Alabama is just 52 days from opening the 2021 football season in Atlanta. The anticipation is perhaps a little higher for this meeting with Miami since it’s scheduled to be the first game in front of a full stadium since New Year’s Day 2020.
A quick glance at the game contract between Alabama and game organizers reveal an anomaly that might excite Crimson Tide faithful. The first of the 19-page document sets the general terms of the Sept. 4 game set for Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta.
The difference is easily spotted.
Alabama will wear all white two days before Labor Day.
That’s notable since every neutral-site season-opening game Alabama’s played for more than a decade stipulated the exact opposite. The Crimson Tide has been in crimson and designated the home team in each of these games played in NFL stadiums or Orlando.
For the Miami game, the Tide will wear its white tops and white pants.
The last time Alabama wore white in an opener came in a 2009 win over Virginia Tech played in the since-demolished Georgia Dome.
Social media reactions to this news have been overwhelmingly positive since the road white jerseys have long been a fan favorite.
A few other notes from the contract.
— Game officials will be assigned by a neutral conference.
— Alabama was allotted 29,965 tickets in the 71,000-seat stadium. The value of those tickets is $5,696,750 with the most expensive face-value seat selling for $250. There are also 600 lower-lever student tickets in the allotment that sell for $60 a piece with an additional 1,900 upstairs for the same price.
— Alabama will get $5 million for participation in the game after guaranteeing it will sell the $5.96 million in tickets allotted.
— Details regarding Miami’s ticket allotment or game guarantee are not subject to public records requests like the one used to obtain Alabama’s contract since Miami is a private school.
— Beer will be sold but sales will be cut off after halftime.
— Alabama has 227 hotel rooms booked for the Friday night before the game — 100 of which are complimentary. The school also gets one complimentary presidential suite and one complimentary governor’s suite.
— Alabama’s team hotel requires a $17,000 food and beverage minimum to bring the total for rooms and food to $77,000.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.