Sanford Stadium Expansion

You've seen the news. A couple of observations:

• I like the new gate under the scoreboard, allowing fans to come into the stadium off the bridge.

  

  From Georgiadogs.com
• The new video board will be 100'x52'. That's up from the current 75'x46'. That's cool, but unless you improve the sound system and the sounds coming out, meh.
• It looks like the new seating for recruiting will be pretty front and center. That will provide a great visual of the whole stadium, but not a great view of the score board. Not sure that means anything, just an observation.
• With the Athletic Association looking to raise about 85% of the cost from new donations, there are a lot of naming opportunities.

Overall, the only thing that'll change the game experience for most fans is the new scoreboard. However, the recruiting lounge area looks very cool, especially if they put students on both sides of them.

T

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I'll raise you $30 Million

Well, that escalated quickly.

But athletics director Greg McGarity said the project ultimately could cost “in the ballpark of $30 million.” That’s twice as much as similar projects, such as the just-announced indoor facility project at Florida.

The focus is on the area I talked about earlier, with the likelihood of taking the Hoke Smith Annex down. For reference:

It looks like the plan includes closing Smith Street and using some of the field turf fields. And for $30M, I'd guess there is already some sort of plan to build State 4-H a new building elsewhere in that budget, because that is one hell of a facility. 

TD

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Indoor Practice Facility

Now, we have a little more information on where it might go:

The area just beyond the existing outdoor practice fields, off of Lumpkin Street, leading up to Stegeman Coliseum.

For you visual learners:

As you can see, there is the little problem of buildings there. Those buildings house UGA's cooperative extension and the State 4-H offices. Messing with those programs carry a fair amount of political peril, both on North Campus and around the state. 

I'd think any plan involving that site would include a new building for those programs else where on campus for it to pass muster. Unless you get University and political buy in from State Extension supporters in the legislature, that will drive the cost of the project well past $10M.  

One other thing this could be: a leverage move to get whomever is against using the current footprint to build the IPF (which makes the most sense to me). 

There are ways to utilize the existing facilities, up to and including a movable roof/open wall configuration on a new IPF, that allows you to keep most of the current natural grass fields, while not losing any field turf. If the natural grass area is a non-starter, then those two field turf fields certainly could be utilized and kept as viable practice area.

A retractable roof on your building is much less expensive than a fight with State Extension/4-H folks and buying a new building for them.
TD

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Florida isn't an elite job

We all know there'll be an indoor practice facility in Athens sooner or later. But I have to ask, does it really matter?

Blutarsky mentioned something about Florida's coaching job and the facilities, which got me thinking: is it really chicken and egg? The article he's referencing is a USA Today piece about what Florida faces in their search.

USA TODAY Sports posed that question to several agents and others tied to the coaching search industry, who agreed to give their opinion on the condition of anonymity to protect any potential dealings with Florida during the search.

They go on to rate Florida's job as just below elite. The reason?

Did you know that Florida doesn't have a standalone football operations building? In an era where practically every major school has a top-of-the-line indoor facility or is building one, Florida is still at the mercy of having practices altered by weather (which is certainly a concern in the spring and late summer when thunderstorms tend to roll through the area).

The folks interviewed go on to mention that Florida already has talent on their roster to compete. This leads me to the inevitable question: Are programs building these facilities to get better or as pecker measuring opportunity?  I ask that question in all sincerity.

I get the argument that an indoor practice facility allows you to practice during the three times a year it is too rainy or cold to do so in Gainesville, and know that same argument extend to Athens. Honestly, does anyone that matters think an IPF or walnut paneled, marble floored offices are what is holding Florida back?
TD

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Mississippi State is upgrading Dudy Noble Field

One of the best parks in the SEC nation is getting an upgrade. Mississippi State will putting $40M into nearly fully rebuilding the stadium.

Overhead view:

Dudy Noble's Left Field Lounge will be more...formal:

Makes the upgrades to Foley seem like window dressing.

TD

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Sanford upgrades

Putting aside the piped music, which I am plenty not happy about, there are some changes coming that should enhance the game day experience at Sanford.

