field to Birmingham's newly-announced United Soccer League professional team for an eight-year period. Birmingham Legion FC began play at BBVA Compass Field, which was expanded before construction to nearly 6,000 seats, in 2019.

The field's name was updated in 2019 as part of a rebranding of BBVA.

References

• Bakken, Jim (November 7, 2014) "$1.5 million BBVA Compass gift supports on-campus soccer facility at UAB." UAB News
• Bakken, Jim (December 9, 2015) "Birmingham’s newest sports venue, BBVA Compass Field at UAB, officially debuts." UAB News
• Patchen, Tyler & Ty West (November 3, 2017) "UAB may expand soccer stadium to house USL team." Birmingham Business Journal
• Patchen, Tyler (May 9, 2018) "UAB, Legion FC and BBVA Compass launch stadium expansion in Birmingham." Birmingham Business Journal