Bill King does some digging on the new seat cushion policy at Sanford Stadium — you didn’t know there was one, did you? — and discovers that what used to work don’t work no more.
… the policy also includes new rules about what sort of seat cushion you can carry into the stadium. Unfortunately, information emanating from the athletic department had been a bit unclear on just what that means.
On the official website, the initial announcement said: “Seat cushions — without arms or pockets — will still be permitted into the venues.” And, in the downloadable PDF linked to on the official site, it said the banned attributes included “arm rests and any large traditional seat cushions that have pockets, zippers, compartments or covers.”
However, in the latest Bulldog Monthly fan email, it said seat cushions must be “without arms, backs, or pockets.
So, are seat cushions with backs no longer allowed?
I put that question this week to Matt Brachowski, associate athletic director for event management, who clarified: “Seats with backs are no longer permitted.”
Sucks for those of you who have those nice Bulldog emblazoned seats with backs you’ve been bringing to the games for years. I’m sure you can find another use for them.
Bill goes on to note that “some cynical folks might see that as an attempt to push more fans into paying for the installation of those official seat backs that the athletic department peddles”, but since I’m trying to present a happier face for some of you who’ve been complaining about my negativity in the comments section of late, I’ll just say that thought never crossed my mind.
Besides, real Dawg fans don’t need seat backs, anyway, amirite?
Get The Picture 
I get the seat back because I wouldn’t want to carry a stadium seat from downtown where I park to the stadium, but this is ridiculous. The reserve fund for the win again!
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Who would need a seat cushion at all with the outstanding slate of noon home games this season? Surely fans will arrive early and stand from noon until about two-thirty when they rush out of the stadium to beat the traffic and not have to drive home in the dark.
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You peons quit complaining. Your benevolent masters know what is best for everyone. People who want to bring seat cushions with backs aren’t paying their fair share, and they are forcing the cost of going to a game up for everyone else. They’re as bad as the selfish SOBs who want to keep the caps for their overpriced bottles of Coke.
But hey, we’re getting a new coat of paint in the bathrooms. So quit complaining.
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Seriously? They won’t let you keep your bottle caps?
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Last year they did but in the years before no they say someone might use it as a projectile.
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that was the case for several years. I think they were afraid we’d sharpen them into ninja throwing stars, or prison style shanks, and someone would lose an eye, or die, or something bad. Dumbest thing ever.
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Not to mention our ability to collect a penny on every plastic bottle cap we retained…
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Durante and Stricklin are finished.
Losers
Bringing down two orograms
And the fan base and Old Fart Bill King is worried about his ass.
This why UGA athletics are terrible.
Fire the damn AD
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The softball team is in last place, too.
The dismantling of Georgia’s athletic program is nearly complete.
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I always love this kind of thinking. C’mon, Will, impose your will on Butts-Mehre. I’m sure you can fix everything just by demanding it.
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It’s not really a Haiku. It reads more like a Nostradamus Quatrain (sp?). It’s even funnier if you use the History Channel narrator voice in your head when reading it.
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Durante and Stricklin seem to be in trouble. We pretty much finished 12th out of 12 in the NCAAs in gymnastics – Super 6 annually should be the minimum expectation. The baseball program is a dumpster fire at this point.
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To steal a line you or another poster previously used, it’s insulting to dumpster fires when comparing them to the UGA baseball team.
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“some cynical folks might see that as an attempt to push more fans into paying for the installation of those official seat backs that the athletic department peddles”…
Cynical? If UGA is banning you from bringing in seat cushions, while making the same seat cushions available for purchase thru them, in which it will be permanently affixed to your seat; I wouldn’t exactly label that as being cynical but instead call that basic common sense or rational deduction.
With that said, I must say I’ve seen/experienced some rather large seat cushion like contraptions over the years that were larger than the permanently installed ones. Due to the continued lardification of America, those things seem to continue to get bigger and bigger, and me/my family have had wonderful experience of being seated next to such devices over the years that literally took up to half of your seat. So in that sense, I can understand banning them from that point alone, though make no mistake I’m confident that profit is at least some component in all of this.
