As those who know me can attest, I’m pretty poor at visualizing things in space, so I’m appreciative of Groo’s summary of where the indoor practice facility may wind up being situated.
The renderings make clear the tradeoffs in picking the location. It’s tight quarters. Some combination of existing buildings, existing practice fields, campus streets, and parking will be affected. While the perspective of the renderings make it tough to pinpoint the exact locations, we see several distinct locations under consideration.
- Some of the renderings lie in part of what we’ll call the “Hoke Smith Block” bordered by Lumpkin St., Carlton St., Sanford Dr., and Smith St. We’re shown versions that are aligned east-west as well as north-south. The north-south orientation cuts off Smith St. and replaces the smaller turf practice field below the track. The east-west version brings the facility closer to Stegeman Coliseum.
- Other configurations show the facility on the footprint of either a full-length turf or grass practice field. McGarity has insisted for several years that “we don’t want to disturb that environment” of “the first-class practice facility we have here with two grass fields and two turf fields.”
- At the same time, we’ve come a long way in a year. In December 2013, McGarity seemed resigned to the idea that “it’s gotta probably be out on South Milledge.” We know now that the focus is now much closer to the existing complex. Has McGarity’s stance on sacrificing a practice field changed as well? After all, is an outdoor turf field much different than an indoor one?
- Another possibility shows the facility placed in the area surrounded by Foley Field’s left field wall, the tennis complex, the Carlton St. parking deck, and the Rankin Smith Center.
Of course, he’s right to note that it’s way too early in the process to start guessing which site makes the most sense, but I can’t help but wonder about one matter this early. Remember that something like $30 million is being set aside for the new facility, which is definitely on the high side for such things. That number makes sense in the context of having to allocate funds for acquiring the Hoke Smith property from the university, but if it’s not going to wind up there, what else do they need all that money for? Any ideas out there?
Get The Picture 
The site by the baseball field is the best location. Currently it doesn’t have a building or detailed landscaping on it. It is only 30 yards from the current fields and they could tie in the wall of the IPF to be a green monster for foley field. “Allocating” 30 million is wooden nickels and smells of king Adams.
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I am not sure about that much money, but as a general rule, anytime you have to build something in ‘close quarters’ construction costs go up because you have expenses incurred in working around the other structures. You ca’t just grip it and rip it. But that still seems like a lot of money. If they want it to blend in with the surroundings, though, there will be money in that. No Butler Buildings allowed, I am guessing.
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Scooters for everybody!
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Could they not just add on to the small practice facility attached to the weight room? It seems like that would have the smallest footprint in that area there.
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Seems like FSU used part of a parking area and shoehorned it in for less than 16 million? Richt has always said he didn’t want to load and unload players x2. If the weather becomes unsuitable isn’t it best to just jog inside? How much is a portion of the Hoke area worth anyway? Only one has any architectural/historical significance. The Hoke Smith Building. And the last time I was in it it had random AC in the windows. Richt said he didn’t want to lose a field. I think he meant he didn’t want to exchange a natural grass for a 3rd artificial turf field. They may be putting the cost at 30 to entice the sale of a portion of the Hoke property in case there is some push back. There has been some negative vibes here at GTP about the Hoke area losing some of it’s facilities.
…or
We won’t know what it’s gonna cost until we set aside the money? 😉 Better to have a large budget and reappropriate the funds later.
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is Hoke Smith a WPA project? there are several of those in that area…Snelling, etc. Hoke Smith doesn’t house anything that can’t be accommodated elsewhere in one of the mammoth new buildings. only downside to the site is that you would have to provide a covered walkway from the locker rooms, or get all soggy walking over there sort of defeating the purpose of an IPF. perhaps that accounts for some extra $$
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Good question. Didn’t Smith have a role in creating that? Twistification is the history guy around here, maybe he knows. I did a quick search and found out that there is an architect named Hoke Smith that did a school under the WPA. Interesting.