First and foremost is removing the partitions around tops of the 100 level:

100 Level Concourse
Partitions previously located at the top of each section in the 100 Level have been removed to allow for better sightlines and more light into the concourse area.

If you sit down there, you know exactly why. You are lined up to go down to your seat, then there is a roar and people rush to the three foot opening to see what happened, while granny is trying to navigate her first step down the aisle and dad is fighting three kids going out to the bathroom for the third time. Well done. And having more light in the concourse isn't a terrible thing either.

Second is the improved smart phone capacity:

DAS - Telephone Services
Phone carriers have installed a DAS (Distributive Antenna System) which will improve the fans' ability to make phone calls, send text messages and connect to their provider's 4G or LTE network.

I don't know what that is, but it sounds real. If it helps me keep up with scores beyond the seven games they keep rotating through on the score board, I'm good with that.

There are also more point of sale kiosks to get drinks and such being installed. I could quibble about the types of vendors they chose (Subway?), but I rarely eat at the game, so it doesn't matter to me unless they get Waffle House. Then it'd be on.

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Are donkeys about to fly?

I wouldn't get my hopes up, but it looks like some of you might get the illusion of your wish: the Athletic Board is going to discuss building the indoor football practice facility.

AD Greg McGarity is quick to point out that is only the first of many steps to getting shovel into the dirt. As he noted:

"The bottom line is you have to have funding in place to even start the process," McGarity said Tuesday. "There are a lot of things we'll have to discuss. But there are certain baby steps that you have to take to begin the process. That's why we with our board with just talk about it a little bit."

That funding is currently estimated at around $15M. So, you know, get to writing checks if it means that much to you.

TD

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UGA Athletics generates nearly $100M in revenue

Good news, right?

There was just over $2.2M surplus to bring the accumulated reserve up to $73.9M. Football brought in over $62M in revenue, with nearly equal amounts of direct football revenue, ticket contributions, and TV revenue from the SEC and NCAA. Long term construction debt fell $9M.

It also looks like the Foley project will reach the $5M needed to get Athletics off their $7M needed to complete the Foley face lift by February. The number is $2M higher than it was at project unveiling.  It'd be interesting to see where the rest of the $35M in revenue came from.

So, we'll see how that money gets spent. Or if it actually does. Because Tennessee.

Oh, I'll also have more about this later, but I'm guessing there is some room for revenue growth in other sports with improved results, because you can bet some of that ticket and ticket contribution revenue will fall with the coming tasty cupcake parade we are likely to see in football and basketball (and baseball, for that matter).

TD
See Also:
- What does Bret Bielma's contract tell us about Butts-Mehre? (Blutarsky)

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Foley face lift

Scott Stricklin alluded to the updates Greg McGarity promised to Foley Field in recruiting him to UGA. Now, we have a better idea what that means.

UGA has announced a fundraising campaign focused on improving Foley Field. The Foley family donated $1M earlier towards this, but now there will be a specific focus on the reported other $9M needed to build the project. According to McGarity, once the project gets to $5M, the athletic department will match the money out of funds on hand.

Overall, it looks pretty good. There will be club seating, a field level club area, and improved fan amenities. There are plans to renovate and update the player's areas underneath, modernize/expand the press box, and increase the number of bathrooms.

Don't look for the improvements to start before that additional $4M is raised. In fact, it would surprise me, absent another significant lead gift coming along, if we didn't break ground on this until after the 2015 season. If you want more on the department's philosophy on spending reserves, and why nothing will be done until that additional $4M is on the books, read all of Emerson's article.

The only real issue I have is that after this 'revival,' Foley will still be third smallest park in the conference, just in front of UK and Missouri. No way it can match the atmosphere of Alex Box, Baum, or Dudy Noble at just 3400 seats. Putting that aside, this will help get Foley on par, at least in the clubhouse and stands, with some of the other baseball facilities around the conference.

TD

See Also:
- Donor Brochure (from the Georgia Bulldog Club) includes more renderings of the renovations, including an elevations of the stands looking towards home from the right field side and up the left field line.

