Alabama installs LED light show. What is next in the college football arms race?
This season the Crimson Tide will use newly installed LED lights in an attempt to bathe Bryant-Denny Stadium in crimson.
Check out the post below.
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 16, 2019
First take, it is cool looking, without a doubt. It sets their stadium apart with something new and flashy.
These upgrades seem to be a part of the $600 million athletic facilities plan the school announced last year, set to span the next decade.
This is yet another show of the facilities/gameday experience arms race that has really gotten big the last few years. It started with the Mal Moore athletic complex, which raised the stakes for other schools to invest millions of dollars into building football operations buildings.
Now, many of the top programs have these palaces designed to keep football operations in one building, and entice recruits with the glitz and glamour. Here is a list bby 247Sports on some of what they consider the top operations buildings in the country here.
For context, the two programs in South Carolina recently built ops buildings, with Clemson's carrying a $55 million price tag while South Carolina's cost $50 million.
Clearly, money is not an issue when it comes to funding an athletic departments biggest money-maker.
Which gets back to the LED lights at Alabama.
You can imagine these light costs were a drop in the bucket in the overall upgrade plans. And while it sets their gameday environment apart, what's next?
My biggest question is when can these be used? Of course after touchdowns, but will we see the stands changing colors during gameplay? Granted, I do think it would look cool if stadiums turned down the lights on the crowd, washed in a faint home team color glow while illuminating the field.
Also, do stadiums now have to put warnings for epilepsy and seizures?
Much like how Ohio State has attempted to trademark the word 'The' (which you can read about here) this might be a case where Alabama went a tad too far.
These changes won't change the outcome of games, and they aren't designed to (or maybe they are meant to distract opposing teams. Who knows.) Alabama will still pull in some of the top players in the country, they will still attract sold out, raucous crowds and will still be favored as a national title contender every year as long as Nick Saban is the head coach.
The changes do give them a distinct game atmosphere, and something for their fans to further boast about.
The real worry is the trickle down effect. What will the next school do to keep up/surpass Alabama?
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