Not the first fire on the Auburn campus:
LSU defeated Auburn 19-15 in 1996 while the old Auburn Sports Arena, affectionately called “the Barn”, burned to the ground across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium. After scoring a touchdown, Auburn trailed 17-15 and attempted the two-point conversion. LSU intercepted the pass and returned it for a 19-15 win. The fire began when a tailgater placed a barbecue grill too close to the building. Scenes of the fire were captured by ESPN during the national broadcast as flames were seen as high as the Jordan-Hare east upper-deck. The game was never delayed, and the Auburn public address announcer continually advised fans not to worry: “the stadium [was] not on fire; the flames [were] outside the stadium.” Because of the fire and the thrilling finish, the game became known as the “Barn Burner”.
Hargis has been been burned before and restored. I’ve tried to look up the history but there is too much going on here tonight. Maybe later.
I saw that game on TV when it was burning. I hated to see that building burn. Had a lot of good memories there including my first date with my future husband.