Work to prepare the overhauled Georgia State Stadium is steadily taking shape, and is on track for its football debut this August.
Georgia State is planning to move its football program into the former Turner Field, a structure that opened for the 1996 Olympics before being converted into a ballpark and hosting the Atlanta Braves from 1997-2016. In February, Georgia State began phase one of its overhaul to the facility.
While the facility’s full conversion to a football stadium is expected to be completed over multiple years, progress on the current construction process has Georgia State officials looking forward to the school’s first football game on August 31. More from 11 Alive:
Already, that’s required entire sections of seats to be demolished, like those near the right field foul line to make space for an end zone. Construction workers have knocked down the outfield wall and seats, with plans to restore some of them.
“The job that’s being done is incredible,” Athletic Director Charlie Cobb told 11Alive on Friday. “Each and every time I walk in, I see something new being done.”
Georgia State is currently in phase one of its plan for the stadium, which means downsizing it to 23,000 seats while ultimately getting the stadium to a usable state to play football in. Phase one will be completed prior to the team’s home opener on Aug. 31 against Tennessee State.
Phase two will be the following year and includes building out the rest of the stadium and adding more seats. But the plans are evolving, according to Cobb. The stadium is just part of a larger $300 million project with the developer, Carter, to turn the 68-acre area into a mixed-use development. Cobb said they are on time and on budget.
Georgia State is moving its football program from the Georgia Dome, where it played from 2010-2016. The Georgia Dome, which was also the former home of the NFL’s Falcons, is slated to be demolished later this year.
Rendering courtesy Georgia State University.
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