Greg Byrne Outlines Alabama’s Facilities Plan

Late last week, the University of Alabama athletics community looked into the future as director of athletics Greg Byrne unfurled his master plan, the Crimson Standard, for taking Crimson Tide facilities to the next level.

To begin the week, Byrne joined Wimp and Barry Sanderson Inside the Locker Room to go in-depth on where the Crimson Standard will take Alabama athletics regarding facilities.

Alabama's director of athletics noted one of the first things that he did in the process of evaluating the university's athletics facilities.

"One of the things that I did right away is I just spent a lot of time listening, and watching, and touring, and looking at everything and hearing from our folks." Byrne said.

One of the highlights of the facilities plan is the overhaul of Coleman Coliseum. After the planned renovation, the home for Alabama gymnastics and men's and women's basketball will have capacity reduced to around 10,000 seats.

While elaborating on a number of reasons for the upcoming makeover of Coleman Coliseum including the cavernous nature of the arena, average attendance and the overall social nature of attending a game, Byrne made a simple comparison as to why the seating capacity will be reduced after the renovations are complete.

"You don't necessarily go to church for Easter Sunday, you build it for the other 51 weeks of the year." Byrne said.

Alabama's director of athletics also talked about the importance of raising the necessary money to fulfill the master plan, improving the student experience with the planned terrace and video board in the south end zone and Kobe Bryant's recent appearance with the football team.

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