Renovation of Bobby Dodd (LONG)

[georgia_tech_swagger]

I saw a new rendering on what Bobby Dodd will look like, and I don't think I can contain my feelings on the subject anymore.

yes yes, I know... more support for the team yadda yadda yadda.

Well, has anybody out there taken a look at the graphics showing what it will look like??

There will be no more box seats.
And, oh yea, most of the additional 10,000 is in the ENDZONE. Behind the endzone, it looks like a huge stadium. Past that, same thing minus box seats. Also, that ring of seats in front of the athletic building doesn't exactly look too good. If you need proof that it was rushed, look no further than the Ramblin' Wreck. They no longer have room for it. They want to build a glass atrium for it... but the student organizations get to foot the bill for that one. The Wreck deserves better.

We got extra seats now, sure. However, at what price? The new stadium is... well... to be blunt an eyesore, and the expansion was rushed IMHO. Also, how sure is the GTAA that those seats will be filled? We are all die-hards here, but in general Atlanta is notorious for having (at best) lukewarm support for its teams. The vehement support of the die-hards does not outweigh the number of fair weather fans or "non-locals" that move in and still root for their original teams.

IMHO, the GTAA should have done something similar to the Virginia football stadium. I like their design. It looks nice and still has standing room, etc. It's not monsterous. But it's not small. It's just right.

Georgia Tech is slowly expanding and crossing the interstate. From what I've heard, they've already annexed 2 or 3 of the bridges. So, why don't they aggressively pursue buying land across the interstate? That gives the Institute the room for its new buildings, and will reduce the over-crowding of buildings that is already creeping up on the practice fields. By building across the interstate, Georgia Tech gives itself more room, thus allowing for a more proper expansion of sports **AND** academic complexes.

The expansion of Bobby Dodd was nice, but a waste considering the look of the stadium and the money spent, and it looks rushed. This is not the way Georgia Tech should present itself, and it not what a location filled with history and tradition deserves.

Maybe it's just me.... does anybody else out there share my sentiments?

 

[bugboy]

I haven't given it all the thought that you have. I have seen the view of the new stadium on ramblinwreck.com. Basically, BDS has always been an eyesore in some way. The fact that East and West have drastically different slopes is an example of that. If the new design is without the column view-blockers in the east, that's an improvement. If the new design gets rid of the mystery liquid, that's an improvement.

As for being able to fill the darn thing after it is built...that's gonna be tough, because we play a lot of schools that don't bring many fans. Outside of FSU,Clemtech and UGA our schedule has schools that bring anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 or so fans based on what I've seen. So, we'll have to fill the stadium with our own fans usually except in the 3 aforementioned cases. I'm a believer in the saying that "if we build it, they will come." But we need to win to fill that stadium up.

That's the bottom line. We gotta win and only then do we fill the expanded stadium.

 

[GPB III]

Expansion for athletic facilities (stadium) if at al would have to go westward across Marietta St. as property across the interstate is very likely too expensive for such usage.

 

[georgia_tech_swagger]

i'm not saying put a new stadium across the interstate, I'm saying take the surrounding buildings, update their design, and put THEM across the interstate -- that leaves room to expand the stadium where it is.