Ladd Peebles Stadium (formerly Ernest F. Ladd Memorial Stadium ) is a stadium in Mobile, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field for the Senior Bowl and the GMAC Bowl. It opened in 1948 and has a seating capacity of 40,646. [1] It was originally named for Ernest F. Ladd, a local banking magnate who died in 1941. In 1997, it was renamed to honor E.B. Peebles, a civic leader who was instrumental in the revitalization of the Senior Bowl. In addition to football, the stadium is also used for concerts (maximum capacity 50,000), boxing matches, high school graduations, trade shows, and festivals. [1] Ed Sullivan, Jimmy Buffett, and many other entertainers have performed at Ladd Peebles Stadium.

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History

The stadium was constructed in 1948 with private funding from a local banker wishing to create a permanent honor to his mentor, Ernest F. Ladd. The stadium's first game was a meeting between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Vanderbilt Commodores on October 2, 1948 which ended in a 14–14 tie. ^[1] In 1951, the new Senior Bowl moved from Jacksonville to Mobile, where it has been played in Ladd Peebles ever since.

In 1997, Ladd Peebles Stadium underwent a $8.1 million renovation that resulted in a new press box featuring a 120-seat club level and luxury suites, new scoreboards, new PA and lighting systems, new locker rooms, new restrooms, an expansion of the concourse areas, and new concession stands, as well as the stadium offices. ^[4] In 1999, the stadium hosted the inaugural Mobile Bowl, which continues today as the GMAC Bowl matching teams from the Mid-American Conference and Conference USA.

In 2004, the stadium selected and installed FieldTurf as its new playing surface. ^[5] On December 6, 2007 the Board of Trustees at the University of South Alabama approved adding football to its intercollegiate athletics program. The move came with the announcement that the team would call Ladd-Peebles Stadium home for at least seven years. ^[6]

References

1. "About Ladd-Peebles Stadium"
2. "About Ladd-Peebles Stadium"
3. "About Ladd-Peebles Stadium"
4. "Stadium"
5. Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Home of the Senior Bowl, Selects FieldTurf
6. BOARD OF TRUSTEES VOTES TO ADD NCAA FOOTBALL - USAJaguars.com—Official Web Site of University of South Alabama Athletics