TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Just after 8 a.m. the day before an Alabama home game, athletic director Greg Byrne opened the door and entered the conference room adjacent to his office. He sat down at a table alongside various athletic department leaders, Alabama’s chief financial officer, a representative from an architecture firm and the current student body president.



The people in the room had one common goal, one answer they sought. They were the ones tasked with solving an alarming problem in college football: declining attendance. And even though they were sitting within the walls of the most successful program of the decade, led by one of the sport’s all-time great coaches in Nick Saban, the issue felt no less pressing.



Alabama is in the early stages of a three-phase renovation, one that will allow Bryant-Denny Stadium to retain its history and its charm while also modernizing what needs to be modernized in order to give fans the best possible...