Josh Brooks, Mike White discuss Stegeman seating changes

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia director of athletics Josh Brooks announced on Tuesday plans to rearrange seating at Stegeman Coliseum for men’s basketball starting next season, and it’s a move that was welcomed by head coach Mike White. Brooks said the two talked early in his tenure as the head man for the Bulldogs and that making The Steg a more intimidating place to come play was of high priority.

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.

“Mike’s a very pragmatic guy and he’s patient, but these were some of those early things,” Brooks said when speaking to the media after the athletic association board of directors meeting. “One thing we’re looking into as well is a new weight room for basketball at the Coliseum. That’s something we’re working on as well. But this was a big thing.”

White certainly is the right guy to speak on the need to make Stegeman more intimidating. During his time at Florida, White’s Gators won six of seven games in Athens. He also won one during his time at Louisiana Tech in the 2015 NIT. So, when he first stepped foot on campus, White knew there were some changes he wanted made to the game day atmosphere.

“When he first got here he said, ‘This is a great arena. It’s got great potential but we’ve got to do something more to make it more intimidating.’ We had to do something to reset it, and the first evidence of that was Stegmania when we had an opportunity to see what it looked like,” Brooks continued. “Having those students down low, having that vision and being able to say, ‘Man, if we could have them down here, this would really impact the game.’ You can see it even now. The students will be the first ones to stand up, and then they impact the crowd. It was important to him, and he’s been very appreciative that we’ve been able to get this rolling and have it in place for next year.”

White’s Bulldogs have been strong at home this season too. The team made up of eight newcomers including six transfers won its first 10 games at home, one of the program’s longest-ever such streaks. Currently sitting at 14-10 overall and 4-7 in SEC play, it’s been on the road where the Bulldogs have struggled the most, and while the ability to recruit talented players capable of winning on the road is going to be important, maintaining that home court advantage absolutely is too.

“Just trying to move some people around to different places. I don’t have all the details in front of me, but we’ve talked about it at length a few times. I know our administration has been really receptive and committed to giving us as much of an advantage as we can attain he at The Steg,” White said. “It was one of the reasons I was excited to come work with Josh and for Josh and his administration. They’re open to ideas and consistent with conversation of ‘How can we help? How can we make your program better? What do you need?’ I’m appreciative, and I think it’ll increase the environment and give us even more advantage at home.”

Reseating does affect some season ticket holders, but Brooks assures this move was not made simply as a money-grab. The season ticket cost will remain the same for the 2023-24 season and more than 80 percent of seats will have the same or a lower required per-seat contribution. Brooks noted that he and his staff have taken notes from State Farm Arena in Atlanta as well as several others around the SEC for inspiration including the possibility of loge seats in the horseshoe end of Stegeman.

“We are keenly aware that reseating Stegeman Coliseum is a significant and emotional issue,” Brooks said. “Many of our fans have held men’s basketball season tickets for a number of years, and we sincerely appreciate their support and attendance. A tremendous amount of time and thought went into our reseating plan, and we feel that it achieves our goal of enhancing the atmosphere at Stegeman Coliseum while remaining one of the most affordable men’s basketball tickets in the SEC.”

Georgia Basketball is in the midst of a three-game home stretch the started last night. The Bulldogs fell 78-74 to Ole Miss but are back in action on Saturday as they host Kentucky and on Tuesday with LSU coming to town.