BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — After a viewer voiced concerns about the lack of handrails at Legion Field, CBS 42's Your Voice Your Station team learned it is one of several Alabama stadiums that is not consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
With the Magic City Classic coming up this weekend, we checked back in to see what the plan is to get them installed.
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design say that handrails must run the entire length of stairs. Alabama adopted the standards in 2011, but Legion Field still does not have handrails where they should be.
Since our report over a year ago, Birmingham Park and Recreation Director Shonae Eddins-Bennett said the department has taken some steps toward installation – like starting the process in April to be recognized as a historical landmark.
“We’re still working on it,” Eddins-Bennett said. “Hopefully with the increase in tailgating, we can actually use those funds to put railings throughout the stadium.”
Tailgating costs are more than three times the price of last year.
When we did our handrail investigation last year, Birmingham Park and Recreation told us that installing them across the entire stadium would cost $750,000.
Deputy Director Ronald Hicks said that based on the number of seats at the stadium, they have to install five percent of Legion Field with handrails. The plan is to do that on the lower bowl.
“We only have to do a certain number of railings in order to participate,” Hicks said. “We won’t just roll it all the way up, it will only be certain ones.”
Hicks said they’re getting quotes right now. Birmingham Park and Recreation said is still waiting to hear back from the state on becoming a historical landmark.
We reached out to the Alabama Historical Commission for an update on how long it could take for Birmingham to find out and learned that it never received a National Register nomination for Legion Field.
We received this statement from the Alabama Historical Commission:
“Additional information was requested from the City of Birmingham, but nothing was received.”
Alabama Historical Commission