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Everbank Field upgrades

First the good news, by the time we get to the 2014 Georgia-Florida game, the world's largest video scoreboards will be in place in both the South and North end zones, not to mention many more video boards and screens around the stadium. That is a win. There are places in the stadium that you just about have to twist yourself out of shape to find an out of town score or see stats. There will also be pools and other activities to entertain attendees. Think the pirate ship area at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.

All these seats are going away.

Now, the bad news: They are taking 7000 seats from the North End zone to make this happen. While the release mentioned the ability to add in seats for certain high capacity events, there is no way they can add back 7000 seats. As it is, those seats in the South end zone only add about 4500 seats. As it is, the Jaguars' capacity will be reduced by about 2000 seats, taking into account those seats in the North end zone that aren't available due to tarps over them to help reduce TV blackouts. Look for the new capacity for Georgia-Florida to drop from around 84,000 to 81,500.

If they go with this concept, there will be a limited number of seats in the North end zone that will be under cover.

Image: Jaguars

This is a win for Jaguar fans. The reduced capacity means fewer TV blackouts. The increased fan amenities gives a bigger reason to watch Blane Gabbert throw passes behind receivers or run for his life. Shahid Kahn's personal financial commitment to this speaks about his plans for keeping the team in Jacksonville.

The losers are folks who have marginal priories in Georgia and Florida's respective ticket contribution funds.
TD

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The parable of the thrifty

There was a man who was quite rich, not just by regular standards but by all standards. He literally had tens of millions in the bank. He was one of the richest men around. Yet, he wasn't happy. In fact, he was scared of his money. He was scared to spend it. He was scared to use it for important things. He was scared to make improvements to his property, despite his property becoming more and more obsolete, vis a vis his business competitors, each year.

He was scared of what would happen if he needed it and it wasn't there. Despite dependable sources of income, the idea of spending those reserves just scared him.

So he did nothing with it, but patted himself on the back for having so much money in the bank, confident in his ability to keep from spending that money. See, not spending money was what he felt was his smartest move. He felt safe with that. Oh, there were compelling reasons for improving his business facilities, including the possible upside of seeing improvements in his business, but there are costs associated with that. It was the easiest move because he could very clearly see the downside of not having the money if he needed. Mind you, there were no reasonable risks on the horizon, but still, that money was there and it was safe. That made him feel safe in his decision to not spend it. Plus, his business was doing good enough, right?

Part of his fetish with holding on to his money arose from a series of misfortunes and missteps from his colleague just to his north.

What he was missing is how to assess the value of the money put to use, and the risks associated with doing nothing. Doing nothing felt safest, because that is what he could control. That is what he knew. His measure of success was having that money in the bank. And he is very successful by that metric.

That is where I was wrong about the Director's Cup and the direction of Georgia athletics overall. Mike Adams biggest metric for measuring a successful AD is how much money is in the bank. In that regard, Damon Evans and Greg McGarity are rousing successes, though through different means.

I'm not sure what Jere Morehead's approach is going to be with athletics, but I can guess based on his many years as the faculty athletic representative. Mike Adams has very clearly laid out the case for money in the bank over championships, at least (probably) in sports other than football. There is reason to think Dr. Morehead's approach will be different, and I am hopeful because Morehead seems to be more of a true Georgia fan out of passion, rather than position.

I think avoiding Tennessee's issues with debt and spending is a good thing. Having money in the bank isn't a bad thing. Being thrifty just so you can have the most money in the bank is just as a bad use of money as spending it on dumb things. Both scenarios are wasteful though I do see the argument that there is future value of the money not spent. I have full faith in UGA athletics to not spend money on dumb things, but no faith in them to spend money on things that will make the incremental improvements needed to programs go from good to great. We've shown that good enough is, well, good enough.

That is why I'm not so confident in the next football coaching search, whenever that comes. If the worry is more about money in the bank than W's and L's there, we'll get exactly what we pay for. We certainly are in men's basketball and have been in baseball.

