Is Hockey Coming to Tuscaloosa?

The Alabama Crimson Tide club hockey team is starting a campaign to get an ice skating rink on campus.

Currently, the team plays at Pelham Civic Complex in Pelham Ala. Pelham is south of Birmingham and an hour's drive away from Tuscaloosa Ala. So just to practice, these players have to drive an hour out to Pelham and an hour back to campus.

The hockey stadium might have to wait because The University of Alabama is trying to approve the construction of a brand-new basketball stadium, gymnastics facility, and golf facility as part of The Crimson Standard Initiative. According to the University of Alabama President Stuart Bell, "A real challenge we’ve had over the past 12 months is construction costs and we’re trying to watch and see where those are going.”

What this means is that a hockey rink is not the first priority when it comes to upgrading Alabama Athletics. Another issue with building a rink on campus is how the attendance would be. According to the USCHO, there is no southern team in the top 60 in attendance. Hockey is primarily a northern sport but the sport is growing down south.

On New Years Day in 2020, before the pandemic, the NHL (National Hockey League) hosted the Winter Classic, which is an outdoor regular season hockey game for the first time in the south. The Dallas Stars hosted the Nashville Predators in Dallas, Tx., at the Cotton Bowl. The NHL did not know what the attendance would be and the game turned out to a sell out of 85,630 which was the second largest attendance in NHL history.

If you would like to help get a ice hockey rink on campus, you can fill out this form to show The University of Alabama we want hockey in Tuscaloosa.