An idea to improve Bobby Dodd Stadium.

[Ramble1885]

So as noted in an earlier thread, attendance has been down lately. However there has been a common bright spot this season, our student section. The lower north stands are PACKED and they’ve been making some big noise. Problem is, the lower south also is a student section, and besides the goldfellas it’s been mostly empty. The students don’t sit there anymore and I have several ideas on why. For one, The north end zone faces all the academic buildings. Most students walk to games from the north side, and thus when they enter, they find the closest student section available. The band sits there, the team tunnel is on that end, and buzz is normally on that side so it’s a popular place to sit. The south stands do house the goldfellas, some of our most well known and passionate student groups. They bring the energy no matter our record and have become a tech staple at games.

So, here’s an idea. How about we demolish the lower south bleachers that are in front of Wardlaw, and in their place we put two things between the end zone and wardlaw.

1. On the southeast side, we would put a SMALL bleacher section that’s Goldfellas only. They can do their usual March to the stadium and have a special area designed just for them. Hell we could add some special thing for them like how ATL UTD does the golden spike before their matches. Since it would be on the southeast side, the camera would have the GF’s on camera after touchdowns and big plays. Since the camera faces East.

2. On the southwest side, a field level area with games, food, and entertainment. Something that can bring in fans who aren’t diehards.

 

[wesgt123]

Or we could win again

 

[Ramble1885]

Or we could win again

well that’s obviously the #1 way to help attendance. But this would be a good short term solution while we wait for that.

 

[BCJacket]

So as noted in an earlier thread, attendance has been down lately. However there has been a common bright spot this season, our student section. The lower north stands are PACKED and they’ve been making some big noise. Problem is, the lower south also is a student section, and besides the goldfellas it’s been mostly empty. The students don’t sit there anymore and I have several ideas on why. For one, The north end zone faces all the academic buildings. Most students walk to games from the north side, and thus when they enter, they find the closest student section available. The band sits there, the team tunnel is on that end, and buzz is normally on that side so it’s a popular place to sit. The south stands do house the goldfellas, some of our most well known and passionate student groups. They bring the energy no matter our record and have become a tech staple at games.

So, here’s an idea. How about we demolish the lower south bleachers that are in front of Wardlaw, and in their place we put two things between the end zone and wardlaw.

1. On the southeast side, we would put a SMALL bleacher section that’s Goldfellas only. They can do their usual March to the stadium and have a special area designed just for them. Hell we could add some special thing for them like how ATL UTD does the golden spike before their matches. Since it would be on the southeast side, the camera would have the GF’s on camera after touchdowns and big plays. Since the camera faces East.

2. On the southwest side, a field level area with games, food, and entertainment. Something that can bring in fans who aren’t diehards.

I've believed for a while that Tech has a huge opportunity to attract crowds to our games if we had the right vision.

Atlanta is a town full of young professionals and families looking for fun things to do on a given weekend. What the Braves have done with Truist and the Battery has been incredible. Even before the Braves started winning, going to the battery, going to a Braves game is just a fun time. Any given game, the diehard fans are way out numbered by families and groups of friends having a good time.

With everything going on in midtown and Tech square now. West of campus, too. Tech is no longer an island among iffy neighborhoods. It's right in the center of some of the most vibrant and entertaining areas of Atlanta.

If Tech gamedays were approachable and fun - football, basketball, baseball. "Tech has a game today, why don't we go over there and check it out and then go out in midtown." Could become as much a thing as "We could get tickets to the Braves game and go to the battery" has.

Ideas like what you're proposing. Make the stadium more of a entertaining and fun place to be. Replace the bleachers with more comfortable seats. Upgrade the concessions... And of course a product on the field that is at least somewhat entertaining.

 

[Ramble1885]

I've believed for a while that Tech has a huge opportunity to attract crowds to our games if we had the right vision.

Atlanta is a town full of young professionals and families looking for fun things to do on a given weekend. What the Braves have done with Truist and the Battery has been incredible. Even before the Braves started winning, going to the battery, going to a Braves game is just a fun time. Any given game, the diehard fans are way out numbered by families and groups of friends having a good time.

With everything going on in midtown and Tech square now. West of campus, too. Tech is no longer an island among iffy neighborhoods. It's right in the center of some of the most vibrant and entertaining areas of Atlanta.

If Tech gamedays were approachable and fun - football, basketball, baseball. "Tech has a game today, why don't we go over there and check it out and then go out in midtown." Could become as much a thing as "We could get tickets to the Braves game and go to the battery" has.

Ideas like what you're proposing. Make the stadium more of a entertaining and fun place to be. Replace the bleachers with more comfortable seats. Upgrade the concessions... And of course a product on the field that is at least somewhat entertaining.

I love the flats as they are, but that’s simply because I’m a diehard fan. Tech needs to combine things that would attract casuals with the charm and quirkiness that makes Grant Field special already.

 

[ramble_on92]

DISMANTLE THE UPPER NORTH

 

[boger2337]

Tear it down and build something that houses 40k but offer an on field bar that sells mixed drinks and beer/wine. Keep "Grant field" but just remove the stands. Eventually tradition gets in the way of progress. We have met those crossroads.

 

[Vespidae]

Tear it down and build something that houses 40k but offer an on field bar that sells mixed drinks and beer/wine. Keep "Grant field" but just remove the stands. Eventually tradition gets in the way of progress. We have met those crossroads.

A friend of mine attended the Atlanta United games, but wasn't interested in going to a Tech game. "Why not?" I asked. "The stadium sucks. I can sit with my friends at Mercedes-Benz, have a cocktail, and the whole vibe is much more fun."