Here is link about WPA back in the forties. Worth a read about Athens on pg147.
https://books.google.com/books?id=YV-vkZeXA4YC&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103&dq=Hoke+Smith+a+WPA+project&source=bl&ots=SN3aUsfd6D&sig=DiJw5m3caP8RaCrKm8_5dsHU7Kc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PtAKVdGTFsSrgwSb14Eo&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Hoke%20Smith%20a%20WPA%20project&f=false
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I’ve suspected for a month or so now that we’re not just building an IPF. I think (and have been told to some extent) that there is more to it than a covered football field. I’m thinking nutrition center, new track stadium, and/or a general reworking of Rutherford street. I also have heard a little something about phase II of a foley field expansion potentially in the works but that may just be hearsay at this point. Whatever it is, it seems like well know in may. Could be that they’ve hired this firm not only to design an IPF but also an athletics master plan for the next few years. Would explain the seemingly slow place and secrecy.
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I like the location across Rutherford Street if the math works out.
They would need to create a different entrance for the maintenance equipment for Foley Field off of Pinecrest, locate the TV production trucks in the B-M parking lot for baseball, and build a parking facility off of Brooks Drive.
It would be a tight fit and a logistical challenge for construction, but it keeps the athletic facilities on athletic department property.
An additional parking facility would also support the new Science Learning Center already under construction, so putting it on University property should not be a problem.
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I like that Joe !
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I don’t have access to the property maps, just Google, but they could buy out the homes behind the baseball/tennis centers and drop everything in there.
Otherwise it looks like they may be budgeting for structured parking $$$
I also think you could get something in the space where the Hoke Smith annex is, but leave the main building. You could incorporate that space in the new facility. $$$
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Exactly. I think if the IPF lands behind Foley (my personal vote — or takes up any surface parking, really, elsewhere) they will end up building a parking deck underneath it to preserve spaces for tennis/science building
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The way baseball is going put it on Foley.
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Late March and the first spade full hasn’t even been considered and a construction START date not even named. How can many of you do not detest the foot-dragging and Fright Night pronunciations for funds? This comes closest to Alumni S&M that I’ve ever witnessed. Pay 400k for site selection and it’s still a guessing game as to where to put it, much less begin. The flat of B-M’ plus AD’s hand goes to Richt’s and Pruitt’s face. I’m done with their insults and don’t want to even think about the stupor that this has become.
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Like I said above, I think there’s more to this whole project than just kiccking rocks around, trying to decide what to do for an IPF. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but it has been a while since Athletics released a longterm Master Plan for future projects. Now would be a good time to go ahead and notify fans, recruits, and rivals of where the money is going to be headed, starting with the IPF and Sanford locker room improvements and culminating in a classing up of the Athletics area. So much potential for Rutherford to be turned into a pedestrian corridor connecting an expanded Foley to Stegeman to the practice fields and Tennis complex. Given that UGA seems to be one of the few campuses that has most of its athletics facilities not only close together but well-integrated into the framework of the larger campus, they could and should be using an “Athletic Village” as a sort of selling point.
And while I’m being greedy, I wouldn’t mind a damn bit if they would take the initiative (the unthinkable!) to class up the Sanford concrete exoskeleton with some sort of flourishing that may better integrate it into surrounding campus.
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Some good ideas there. I like the athletic village concept.
Make it so!
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…class up the Sanford concrete exoskeleton with some sort of flourishing that may better integrate it into surrounding campus. More bick?
Sanford is 86 years old? They’ve dropped 30 million over last decade. I don’t see us ever expanding like Texas A&M. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24224242/photos-kyle-field-expansion-is-underway-at-texas-am
Bulldog Blimp on game day? That would be cool. 😉
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2491/3804438555_5abc4b9fbc_z.jpg?zz=1
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Just give it a facelift of some sort. Doesn’t have to go brick crazy like A&M, FSU, or Tennessee. But give it a little personality as opposed to the towering concrete monolith that is the Northwest stair tower.
