Georgia athletics announces immediate plans for Stegeman Coliseum

University of Georgia athletics announced how its handling the immediate future of Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday, having completed extensive structural review of the facility’s ceiling. After the building was closed in early March due to a small piece of cement material being found laying on the floor, plans for repairs are now being put into motion and are expected to be completed ahead of the 2023 men’s and women’s basketball seasons, as well as gymnastics.

“The most recent engineering report by Walter P. Moor and Associates, Inc. – a peer review of work previously done by Wiss, Janney, Elsner Associates, Inc. (WJE) – affirms the structural integrity of Stegeman Coliseum,” a release from the University of Georgia Athletic Association shared on Thursday said. “It agrees with WJE that thermal movement – the daily expansion and contraction of the building materials that all buildings undergo – and misalignment and tight precast joints from the original construction of the facility in 1964 are the primary contributors to recent incidents of concrete spalling (chipping).”

“Over the last few weeks, crew have installed scaffolding throughout the facility to expedite work once the plan for repair was validated,” the UGAA statement continues. “Crews will now work to saw-cut relief joints at the precast corners of the roof and install a protective mesh to keep future spalling from reaching the coliseum floor. In addition, a separate, ‘global’ analysis for the roof, to include the structural impact of the north and south end curtain walls added in 2010 as well as the large, central scoreboard added in 2017, is now underway. This further review, to be completed over the summer, will determine whether these factors are also contributing to spalling.”

As a result of the plan, Georgia’s volleyball team – who made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995 last season under the direction of SEC Coach of the Year Tom Black – will play its matches in the Ramsey Arena of the Ramsey Center, it’s previous home from 1995-2017. Construction efforts are expected to be complete prior to the start of men’s and women’s basketball in November, as well as gymnastics in December.

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“We are pleased with the solution that has been identified by these structural engineering firms, who are leaders in the coliseum industry,” Georgia athletics director Josh Brooks said in a statement. “We are going to be able to reopen Stegeman Coliseum safety for our teams and fans this fall, and over the summer will begin the planning process for further ways to modernize the facility and substantially enhance the fan and student-athlete experience. I think folks are really going to be excited about all that we have in store.”

Brooks and the athletic department previously announced plans to rearrange seating at Stegeman for men’s basketball. Changes being made include extending the student seating over another section on the sideline, now spanning from T to Z, and moving students closer to the floor with court-level seating areas in sections T, U and V. Furthermore, Georgia and its opponents will swap bench locations meaning that teams coming into Stegeman will shoot towards the student sections in the second half of games.

Other Athletic Facility Upgrades

Georgia also recently received approval for funding for facility renovation projects to the baseball and softball stadiums. The Georgia Board of Regents gave the go for the UGA Athletic Association to pay $38.5 million for improvements to the Jack Turner Softball Stadium and $45 million for construction at Foley Field, home of the Georgia Baseball program.

According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, along with previous proposals made by athletic director Josh Brooks at various board meetings, the softball team will be getting a new 27,500-square-foot facility that will feature a clubhouse with a locker room, a training room, lounge and a meeting room. It would also contain a weight room and indoor practice area to be used by the soccer team, whose stadium sits right beside the softball team’s. Both facilities are out past the University of Georgia golf course down South Milledge Avenue.

Meanwhile, closer to campus at Foley Field, the baseball team will be making a 41,000-square-foot addition along the third base line with improved batting cages, a pitching lab, players lounge, coaches offices and other amenities. The team’s existing locker room will also be renovated, and about 230 seats, and a new entry gate on Rutherford Street, will be added to the stadium that’s housed the team since 1966.

Construction on both the baseball and softball projects was expected to begin this coming summer at last check. The University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors will meet again at the end of May at The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.