Matt Patricia and his Detroit Lions coaching staff will be the last victors ever for the Senior Bowl in Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. Patricia and the Lions led the North squad to a win in January’s game, which will be the last one ever played at the venerable old facility near downtown Mobile.
The Senior Bowl Board of Trustees announced on Wednesday that the game, the practices and the festivities are moving to the University of South Alabama’s brand-new stadium beginning in 2021. Hancock-Whitney Stadium, which was not yet completed in January, is on USA’s campus and closer to the Mobile airport.
Ladd-Peebles has hosted the Senior Bowl practices and game since 1951. It’s an antiquated facility in need of dire upgrades to restrooms, parking, vending and seating for fans. The new stadium and adjacent indoor training center should make the week in Mobile much more enjoyable for players, fans, and those of us in the media tired of freezing on dirty old metal bleachers.
