Giant houndstooth hat placed inside Bryant-Denny

A giant houndstooth hat hoisted into Bryant-Denny Stadium Wednesday morning will sit above a new concession stand called, fittingly, The Bear’s Den, since it’s meant to be a larger-than-scale replica of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s signature headwear.

It’s part of an effort by Centerplate Inc., the company selected earlier this year to manage concessions at the stadium, to spruce up game day services in the stadium.

Riding on a flatbed truck from North Carolina, the nearly 12-foot long hat started raising eyebrows when it parked at a Best Western, said Diana Evans, spokeswoman for the Connecticut-based company. Arriving Wednesday, workers began immediately to put it into the stadium, using a 150-foot crane to hoist it behind section U4 in the north endzone. Weighing 550 pounds, the fiberglass houndstooth hat will sit above the concession stand at an angle so fans can see the front and top of the hat, Evans said.

The Bear’s Den will serve the usual stadium fare — hamburgers, hotdogs and nachos, and will be one of several themed concession stands. Ezell’s Fish Camp, for example, will have a tin roof and look like a cabin on the lake, and Crimson Fried has a mural of past UA football teams, Evans said.