University of North Alabama photo
Representatives from HPM joined university officials at the ceremony to top out Bank Independent Stadium.
The final structural beam was placed on the University of North Alabama's new football stadium at roughly the halfway point of its construction, the school announced July 31, 2025.
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Representatives from HPM, a Birmingham-based construction program management firm, joined university officials at the ceremony to top out Bank Independent Stadium, a $65 million multipurpose facility on UNA's campus in the northwest Alabama town of Florence.
The project, which will be the university's first dedicated stadium in its history, broke ground in June 2024 for an anticipated opening in the fall of 2026.
Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium will feature a three-level press tower with concessions, restrooms, suites, a club level and a "home tunnel" connecting the home locker room to the school's adjacent CB&S Bank Arena.
The venue will redevelop the athletic complex that previously included the UNA turf practice surface, Mike D. Lane Field and a band practice field that incorporates the school's football, baseball and soccer programs and marching band into the reimagined design.
In addition to athletic practices and sporting events, Bank Independent Stadium is designed to enrich Florence with concerts, live performances and other community events.
In a news release, the university noted that HPM is working closely with UNA to provide specialized services from pre-construction through completion, including oversight of budgeting, scheduling, design management, bidding and construction oversight.
The building project is split into multiple packages, which the school said required careful sequencing to ensure the practice field was completed before the stadium work began.
In addition, a mass excavation package included recessing the football field approximately 15 ft. below the existing grade. The excavated dirt was then used as fill material across the site for the future baseball field.
This design will provide 360-degree concourse access, allowing fans to circulate around the facility without the stadium structure blocking their view, according to UNA.
As part of a separate package, HPM also will oversee the addition of a 2,760-sq.-ft. video board for the stadium to use during games and community events. It will soon be erected at the northeast end of the stadium, UNA said.
In its news release, the school said, "Today's topping out is one of many milestones in the construction of Bank Independent Stadium that UNA and North Alabama Athletics will be celebrating. We continue to work closely with our partners at HPM to ensure [the project's] timelines and [see that] each phase [is] on schedule. Our student-athletes, coaches and staff are eager to use this great facility to enjoy football, soccer and baseball games."
Collaborative Effort Led Stadium's Construction
The stadium construction represents the first partnership between HPM and the UNA. Additional project partners include the general contractor, Decatur, Ala.-based Fite Building Co.; Davis Architects in Birmingham; and Ampere, a Missouri design firm specializing in sports venues.
"Bank Independent Stadium is a long-awaited project that the community has been excited about since its announcement, and HPM is proud to help bring the school's dynamic vision to life along with our numerous design and construction partners," said Matt Ernst, a senior project manager of HPM.
With a presence throughout the United States and a total management portfolio value of more than $1 billion annually, HPM has established itself as one of the industry's leading program managers and owner's representative companies.
The firm's other notable projects at higher education institutions include several facilities at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, including Bryant Denny Stadium, Sewell Thomas Stadium, Rhoades Softball Stadium, the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility, Coleman Coliseum and the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility.
Among its other projects in the state was the construction of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Protective Life Stadium. It also provided program management expertise for building Regions Field and renovating Legacy Arena, both of which are located in Birmingham.
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.
The school is nestled on a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, situated not far from the north bank of the Tennessee River. UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia.
UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven Division II National Championships, is currently a member of NCAA Division I sports as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences.