TD

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UGA Athletic Board News

Hightlights include

• Coach Richt getting a raise and extension. He's now on through 2017, with a base of $3.2M. That puts him 10th highest in the country.
• The 'Young Alumni' ticket program will happen. Essentially, as a new graduate of UGA, you will have the option of buying tickets at face value without having to make a Hartman Fund Contribution in your first year. It will be $250 in the second year. I'd heard about this a few weeks ago and think it is genius. I also think 2,000 tickets is about the right place to start.
• Student athlete grades were up. UGA had 38 members on the fall SEC Honor Roll, more than any other program in the conference.
• The improvements at Foley Field are done. Now, if the heat will just stay off the gents in Perno's Penthouse....

TD

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Profiles in Hope: Stegeman Renovation Update

On Sunday, the Athens Banner Herald posted updated renderings of what Stegeman Coliseum will look like after the renovations are completed this November (Image: ABH). The interior look and feel of the concourses is dramatically more impressive than I anticipated. Lee Shearer has the story which you may have missed because it appears to have been filed online under News instead of dogbytes or basketball.

Check the PDF...it doesn't look like the same facilities inside the concourses. As for the interior seating area, it hasn't been the problem for several years. The problem was the coaches and the product they put on the court for far too many years.

I'm thrilled to know that we're going to have an updated facility in time for this season.

PWD

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Uncle Boone Beholds the Magnificence He Bought

T. Boone isn't concerned about being the biggest, just the best. After donating around $250 million to OSU athletics, he finally toured the facilities upgrades he paid for, which include his own ventilated locker (it keeps the stench of rotting money from disturbing the players). T. Boone's locker is right next to the locker of Sherman Smith, another old rich guy who really wants to hang out with the football team.

Do any of our boosters have lockers? I understand that for $250 mil we'd likely give a donor whatever they wanted, but it's still odd. Isn't it a bit creepy that big money donors can come in, sit in their lockers and watch the team change clothes before the game?

The facilities upgrades are impressive, by any measure. We've heard a lot during the offseason that the game with the Pokes will be the first in the completed T. Boone Pickens stadium, but that's a bit deceiving. Most of the upgrades were in the training and meeting facilities in the building attached to the stadium. As I understand it, the spectator won't notice much of a change from last year. I guess Uncle Boone feels like his money is being well spent, but I expected more wind turbines.

See Also:
-- Stillwater Travel Info - Georgia Sports Blog

Quinton

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Is Foley Field Worthy of the Dawgs?

The Diamond Dawgs swept last weekend's baseball series with Mississippi State in front of record crowds at Foley Field.   Originally constructed in 1966 and refurbished in 1990, Foley Field currently seats an official capacity of 3,291, the second smallest in the SEC.  Only UK is smaller.  Despite it's small size, the facility held crowds of 3,876 Friday night, 4,461 Saturday (the largest crowd in Foley Field history), and 3,689 Sunday.  Those crowds broke the all-time attendance record for a weekend series.  Clearly, demand for UGA baseball is at an all-time high.  And it should be.  Very few programs have performed like UGA in the last ten years.  So, isn't it time to expand Foley Field?

We've mentioned, albeit briefly, that a new Foley Field is included in the athletic facility master plan. The master plan, though, is a long range wish list.  It's projects are aspirational over the next ten to fifteen years.  The plan advances two alternative designs for a new Foley Field.  The first would involve a completely new structure, rotating the field so that home plate would be moved to the present right field.  This plan would present two significant changes: 1) present a more aesthetic view beyond the outfield wall, with the Rankin Smith Center and Stegeman as the view beyond the batter's eye, and 2) eliminate the view from Kudzu Hill, the most unique aspect of Foley Field.  I'd rather keep the kudzu.  

A second alternative is presented in the master plan that maintains the existing structure and simply adds seating all the way down the outfield lines.   This alternative was presented without comment, so I'm at a loss on details, but it has to be less expensive.  Because it's less expensive and would preserve the charm and beauty of the existing setting, I like the second alternative.  Depending on how the additional seating is planned, we could also add additional baseball specific facilities under the new stands, like offices, weights, or batting cages.

