Vestavia Hills High School, Birmingham, AL

Vestavia Hills Rebels

     I visited Vestavia Hills High School while visiting my sister at Samford University.  Tonya was along for this trip as well and these pictures are from her camera.  Vestavia is in the 6-A classification of Alabama sports and has an enrollment around 1,250 (which seems small for a 6A school, however the smallest enrollment for a 6A school in Alabama is 744).  There are a lot of medium sized high schools located in Alabama, you would think there would be a better way to split up the largest division, but nothing can be perfect (not saying Vestavia shouldn't be in 6A, but 744 seems small for the largest classification). Vestavia is located right outside Birmingham on the mountain (or large hills if-you-will).  It is a gorgeous community and a great looking high school from an aesthetic point of view.

Home stands

      The home stands are pretty neat in my opinion, except for the fact that there is no middle entrance to the stands.  It is pretty large and the VH blue and red seats in the middle are a unique touch.  The press box is great and I'm sure there are concessions and bathrooms on the bottom level.  The stadium sort of sits in this valley up against the side of the hill where the home stands are located and it has the feeling of a great atmosphere when that place is full.

Visitors stands

     The visitors stands compliment the home stands very well.  It is shorter but the same width, which to me is the way it should be.  There are plenty of seats available for the bigger schools coming in, although I'm sure it looks pretty empty when the smaller schools come to visit.  Also I'm sure it is pretty intimidating to be standing over on the visiting sidelines looking up at that home side (the home side sitting on a hill has a daunting effect and makes it seem huge).  I love the field goal posts with the double support, it's kind of old school.  The entrance is great and if I remember correctly there are also entrance gates on the visitors side.  The lights are supported by big metal poles and they aren't just situated on the sidelines of the field but also along the corners of the field.
     There are a few more stadiums from Birmingham that I will profile in the coming weeks: Hoover, Wenonah and Mountain Brook.  I'm hoping to get in John Carroll Catholic High School at some point.  I loved taking a look at Vestavia Hills, not only because it's a great high school football stadium, but it's also a great town.