We all know Bragg Memorial Stadium is a stronghold in the rich legacy that is Florida A&M Athletics. We’ve witnessed the joys of victory and the heartbreak of defeat in “Our House.” These images have blinded the student body from the obvious modifications that need to be made to the home of the Rattlers.
The biggest drawback would have to be the handrails for fans going up those steep stairs, or lack thereof. Pointing out obvious safety hazards should be objective number one when designing a collegiate football stadium with a supposed 25,500 seating capacity. The rails used in Bragg go up approximately six sets of stairs before ending. The remaining flights are left up to balance and the prayer you say before letting go.
Seating is priority for sports fans. The number of people that your stadium can hold prepares event-goers for the level of traffic that they are going to face. The capacity of Bragg Stadium has increased from the original 10,500 to 13,200 to its current capacity. With such a large capacity, there is no reason for people standing on top of people during every game. People relish in the halftime experience when the band takes to the field, since they have the opportunity to occupy the seats left by the Marching “100.”
Every problem that plagues our beloved field has a simple fix. Adding rails that follow the layout of the stairs and expanding the seating to accommodate the many people trying to enjoy the game can enhance the overall experience of playing at home. Life for fans is already difficult enough without having to worry when you have home field advantage. The comfort of FAMU’s fans should take precedence over attendance numbers. Only then will we really have something to “Bragg” about.