This season, three SEC teams have new or refurbished baseball facilities. Six other schools have new digs, too.  (Baseball America put together this slick review of all the new stadiums.)  

• Ole Miss refurbished Oxford-University Stadium for an estimated $18 million.  Their expansion looks a lot like what the second alternative of the master plan would look like.  The Rebs added a bunch of seats down the lines and redid their entire stadium facade.  
• LSU built a new Alex Box Stadium, expanding from 7,760 seats to 9,200.  The Tigers have led the nation in attendance for several years now, so an expanded stadium makes perfect sense for them.  They added 288 luxury boxes, too. 
• And, South Carolina built an absolute palace for an estimated $38 million.  It is a seemingly self-contained baseball shrine, with built-in batting tunnels, weight room, media rooms, and athletic training facilities.  It also has luxury boxes.  LSU and Carolina's new digs make Foley Field look even more like a little league park when compared with the rest of the conference.

Look, I'm not demanding that Damon unveil the best facility in the country, although that would be great.  What we need is increased capacity so we don't leave ticket revenue on the table.  UGA already has a renovation plan that preserves Kudzu Hill and shouldn't cost as much as building a plush, new AAA-equivalent ballpark like LSU and Carolina.  Let's advance the plan.  

Coach Perno continues to coach and recruit at a high level.  The program looks like its on a solid foundation for years to come.  Let's build a facility worthy of such a program.

Quinton

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Georgia Athletics to post another $20 million excess

Proposed New Butts-Mehre Accessory

With the global financial markets wildly out of whack and unemployment on the rise, Americans are cutting back across the board. This is most certainly the "rainy day" that our grandparents warned us to save for. Apparently the Athletic Department has one big ass umbrella, as our cash reserves will exceed $60 million at the end of this fiscal year according to the Athens Banner Herald. (Image: A Cool Friday)

That's almost enough cash on hand to go an entire year without selling a single ticket. If you're a Hartman Donor, the above link is a must read.

My Reaction:

• According to the article, the Athletic Department is giving back $2 million per year to the University for academic endeavors. Given the AD's financial position and the struggling financials of the University, that's a no brainer politically and fiscally.
  
  
• How in the world does the Butts-Mehre Expansion cost $40 million? A year ago it was projected to cost $34 million. I thought the price of construction projects had fallen over the past year as vendors became more desperate for work? (Note: That facility will be a big time boost in recruiting. Particularly the rehabilitation areas for injured players. More on that later.)
  
  
• I like that we have enough cash on hand to go a year without selling tickets. In this economy, that beats the pants off the finances of most athletic departments. It means we can invest when everyone else is cutting back. Damon needs to leverage our strength to pull an Old Man Potter:

  "Can't you understand what's happening here? Don't you see what's happening? Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicky and he's not. That's why. He's picking up some bargains." - George Bailey

  Too bad we can't (legally) use some of that money to buy some kick ass pass rushing defensive ends. Or illicit payola style kickbacks for bloggers.
  
  
• How on earth did our debt ever get to $200 million. Holy crap. I'm glad to see it's back down to $100 million or so. But damn, how did it ever get so far ahead of profit?
  
  
• All of these financial projections are before ESPN/CBS's incremental new $10+ million per year clears in roughly June '10. Once we start getting that additional financial boost, we need to (A) stroke a big ass check for Stegeman renovations (B) work the debt off a lot faster and (C) start giving a lot more than $2 million to academics.

I'm proud of Georgia's financial strength. I certainly prefer our situation where we control our financial destiny vs. Georgia Tech's situation where they can't fire an obviously incompetent basketball coach because his buyout is too large.

HOWEVER, I would not be supportive of price hikes in any sport given the broader economy and our overall financial position. None are planned that I'm aware of. Just saying.

By the way -- compare all of this to our academic giving. The NACUBO giving report for 2008 is out (warning large boring PDF), and UGA Academics continue to show unimpressive endowment growth*. Even counting the Arch Foundation giving, we continue to slip behind our academic peers financially. (ht - Inside the Sprawl)

Your reaction?

See Also:
-- Tech's bang for the buck - Get the Picture

PWD


* He said endowment. Chuckle.

