GREENSBORO — In the modern day of college athletics, schools are looking for ways to bring in additional revenue. Georgia is no different in that regard.
And one of those ways, as Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks revealed during Thursday’s athletic board meeting at The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds at Lake Oconee, would be potentially hosting a concert inside Sanford Stadium.
Which could come as early as next April.
“We have to continue to be creative and looking at different ways to drive revenue, more ways than ever before,” Brooks said. “You’ll see us talking about things like bringing back a concert to Sanford Stadium. We have to be open to all those ideas to find ways to generate revenue. But at the same time, you can generate all the revenue you want, you’ve got to be efficient in how you spend it. So we’ve also got to look at how we operate and make sure we’re efficient.”
Brooks stated that Georgia has begun looking into hosting as soon as next spring, with Georgia Associate Athletic Director Tanner Stines leading the effort. Stines is in charge of facilities and capital projects, taking on a key role in the construction efforts of Sanford Stadium in recent years.
The last time Sanford Stadium hosted a stand-alone concert occurred in 2013, when Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen and Luke Bryan performed.
Ludacris performed at Sanford Stadium as part of Georgia’s 2016 G-Day game.
“There’s a lot that goes into it, obviously, but that’s something we’re working on just because it’s a great event for the city, for the campus, but it’s also an opportunity for us to find another way to drive some revenue,” Brooks said.
Georgia President Jere Morehead added that he hopes the city of Athens works with the school to help with the concert efforts.
For a date, Brooks shared that the ideal window would fall after spring football practice and before Georgia’s spring commencement, which both are held inside the stadium. The spring game this year was April 12. Spring commencement this year took place May 9.
As for someone to play the event, Brooks did have one band at the top of his mind, even if it is a bit unrealistic.
“I’m going to keep saying it until they get sick of hearing it: I still want R.E.M., and I know (band manager) Bertis (Downs) and Mike Mills are always going to keep telling me no,” Brooks said. “But I will keep pestering Mike and Bertis and the crew over and over again, and I will not stop asking that question. So they’re going to give in at some point and play.”
R.E.M. first rose to fame out of Athens in the 1980s before becoming one of the biggest bands in the world in the ’90s. R.E.M. did have all four founding members — Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Bill Berry and Mills — perform together in 2024 after they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York. Before that, though, the foursome had not performed together since 2007.
Country music star Zach Bryan is playing shows at Michigan and Notre Dame’s respective stadiums during September.
Georgia and the rest of the college athletics world are still awaiting the final decision with regards to the House v. NCAA settlement. The settlement has been put back in front of Judge Claudia Wilken, with Morehead noting that final approval on the settlement could come as early as this week.
Brooks stressed that while Georgia continues to look for ways to add to the athlete experience, the school also wants to maintain a healthy respect for tradition.
“Our principles are we’re not going to sacrifice student-athlete experience,” Brooks said. “So that may mean things that impact my day-to-day, but I want to be the last thing we impact is the student-athlete’s experience, how we treat them and how the experience we give them. So it’s got to be pulling both levers.”
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