Above: Legion Field’s glory days may be behind the legendary stadium, but the Magic City Classic remains one of the “Old Gray Lady’s” annual highlights. (contributed)

Stanley Robinson described getting Legion Field ready to host the Magic City Classic in biblical terms.

A new $1.4 million video scoreboard was installed this week at Legion Field. (Brian Wallace/City of Birmingham)

“It’s like moving mountains,” said Robinson, public relations coordinator for the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board.

“The Magic City Classic is so much more than a football game,” Robinson added. “We do the Birmingham Bowl and it’s a great event with a great turnout. But the Magic City Classic, on top of being a great football rivalry, it’s as much of a family reunion of fans as anything. It’s a weeklong party and there just happens to be a football game.”

The 74^th Magic City Classic between archrivals Alabama A&M and Alabama State will take place Saturday. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will be shown live on ESPN3 with a tape delay replay on ESPNU.

The Classic has become the highest-attended Football Champion Subdivision (FCS) game in the nation and reportedly has an economic impact of more than $20 million. The attendance at Legion Field averages between 60,000–80,000 annually.

Robinson expects another 40,000 fans to be outside the stadium on game day. “We’ll have a full venue of fans inside and it spills over on the outside with folks tailgating,” he said.

The Classic has become such a spectacle that the Alabama Sports Foundation now manages it. Nicole Hubbard, ASF spokesperson for the event, said preparation for the Classic is a “year-round thing.”

“It takes a whole team of people to get ready for it, and the schools work with us,” Hubbard said. “Legion Field becomes a huge, huge village that we even have to get the outside of the stadium ready.

“Each year it constantly grows. The concessions people and the vendors know this is the event to be at. If you come to Legion Field, the vendors will be lined up and down the street.”

Hubbard didn’t have any figures on how many vendors would be outside the stadium or the number of hot dogs, soft drinks and other food items the concessions staff will prepare.

Robinson estimated that the Park and Recreation Board will employ at least 200 people, including ticket takers, ushers, parking attendants, suite workers and cleanup crew before, during and after the game.

“The more people you have, the more trash you have, so the more people you need to clean up,” Robinson quipped.

The new video scoreboard at Legion Field promotes area attractions like the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Negro Southern League Museum, the Barber Motorsports Park and the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. (Brian Wallace/City of Birmingham)

Fans attending the game will see the new $1.4 million, 100-foot state-of-the-art scoreboard with a video display that was installed this week.

It’s one of several changes coming to the “Old Gray Lady.” Changes to parking and other stadium features are expected soon.

In anticipation of the crowd of more than 100,000, Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said there will be added safety precautions and increased patrols before, during and after the game.

“We are up for the challenge and we think we have a solid plan, but we are going to always ask our citizens to be patient when they come out on Saturday,” Roper said.

 By the Numbers

200 – Birmingham Park & Recreation stadium workers

$1.4 million – Cost of new video scoreboard

40,000 – Estimated crowd total outside the stadium for Saturday’s game

67,710 – Announced crowd inside the stadium for 2014 game