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Butts-Mehre Expansion

Speaking of the facilities arms race. As you've probably read, UGA is expanding the Butts-Mehre building. Above is another rendering I found that shows it pretty well.

PWD

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Sanford Stadium and Stegeman Coliseum Costs?

Ever wonder what Sanford Stadium actual cost UGA once you factor in all the renovations and then adjust for inflation? You probably haven't thought about it, but it intrigued me.

I started goofing around the cybertubes until I found an Inflation Calculator*. The site adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 2007.

I researched all the significant upgrades to Sanford Stadium and Stegeman Coliseum listed on Georgiadogs.com and other sources. Then I totaled the original expenses vs. the value adjusted for inflation.

It's not an attempt to compare what it would cost to build these facilities today. The cost of construction materials has exploded such that a comparison of that variety would need to be made by looking at recent peer investments. It's more of a discussion related to what that investment means in 2007 dollars**.

Sanford Stadium	Year	Cost	Inflation Adjusted
Original Structure	1929	$ 360,000	$ 4,321,237
Double Deck Both Sides	1967	$ 3,000,000	$ 18,440,513
Enclosed East Endzone	1981	$ 11,500,000	$ 25,917,591
Installed Lights	1982	$ 1,000,000	$ 2,122,131
Letterman's Club (East End)	1984	$ 386,390	$ 761,788
West End Lower Bowl	1991	$ 3,700,000	$ 5,566,676
Sky Suites	1994	$ 6,000,000	$ 8,293,229
Sky Suites Addition	2000	$ 12,000,000	$ 14,318,151
North 3rd Deck (600 level)	2003	$ 25,000,000	$ 28,137,004
North Sky Suites Under 600 level	2004	$ 8,000,000	$ 8,716,206
Sanford Total:		$ 70,946,390	$ 116,594,527
Stegeman Coliseum
Original Structure	1964	$ 4,200,000	$ 27,800,508
Reseating and A/C (Pre-Olympics)	1996	$ 3,000,000	$ 3,927,648
Lighting, Lockers, Sound, Etc.*	2001	$ 2,500,000	$ 2,935,973
Practice Facility	2007	$ 30,000,000	$ 30,000,000
Stegeman Total:		$ 39,700,000	$ 64,664,129

So what conclusions do I draw from all of this? Well...

• Damn Good Deal - That initial 1929 investment in Sanford Stadium was one hell of a deal. Even with all the add-ons and adjusting for inflation, it's a steal at $116.5 million.
  
• We Ignored Hoops - There was no significant investment in Stegeman from 1964 until 1996. If you want to know why our b-ball program has faced such an up hill climb, that's it. Dooley simply ignored it. Within months of taking over, Damon signed off on the practice facility which adjusted for inflation is almost equal to all other b-ball investments in our 100 year history.

Just something that interested me.

PWD

*This was a staggered investment over a series of years.
**The site I used didn't have 2008 data.

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Stegeman Renovation Rumblings?

Last night on the Dennis Felton Call-in Show on WSB 750 am, Coach Felton was asked about our facilities plan for Stegeman Coliseum. There was first talk about the $30 million practice facility, and then the discussion moved to renovating Stegeman.

First Felton mentioned the new premium concessions area in the arena. If memory serves, it's located near Section F. Felton tried to talk that up, but it sounded like he really wanted to just jump ahead and get to the issue. So he rather uncomfortably spilled the beans that (paraphrase as I understood it):

"Damon Evans wants to renovate Stegeman sooner rather than later. He's possibly looking at the Spring or Summer to begin renovating Stegeman. Depending on funding and other other things."

The plan to renovate Stegeman isn't "news." The new Master Plan for Athletic Facilities was revealed in September, and the high-level plan makes an enormous amount of sense. However, the initial plan made no mention of an estimated start date for any of what looks to be $150-300 million in facilities across the athletic department. If we get started in 2009, that would be at least one year earlier than I would've guessed.

