Bobby Dodd Stadium
| Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field |
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| The Flats | |
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| Bobby Dodd Stadium during the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets game against the Miami Hurricanes on November 20, 2008. | |
| Earlier names | |
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Grant Field (1913-1988) |
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| Data | |
| place | 155 North Avenue Northwest Atlanta , Georgia 30313
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| Coordinates | 33 ° 46 '21 " N , 84 ° 23' 34.3" W |
| owner | Georgia Tech |
| operator | Georgia Tech |
| start of building | April 1913 |
| opening | September 27, 1913 |
| Renovations | 2003 |
| Extensions | 1924, 1925, 1947, 1958, 1962, 1967, 2003 |
| surface |
Natural grass (1913–1970, since 1995) Artificial turf (1971–1994, AstroTurf) |
| costs | 35,000 US dollars (1913) US dollars (2003) 75 million |
| architect | Charles Wellford Leavitt Populous (2003) |
| capacity | 55,000 places (since 2003) 43,719 places (2002) 41,000 places (2001) 46,000 places (1988–2000) 58,121 places (1967–1987) 53,300 places (1962–1966) 40,000 places (1947–1957) 18,000 places (1924) 5,304 Places (1913–1923) |
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The Bobby Dodd Stadium (full name: Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field ) is a college football - stadium on the campus of the University of Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in the US city of Atlanta in the state of Georgia . The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ( Atlantic Coast Conference ) NCAA college football team has played its home games here since it opened. The stadium has been named after former Georgia Tech coach Robert "Bobby" Lee Dodd (1908–1988) since 1988. Under him, the Georgia Tech teams won the most games. The Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field is the oldest on campus stadium in the NCAA Division I FBS. The facility currently offers 55,000 places.
history
The Yellow Jackets have played their games on the site since 1905. In April 1913 the foundation stone for the concrete west stand of Grant Field was laid. The stadium was named after a donation of US $ 15,000 from John W. Grant (1867-1938), in memory of his late son Hugh Inman Grant (1895-1906), for the construction of the main stand. Construction was opened on September 27th of that year. The grandstand was mainly built by university students and offered 5,600 seats. The concrete east stand was completed in time for the 1924 season. The south tier was inaugurated a year later. It brought the space available at Grant Field to around 30,000. The stadium continued to grow. The new construction of the west stand in 1947, including a new press stand, brought the capacity to 40,000 spectators. In 1958, the sports facility with steel stands in the north offered 44,105 seats. The available space was expanded to 53,300 places in 1962 by adding a tier on the eastern side. In 1967 a rank was set on the west stand. There was also an elevator and new facilities for journalists and photographers. Now Grant Field offered 58,121 places for visitors. To this day, the facility did not offer any more spaces. Before the 1982 season, the scoreboards were renewed.
After the 1985 season, the old south stand was demolished. There the William C. Wardlaw Jr. Center was built. The building, which was completed in 1988 and has an area of 70,000 sq ft (around 6,500 m 2 ), offers offices, a weight room, a cafeteria and other facilities for the university's athletes. There are also twelve luxury suites , TV studios , banquet rooms and a modern fitness studio . The space available fell to 46,000 due to the construction work. As part of a renovation, the Bill Moore Student Success Center was built behind the west stand in 1992. With a donation of five million US dollars, the new building was named after William E. "Bill" Moore (1917–2004), a former student of Georgia Tech. The building replaced the Knowles Building. The entrance to the stadium was redesigned with the Bill Moore Student Success Center. In addition to facilities for athletes and students, the center added 32 luxury suites to the stadium. Furthermore, the presidential box and the press area were renovated.
Immediately after the 2001 season, the first phase of a renovation and expansion of the facility began, which was completed at the beginning of the following season. The end zone in the north was expanded to 15,678 seats with ten luxury suites on the two-story tier. The lower tier in the east was rebuilt and supplemented with 20 boxes and 2,040 club seats between the 25-yard line and the Heisman Club Room. The structure of the upper tier was retained, so only cosmetic changes were made. The southern end zone was equipped with 2,940 seats in front of the Wardlaw Center. In addition, the playing field was given a new natural grass surface with a drainage system . The pitch was moved approximately 30 ft (9.14 m) to the north and 15 ft (4.57 m) to the west during the renovation . At the start of the 2002 season, the Bobby Dodd Stadium held 43,719 spectators. 2003, the two-year-long renovation of 75 million was US $ completed. The facility was expanded to the 55,000 available space that is still valid today. Renovations also included the construction of Russ Chandler Stadium, Georgia Tech's 4,157-seater baseball stadium .
In addition to college football, the Bobby Dodd Stadium was used by football teams. In the 1973 season, the Atlanta Apollos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) were based in the stadium. In 2001, the Atlanta Beat women's team from the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) played their games at Georgia Tech Stadium.
Since the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was not ready in time for the start of the MLS 2017 , the new football franchise of Atlanta United ( Major League Soccer ) played its home games in the first half of the season at the Bobby Dodd Stadium.
gallery
Grant Field around 1913
Plaque on the statue of Bobby Dodd
The stadium in October 1985 with a view of the old south stand. Back then with an athletics facility .
The stadium in summer 2005
Football game in November 2007
The William C. Wardlaw Jr. Center (November 2012)
See also
Web links
- ramblinwreck.com: stadium on the site of the sports department of Georgia Tech (English)
- philanthropy.gatech.edu: Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field (English)
- hometownnewsatlanta.com: Historic Grant Field (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ philanthropy.gatech.edu: John W. Grant ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ sports-reference.com: 1913 Georgia Tech football schedule (English)
- ↑ philanthropy.gatech.edu: William C. Wardlaw Jr. Center ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ philanthropy.gatech.edu: Bill Moore Student Success Center ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ philanthropy.gatech.edu: Russ Chandler Stadium ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ ramblinwreck.com: History of Bobby Dodd Stadium (English)
- ↑ atlutd.com: Atlanta United to Start MLS Season in March 2017 at Georgia Tech's Historic Bobby Dodd Stadium Article from October 5, 2016