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https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71UwQ0x986L.SY450.jpg
We’ve had this issue in our section as well.
We have issues with the way the athletic department is managed, but this policy change is not one of them.
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Exactly. People are fat as it is, and some of these larger chairs only add to the amount of space they take up. We had a bad experience back in ’15 with one of these, in which the utter slob next to my wife took up at least half of her seat with all his girth, along with his extra wide chair. To make matters worse, my wife is quite petite, so she takes up very little space.
I told the guy his chair is far too big for Sanford’s bleacher seats, and he of course replied that he can’t fit in regular chairs and can’t help that he’s ‘of larger frame’, which was laughable.
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When flying I can’t bring water through the security gate. Once through security at the airport I can buy bottled water or fill my water bottle at the water fountain.
Isn’t this the logic as to why you can’t bring in a cushion with pockets, etc., but can enjoy the previously installed cushion with those features that has already met security protocols?
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Yeah, logic, yeah, that’s the ticket!
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I’m with Bill, some overpaid athletic department employee probably did an analysis and determined that they could make an additional $ 5,000 by rooting out the remaining seat toters. The next non revenue generator to go will be the water stations. After all, that is killing Desani sales. Could pay toilets be next?
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I don’t think enough people are drinking from the toilets to make them charge for that yet.
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Rest assured, we are already in front of this.
For the 2018 season, we will be announcing our next two fan-friendly initiatives, the Sanford Stadium permanent seat license (PSL) and the Bulldog self-serve toilet seat rental kiosk (BSSTSRK).
The innovative aspect of the Sanford Stadium PSL is the ability to occupy your pre-assigned Sanford Stadium bleacher seat for G-Day and ALL Georgia ‘home’ games, regardless to the city they are being held in.
Your PSL also entitles you to use stadium Wi-Fi to cheer on the Dawgs as they try to stay in the hunt in Jacksonville, Atlanta, or any other city who successfully bids on a Georgia home game.
As you have seen in the media, liability insurance on our volunteer restroom maintenance crew has put a severe strain on our budget.
We want to get The Last Word on this and announce that beginning in 2018, we will be removing the remaining toilet seats in all Sanford Stadium restrooms and recycling them in our new BSSTSRKs stationed on each level.
For a nominal charge, all fans will have access to these kiosks and collection stations. These rental seats will be available in a variety of colors and fragrances, so you can show your support regardless of the team you are cheering for and regardless of whether you are attempting a two-point conversion.
Remember, our BSSTSRKs will be stocked for all Georgia ‘home’ games and will carry the seal of approval of our Office Of Sustainability.
So #COMMITTOTHEG and Go Dawgs!
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The seatbacks they sell are pretty uncomfortable, oftentimes still retain water in the cushion because of torn seams if it rained the week before the game, and they can’t even bother to put the seat numbers on them, since they’re covered up on the bleachers. That always makes for fun counting for half the row who may not know exactly where their seats are.
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Good to see the program to rid itself of those fans which want to sit the entire game. Smart wants a program where fans and students stay for the entire game loudly and proudly cheering, complacency will not be tolerated.
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The beatings will continue until morale improves!
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McG has turned the light off at the end of the tunnel to help out with the rainy day fund.
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The positive angle here is the lines at the entry gates, the construction barriers, the restrooms, and concession stands have made seat cushions irrelevant.
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When we were still buying tickets we always bought the seat backs. It’s pretty much the only way to keep a bunch of drunk people from “squeezing in” because, you know, their actual tickets are somewhere in the stratosphere and I met this dude in a bar that has seats down the bench. Or “they’re my children and the whole family wants to sit together.” Really? So buy tickets together. We were in lower level seating. I know they have people stationed at the top of the aisles that are supposed to check tickets but we still had to deal with these folks pretty much every game. We just learned that when they look at you and ask if you can squeeze over you just say no, these things are bolted down. When they get pissed I offer to have the usher help them find their seats. They usually shut up. Yet another reason why I do not miss the game day experience.