She has a point. The entire approach to designing stadiums (stadia?) today is different than it was in 1960. Sightlines are much more important, concourse design, food and beverage, etc. I really enjoy the experience at Ole Miss and in some parts of Neyland, it's a joy. (The visiting part of Neyland sucks, tbh.) I'm in Knoxville a lot and even if you are NOT a Vol fan, it is still the center of social life. Yes, you can't compare ATL and Knoxville ... but you can in college sports.

We don't have the money. But if we did ... I would do a total overhaul of BDS to a modern design on the same field. There's no reason why you can't have a Stadium Club with separate entrances that serves adult beverages. (That's what Ole Miss did. And it's great.)

 

[Oakland]

Tear it down and build a new modern stadium that is fan friendly and can be used for other events. Use the Atlanta Braves model. Open air, fewer seats, and where the fans are protected from most weather issues. Eventually television is going to rule more and more. The day of the mega stadiums may have peaked. Even some of the big SEC games are not seeing full stadiums.
Does anyone miss the old Orange Bowl or Tulane Stadium (former Sugar Bowl site)?

 

[Thwg777]

Call me nostalgic but the best way to improve fan experience is to score more points than the other team.

 

[bobongo]

Call me nostalgic but the best way to improve fan experience is to score more points than the other team.

Speaking for myself, I can't imagine any better way to enhance my fan experience. Just win.

 

[MWBATL]

I just sat in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge for the LSU-Ole Miss game. Tiger Stadium (other than its video system, which is SUPERB) is old, decrepit, run-down and at least as 'bad' as Bobby Dodd. Food was terrible, prices were too high, etc. etc.

Our stadium is the fringe stuff. The steak is the team and the game itself. LSU fans had GREAT time yesterday in an old stadium and judging by the attendance, the stadium did not matter much.

 

[slugboy]

Tear it down and build a new modern stadium that is fan friendly and can be used for other events. Use the Atlanta Braves model. Open air, fewer seats, and where the fans are protected from most weather issues. Eventually television is going to rule more and more. The day of the mega stadiums may have peaked. Even some of the big SEC games are not seeing full stadiums. Our stadium is just made out of concrete and metal.

I can see what you're getting at from a "stadium design" point of view, but Truist Park is an odd example. It was funded by Cobb County to move a major league team out of the city, and they built an entire office and retail park around it with government funding. The surroundings of Truist Park are one of the reasons it works so well and is so attractive to fans. It's like the area around Universal Studios in Orlando. Those surroundings help pay for the park--that, and Cobb County debt. There’s no room outside Bobby Dodd for anything.

 

[SteamWhistle]

Traffic and hassle to get to the Stadium and Campus is just way to annoying and hard to navigate to attract someone from out of town to more then 1-2 games a year. Regardless of what or if we do something to the stadium being a College in the Middle Of the City never bodes well for fans. USC, UCLA, and Miami are the same way.

 

[Gt2019]

Tear down the upper north, put all chair backs in the lower west, create a beer garden with local beers in the lower south stands. UNC did a similar thing where they changed their whole stadium to chair backs from bleachers. Lower concession prices, offer a drink and a pretzel/candy/popcorn combo for just a few dollars more than the single item. Example: 32 ounce drink $4, combo with popcorn: $6.

 

[AUFC]

Tear it down and build a new modern stadium that is fan friendly and can be used for other events. Use the Atlanta Braves model. Open air, fewer seats, and where the fans are protected from most weather issues. Eventually television is going to rule more and more. The day of the mega stadiums may have peaked. Even some of the big SEC games are not seeing full stadiums.
Does anyone miss the old Orange Bowl or Tulane Stadium (former Sugar Bowl site)?

The new Tulane stadium (Yulman Stadium) is probably the best stadium in college football.

Agree on fan friendly pricing. MBS already crunched the numbers that prohibitively expensive concessions keeps fans at home. The only time I really spend money at concessions at Bobby Dodd is if I can get it during the pre-game pricing ($2 hot dogs, $3 32oz sodas or something along those lines). Unfortunately the concession process at BDS isn't streamlined enough to pull off fan friendly pricing.

 

[Root4GT]

I just sat in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge for the LSU-Ole Miss game. Tiger Stadium (other than its video system, which is SUPERB) is old, decrepit, run-down and at least as 'bad' as Bobby Dodd. Food was terrible, prices were too high, etc. etc.

Our stadium is the fringe stuff. The steak is the team and the game itself. LSU fans had GREAT time yesterday in an old stadium and judging by the attendance, the stadium did not matter much.

Is there a world class stadium 2 miles away? We compete in a very different market. We won a lot with CPJ and still didn’t fill the stadium on a regular basis.

 

[684Bee]

Traffic and hassle to get to the Stadium and Campus is just way to annoying and hard to navigate to attract someone from out of town to more then 1-2 games a year. Regardless of what or if we do something to the stadium being a College in the Middle Of the City never bodes well for fans. USC, UCLA, and Miami are the same way.

Ha! Getting into and out of our stadium is 100 times easier than going to a game in Athens, Clemson, Auburn, and the list goes on and on. What a sorry excuse.

 

[GT flunkout]

Just win. CFB is not MLS is not MLB (especially the Braves, 80 home games/yr, always in the postseason, lol). MLS is social hour because of hipster soccer culture in the cheap seats.

I appreciate the want to be innovative, but winning is ALL that matters in CFB, there is no new norm, unless you honestly believe our future will be more of the last 3 years. They can start by fixing the damn PA!

 

[wrmathis]

the only gripe i have ever had about BDS is bleacher seating. Place needs actual seats and not something from a high school stadium