New Athlete Center

vapspwi said:
I mentioned it before when we were talking about the spring game - some high school coach or parent sittting behind me opined that BDS was the worst stadium he’d ever been in, an embarrassment in Atlanta, and we need to drop $xx million dollars and start over.

Maybe he was just afflicted with SEC “stadium = penis size” delusion, I dunno. Certainly BDS is old and not sexy like a modern stadium (in some ways part of the appeal, a la Wrigley or Fenway - we could do a better job of marketing that history). But when it’s full and rocking (it’s been awhile, admittedly) there’s no place better. Then again, I’m there for the game, not for the architecture and the amenities, so my criteria are probably different.

The funny thing is that when the Atlanta United borrowed the place for a while, people who had never been there before seemed to really like it.

JRjr
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There's plenty that looks janky. The way the larger sections align is weird, it's not symmetrical, the architecture is inconsistent, and the sections are connected rather bizarrely (try walking a lap of the stadium).

I definitely don't want to start over, but there's a lot of odd character to the old girl.
 
ee8384 said:
BDS is "quaint" but IMO needs to be replaced. I am aware of all the limitations due to being landlocked, etc. I was at Tech when the Edge Center was built. Here we are 40 years later rebuilding it, while the stadium has had relatively minimal and mostly aesthetic improvements. I have a suspicion that the long term plan is to move to MBS.
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I look at BDS like I look at the Thrillerdime, AMC. Love the place, needs fully replaced though. We have improved it as far as it can go. Tear down all of it. Keep it intimate on redesign with a good view of the city, which means Wardlaw goes too. Modern. Luxury seating a must, despite the fact I would never be able to afford to sit there. Put in restaurant terraces. Do something thinking outside the box.

You could easily turn BDS into a destination on Saturday for football and attract more sidewalk fans.

And yes, it would be hella expensive to build
 
We’re still crippled from paying off the north deck expansion from like 20 years ago. There’s no way we’ll ever tear BDS down and start over.

JRjr
 
I understand JJ’s sentiments, but the reality is it’s doubtful BDS is replaced, at least in my lifetime. I’ve been going to games for decades, and have never had a problem with the stadium. What I do dislike is the new ‘turf’ and I really cannot stand the loud music being played consistently throughout the game. Other than that, I just want some wins and I’ll be fine with BDS.
 
It is extremely hard for me to envision a new stadium making a positive difference in the future of our football program. Where do you build? What size? What does it offer that improves game attendance and recruiting?

What I do recommend is renovation that makes the stadium a better option for fans. This new building will hopefully have all the right touches for the athletes. Inside our stadium we ought to start with lower west. Here is where your loyal fans want to sit. Gut the whole side. Reframe it. Get rid of the steep, small unsafe steps. Put in chair seating either from end to end or at least from 102 to 110. As you lose some lower west seats with these changes go to upper west and put chair seats in the lower half of that deck for those displaced from lower west.

Keep visitors in the southeast corner - two lower sections, one upper. Focus on young alumni sections for season tickets in upper east as well as single game tickets sections for AT Fund contributors and alums who wish to purchase single game tickets. Wherever bleachers remain renumber for more space per seat. Do something about the premium seating in lower east that forces fans out into the stands during game time.

Commit the bottom third of upper north to affordable seats for graduate students and staff. Let the middle third be for groups, and only the upper third open to the general public to be eaten up by Dawg fans. If the upper north could be reconfigured with premium seating boxes that would be OK, too.

Bite the bullet on campus development and provide more close parking for tailgating. Most fans say they find the parking and tailgating situation less desirable than it was 20 years ago.

Put in these changes and you shrink capacity by 8 to 12 thousand. This is a stadium we can realistically fill up with Tech fans, especially if they see the game in greater comfort and with more convenient parking and enjoyable tailgating.
 
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gtleviathan said:
Step 1: Copy the design of the cantilevered shade at the top of the rendering below.
Step 2: Make it twice the size. Angle it down ~30 degrees.
Step 3: Install it over the Upper East.
Step 4: Profit.

iu
Click to expand...
Step 4 seems really hard.

Edit: for Georgia Tech
 
77GTFan said:
It is extremely hard for me to envision a new stadium making a positive difference in the future of our football program. Where do you build? What size? What does it offer that improves game attendance and recruiting?

What I do recommend is renovation that makes the stadium a better option for fans. This new building will hopefully have all the right touches for the athletes. Inside our stadium we ought to start with lower west. Here is where your loyal fans want to sit. Gut the whole side. Reframe it. Get rid of the steep, small unsafe steps. Put in chair seating either from end to end or at least from 102 to 110. As you lose some lower west seats with these changes go to upper west and put chair seats in the lower half of that deck for those displaced from lower west.

Keep visitors in the southeast corner - two lower sections, one upper. Focus on young alumni sections for season tickets in upper east as well as single game tickets sections for AT Fund contributors and alums who wish to purchase single game tickets. Wherever bleachers remain renumber for more space per seat. Do something about the premium seating in lower east that forces fans out into the stands during game time.

Commit the bottom third of upper north to affordable seats for graduate students and staff. Let the middle third be for groups, and only the upper third open to the general public to be eaten up by Dawg fans. If the upper north could be reconfigured with premium seating boxes that would be OK, too.

Bite the bullet on campus development and provide more close parking for tailgating. Most fans say they find the parking and tailgating situation less desirable than it was 20 years ago.

Put in these changes and you shrink capacity by 8 to 12 thousand. This is a stadium we can realistically fill up with Tech fans, especially if they see the game in greater comfort and with more convenient parking and enjoyable tailgating.
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I disagree on sacrificing for parking and tailgating. If we're hot and playing a top 15 GT-UGA matchup where we can plausibly win, no one's going to give a öööö about paying a few extra dollars and walking a few extra minutes to park in some Midtown parking deck. Sacrificing any part of the campus to create slightly more convenient parking 6 days per year would be ridiculous.
 
GT65_UGA89 said:
I understand JJ’s sentiments, but the reality is it’s doubtful BDS is replaced, at least in my lifetime. I’ve been going to games for decades, and have never had a problem with the stadium. What I do dislike is the new ‘turf’ and I really cannot stand the loud music being played consistently throughout the game. Other than that, I just want some wins and I’ll be fine with BDS.
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Keep your ööööing hands off the turf. Even for someone who has watched most games on television in recent years, the music is a serious problem. Vanessa Carlton will haunt me until the day I die.
 
00Burdell said:
Here are some observations after taking a closer look at the middle pic
bds_new_bldg.jpg


1. Where is the lower east stands?
2. That dude is like eleven feet tall
3. Nice light pole right in front of all the glass
4. Pretty sure that much light would set the turf on fire
5. Clipart people instead of the actual football field
6. What the hell is this?
7. Where is the goal post - the North stands don't look anything like that.

This is clip art crap.
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Not exactly defending the renderings because they are a bit amateurish, but your perspective is off. Where the people are in your #5 is the top of the NE lower corner, not field level. Where you say "what is this?" regarding #6 is the windows outside CGC's office. Just below section 218/219
 
The Jacket said:
Keep your ööööing hands off the turf. Even for someone who has watched most games on television in recent years, the music is a serious problem. Vanessa Carlton will haunt me until the day I die.
Click to expand...
Unless you play in the frozen north or a dome, you shouldn't have artificial turf unless you're busy league. I hate, hate, hate artificial turf.
 
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