Georgia State wants to repurpose Turner Field into a 30,000-seat football stadium and build another baseball stadium that will include Hank Aaron’s wall as part of the structure.
University President Mark Becker and Atlanta real estate development firms Carter and Columbia Residential provided The Atlanta Journal-Constitution an exclusive look at the proposal Wednesday.
“Georgia State has never had these sorts of facilities for its athletics programs,” Becker said. “We are aware we’ve won three conference championships this year. The program itself is on an upward trajectory. This continues to support a growing and strengthening athletics program, but one that by no means has achieved its potential.”
Turner Field and the surrounding 77-acre area has been the subject of intense speculation since the Braves announced they were to going to build a new stadium in Cobb County that will open in 2017. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said April 17 that he had received as many as four proposals for the property.
Becker said it’s too early to know how much it will cost to re-purpose Turner Field or build a baseball stadium. However, he doesn’t plan to ask for an increase in student fees to finance the proposed project. Students will pay $46.17 per registered hour — capped at $277 per semester — to support athletics during the 2014-15 academic year. It is the second-most expensive portion of the 11 components of the mandatory student fees.
Georgia State would control a portion of the land used for the project, and the rest would belong to private investors.
Georgia State and the development team will begin the process of due diligence in calculating costs for the project. They estimate the costs for the entire development, which includes retail and student housing, at $300 million. Becker said the plan is to accomplish what’s proposed and not leave something out, such as the football stadium, should the estimated costs increase. He said there is no backup plan.
Becker said he would like a new football stadium, as opposed to continuing to play in the Georgia Dome or the new downtown stadium that will open in 2017, because he wants to provide “the real college football experience.”
If Georgia State reaches an agreement with the authority that owns Turner Field and the money or financing is available, construction on the new stadiums couldn’t begin until the Braves have moved into their new stadium. Becker said he hopes ground would be broken in January 2017.
Having stadiums for football and baseball would be steps in solving two issues for the university’s athletic department.
Its football team, which has won one game in the past two seasons, plays in the 74,000-seat Georgia Dome (capacity of 31,994 for Georgia State games). Even the more than 30,000 in announced attendance at the inaugural game four years ago looked small in the cavernous arena.
The university tried to improve the atmosphere at last year’s games in an attempt to increase attendance. Last year the team had an announced average attendance of 15,577, slightly higher than the averages in the previous two years, but still among the lowest in FBS.
A 30,000-seat stadium would be attractive to recruits, could re-energize the alumni and students, provide revenue that Georgia State doesn’t get from the Georgia Dome, and would be more in line with what the rest of the teams in the Sun Belt Conference use.
“It gives us a chance, when we go out and recruit, it gives us a great opportunity to show kids where our president is trying to take this football program,” football coach Trent Miles said. “He’s trying to put this football program on the fast track and in the right direction to compete on the Division I level.”
The stadium’s proposed design would allow it to host soccer and track and field, according to Becker. Softball isn’t included in the proposal. Becker said the school would need to acquire an adjacent lot to move that sport closer to campus.
Building a baseball complex that would seat 2,500 would begin to solve the years-long problem of Panthersville, a 20-acre area where the school’s baseball, softball and soccer teams play.
Panthersville is 10 miles from the campus, which makes it difficult for students who live on campus to attend games. Additionally, the facilities are old, which can hurt recruiting. The university has actively sought a solution to moving some or all of the stadiums closer to campus.
“We are incredibly excited about athletics being a part of President Becker’s bold vision for Georgia State University,” athletic director Cheryl Levick said. “To be able to move most of our programs from Panthersville to downtown would be an amazing vision come true.”
Baseball coach Greg Frady said having a new facility closer to campus would be a game-changer for the program because it could improve recruiting, player development, the game-day experience, the fan experience and it would give Georgia State the ability to pursue bidding on conference championships.
Having a stadium on the footprint of the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium where Aaron played makes the concept even better.
“My childhood hero was Hank Aaron,” Frady said. “I knew exactly where I was sitting with my dad when Hank Aaron hit the legendary 715th home run. For me to think we could build a facility in the footprint of Hank Aaron and other greats have played … that’s every coach’s dream. To think our administration and president are thinking about these things is very gratifying.”
About the Author