If you really want to get crazy into my Athens pipedreams, I’d wax poetic on all the possibilities of building a platform on the back of the East endzone in that pic there, connecting the top of the 100 level to the top of the railroad track hill (effectively tunneling East Campus Rd under the stadium). However, this would also require the Athens government to pull its head out of its ass, buy up the campus rail line (now that the coal burner in the middle of campus is officially out of commission), and turn it into the people mover system that it should be. Oh, the mere idea of riding a train from downtown to the stadium and back just makes me damn giddy. The idea of hopping the train midweek at the Stadium and Reed Alley (which should also be open as a weekly lunch spot, IMO) and taking it South to Watkinsville or north to downtown makes me wish things.
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Nice dream, but obviously, you have never tried to work with a railroad. They would never give up the track and the distance is too short to run a train from the stadium to downtown Athens. That line only runs from Bishop to Center, hardly a highly populated area, so the idea of taking the train to the game is neat buy not realistic.
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Not a train; a “people mover” (see the one in Morgantown, WV for an example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgantown_Personal_Rapid_Transit).
And it’s not as pie in the sky as it sounds. The current tracks would have to be torn up, but the land they sit on is currently up for sale as no train uses it (the only one that did was the coal train that fueled UGA’s central power plant, which as I mentioned, is now shut down). If you look up the Athens Master Plan series that the Flagpole published last year (the whole thing was well written and illustrated by UGA design professor and architect Jack Crowley and presented recently to the Athens board of commissioners), Crowley did a good job explaining just how feasible it is. The main issue would be getting the sluggish Athens Gov to jump on the opportunity and to work in conjunction with the school to foot the bill. Here’s a link; check it out: http://flagpole.com/news/news-features/2014/04/16/dreaming-of-a-train-through-campus
Now, what would be a little lofty would be running the thing somewhere beyond the Softball complex on South Milledge as you’d start venturing into Oconee County. Still, the prospect of having a small rail commuter line connecting Watkinsville to Athens could be intriguing.
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+1000. Great link and post – I think the idea of a people mover could eventually be expanded to encompass part of Milledge and brush the Dooley Athletic Complex in a loop back — Milledge Avenue long ago was part of the trolley route.
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I like your idea’s RM. Unfortunately that would require forethought, initiative and a willingness to spend some of the reserve fund.
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It would also require the ACC government to do something that requires a functioning frontal lobe, so it seems unlikely.
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Agree 100% – damn RM, can you make it happen ?? haha
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Put the ipf on the existing grass field adjacent to the current mini-ipf. Build a new, updated track facility out on South Milledge. Then rework the current track infield into a 100 yard grass practice field. Remove current track grandstand for more room. Keep current track available for community use except during practice. They should be able to do this for around 30 mil. Win-win.
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For starters, to add any thing to the Dooley Athletic Complex that does not say (1st class athletic village would be a wasted opportunity! Dooley deserves this and so do the UGA fans! The real estate issues on the Hoke Smith corner only allow the UGAA to achieve this goal! The IPF can not just be a Butler Building w/a bit of granite thrown into make our Elberton friends happy! The Athletic village idea is a a winner! A new Master plan would be a good start to help us arrive there! Upgrading Sanford is must! For one thing the sugar is not going to fall from the sky forever. To paint everything one color would be a nice start! Why aren’t we using those eating facilities at Sanford on a REGULAR BASIS NOW? I realize that the UGAA expects it to just fall from the sky, but they have some nice facilities just sitting there! Catching a mid after noon hot dog outside Sanford seems like a great idea. The recent concert was a success as I understand it! Why use it for 10 days a year only? It could probably raise a few million at least to help pay for the spruce up.Even with the Athletic complex it will work best if we invest enough landscaping and amenities to make it useful for all! To Teach,To Serve,To Inquire PS Since we are sprucing up Sanford can we get rid of the Granite Bulldog in the west end zone? It looks like the hideous lamp some in-laws gave us for a wedding present.
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Great ideas by creative minds. Why isn’t one in the B-M building where they have their thumbs up their bm?
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