The fundamental problem with Stegeman isn't the seating area. That issue has been slowly resolved over the past decade via new seating, lighting, scoreboards, etc. However, the concourses, concessions, restrooms and facade are depressingly out of date. The facade is particularly dated. The new plan addresses these issues.

Felton's comments alone would only be marginally interesting. However, Damon Evans discussed facility improvements with David Hale in Part 3 of his interview series.

Hale: What are some of the projects you're excited about in the coming year?

Evans: There may be some facilities that could come along, but I don't want to say anything definite because there are things that need board approval. We just completed a master plan that looks at a comprehensive study of all of our physical facilities, and we may be able to start some of those things. The economy is tough, so I want to be mindful of that. But what I want Georgia people to know is that, while there are things that are going to change, what I want them to see coming is that we're going to work harder this year.

Those comments were immediately following a discussion of expectations for basketball and Coach Felton's future. Maybe I'm just being overly hopeful and reading too many tea leaves. But...renovating Stegeman Coliseum is the single biggest opportunity for facility improvement on the table in Athens in my opinion.

If we have to go shopping for a new coach this off season, having designs, budgets and a time line for stadium renovations in hand will make that search dramatically easier and more effective.

PWD

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100,000 seats in Sanford Stadium part of UGA's New Gojillion Dollar Athletic Facilities Master Plan

If you were wondering what Georgia was going to do with the incremental $10 million or so per year in new SEC TV Revenue and the $20 million or so per year "surplus" that the athletic department has been pulling the last few years...here's your answer. (Image: one of several options for expanding Sanford Stadium. Click to enlarge.)

The Athletic Department debuted its new master plan for facilities which should guide the design, construction and later prioritization of facility enhancements for the next 10-15 years.

The plan is currently conceptual. It shows where new or renovated buildings would be located, and to what extent the facilities would change. UGA has not announced costs or stated which items would be prioritized first. This is the first step in a bigger journey.

Included in the plan:

• Football - Indoor Practice Facility at South Milledge Complex
  
• Football - Expansion of Sanford Stadium to 100,000+
  
• Football - Reed Alley Renovation
  
• Basketball - Overhaul to Stegeman's Facade, Concessions and Restrooms
  
• Administration/Football - Butts-Mehre renovation (previously announced)
  
• Baseball - New Baseball Stadium on current Foley Field Site
  
• Track - New Track facility at South Milledge Complex
  
• Soccer/Softball - Enhancements to the existing South Milledge Facilities
  
• Green space - New pedestrian walk ways surrounding existing facilities
  
• And much, much more

I think this is at least $150 million in new facilities, and it could easily be $200 million in new stuff. I'm basing that estimate on what UGA spent to renovate Gate 6, build the existing 600 level for Sanford Stadium, the cost of the new Gamecock Baseball stadium, estimates for indoor practice facilities at other schools, the sky rocketing cost of construction materials and the length of the "wish list."

It's too much to get into everything all at once. So I'll point you to two key PDF files on the Athens Banner Herald's Web Site. This is a 21 page overview of most facility enhancements. The second PDF looks specifically at the Butts-Mehre renovation.


My quick thoughts:

• Indoor Practice Facility - The location and size of the facility suggest that it would not be the "Death Star" $35 million homage to football that had originally been discussed. It looks more functional than monumental. As a guy vehemently opposed to constructing an IPF, I could live with a modest facility. Although, I still think it's pissing away money. (Image: South Milledge Complex. The indoor practice facility is in the upper right corner. Click to enlarge)
  
  
  
• Stegeman - It's exactly what Stegeman needs. Stegeman doesn't need to be enlarged. It needs to be modernized with 21st century restrooms, concessions and concourses, and it needs a look and feel similar to the new Practice Facility. This would get us there. (click to enlarge)
  
  
• Sanford Expansions - The Reed Alley renovations look excellent. I actually think they were in the plans from 2003 or so, but they somehow got cut. Check out the PDF to see it. However, I think expanding the 600 level all the way around will be incredibly expensive, and I think those seats will SUCK. Luckily, I'm not going to sit in them...so what do I care.

More thoughts later. Check out the ABH article and then read this PDF.

It's interesting.

PWD

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