Birmingham, Alabama: Blaze the Dragon
The mascot of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's sports teams. New bronze version (2018) replaced a fiberglass Blaze, which replaced an even earlier dragon that breathed smoke.
- Address:
- 710 13th St. S., Birmingham, AL
- Directions:
- On the west side of 13th St. S. just north of its intersection with University Blvd.
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Not there. Currently arena under construction June 4, 2017.
[Sam Galinie, 06/04/2017]
The sports teams of the University of Alabama at Birmingham have been the "Blazers" since 1978, but it wasn't until 1995 that they adopted a fire-breathing dragon as their mascot.
Another 13 years passed, and in 2008 the university paid a Florida artist, T.J. Neil, to sculpt a 3.5-ton concrete Blaze that stood outside the school's sports arena. But the concrete proved difficult to maintain, and the idea that Blaze was created by an artist from rival Florida just didn't seem right. So on September 5, 2014, the old Blaze was retired and a new Blaze appeared.
This new dragon is sculpted from fiberglass by local artist Ira Chaffin, metallic green with an even toothier smile than its predecessor. Best of all from a budget standpoint, Blaze 2.0 is expected to last 30 years.
[Roadsideamerica.com Team, 09/09/2014]Nearby Offbeat Places
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