Georgia Bulldogs Prepare for $63 Million Stadium Renovation

Another long-awaited and long-sought facility project at the University of Georgia is finally coming to fruition. And it’s going to be expensive.

Sanford Stadium in Athens, home of the Georgia Bulldogs, is one of college football’s most iconic venues. But with a large portion of the stadium dating back nearly 90 years, games are accompanied by some logistical challenges.

The UGA athletic board approved an overhaul to the west end of Sanford Stadium that the university said would “not exceed 63 million.”

The board approved a plan to raise $53 million from private funds, which the rest coming from the athletic association’s reserves.

The project will see Georgia’s football locker rooms, currently on the east end, be rebuilt on the west end, with a recruiting area built adjacent to it.

A new plaza will be built that will end up adjacent to the current bridge, which overlooks the west side of the stadium. There will be a recruiting pavilion of about 500 seats, measuring 10,575 square feet, on top of the student section.

UGA president Jere Morehead told the board that between this project and the indoor facility that the football team will be at “a competitive advantage,” and thus looked forward to more success in the future.

The construction process will take 17 months, which means construction will be happening during the 2017 football season. But McGarity said he was “comfortable” that they would be able to manage that. The goal would be for it to be completed the summer of 2018, well before the start of that season.

Officials believe the facility will allow UGA to be competitive with other top teams when it comes to recruiting

The spruced-up stadium isn’t the only thing the Dawgs are doing to stay competitive.

Since Coach Mark Richt got the boot at the end of the 2015 season, the team has been on an upgrade spree.

Last year, the university constructed a $30-million indoor practice facility for the football team, complete with a full-sized football field.

A few other details about Sanford Stadium:

• The number of student seats is not expected to change, but some may be relocated.

• The current scoreboard will move about 30 feet back toward the bridge.

• The visiting locker rooms, still on the west end, will remain the same.

• The Dawg Walk into the stadium will stay the same, only now players won’t have to wrap up the walk by trapsing across the stadium field to the locker rooms on the east end.

The UGA Athletic Association received $36 million in donations from a total of 475 donors through the Magill Society, the fund-raising arm of the Georgia Bulldog Club.