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that was me trying to squeeze in and I’m glad you didn’t renew cuz now I lay sideways so that i can toss more popcorn down my hatch while I watch Georgia lose.
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Had I known it was you I would have gladly obliged.
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I don’t get King’s negativity towards Kirby in complaining about seatbacks. We needed a change in seatback culture and he cannot change the seatback culture overnight. It is way too early to give up on his seatback policy.
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Mark Richt was too weak to demand this type of seating policy.
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This!
I’ve heard this is what led to the chernobyl disaster between Pruitt & Richt on the infamous Sunday after Jacksonville.
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Rumor is Coach Pruitt ignored the Butts-Mehre three-man-to-seat rule after the team’s school bus stopped for a candy bar in Waycross.
That signaled the beginning of the end.
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I would guess this has nothing to do with increased security, just a way to get more money. All this griping. If the experience is so bad, quit going to games. They are all on TV.
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If UGA wants to force people to use the seat backs they install, they really need a better product. I’ve sat in friends’ seats before that had them and they are really uncomfortable. I prefer the cold hard bench to sitting on those things.
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The only reason I purchase them is to put a clear boundary on my seats to prevent people from squeezing in.
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that’s actually a good reason to get them, I imagine. I know one of the other replies discussed the UGA rentals tendancy to retain water after a rain for several days. Plus, those things can get kind of grotty/mildew looking.
Maybe they should go ahead and install actual seats, but I’m sure that would cost money. 90,000 times 20 bucks (volume discount? I’m just guessing) is about 1.8 million. 40 bucks is 3.6 million. Seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the 60 plus million they plan on spending on a new locker room, but of course, that isn’t for the actual customers.
Shake some of the tv money loose for a year. Solve the squeeze in problem and make the paying peons who aren’t in the club level a tad more comfortable.
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As mentioned above with my experiences, that makes great sense and, if I were a season ticket holder, I’d do the exact same thing.
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The seat backs they use are trash. Everyone knows it. What a truly forward thinking AD would really be considering right now is ripping the bleachers out of the lower bowl and replacing them with nice seats with cup holders. You might fit 10k less seats in the lower bowl or so, but I would have been happy to pay a little extra to cover the loss of lower level seats to have a nice seat and cup holder for the games.
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They made the seats in the club section smaller recently and did not add cup holders then which would have been a no brainer. They really don’t care about the comfort of anyone not in the box seating.
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And they are about to start competing with 2 brand new stadiums that do care about the comfort of the fan.
Imagine sitting on a hot bench one day in athens and the next enjoying a game in the new falcons stadium.
Plenty of people are also getting a feel for the new suntrust park right now as well.
When Kirby and Greg get run out of town the next guy is going to have his work cut out to try and build all this back up and it might never happen.
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We went to the Georgia baseball game at SunTrust last weekend. The new park is spectacular.
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I watched one of the Braves-Padres games on TV last weekend, and on TV at least it didn’t seem all that impressive. Seemed fairly ho-hum and actually reminded me a bit of Turner Field.
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I liked it better than Turner Field … I thought they did a really good job with the park.
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That’s good — we plan on attending a game during our next trip to ATL. From what I understand, the stadium is on the smaller side and one of the smallest in baseball in terms of capacity. I also believe they plan on making the immediate area kind of an entertainment like space with shops, dining, etc.
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It is small — about 42k capacity. They are trying to create a community around the park. Of course, the city tried that with Turner Field and failed miserably.
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I 100% disagree with that. I don’t believe the city tried at all to develop a community around the park (mayors going all the way back to the 1970’s were more than content to collect parking revenues rather than incentivize development around the area). Kasim Reed truly believed that the Braves would never leave so he thought the city had all the leverage while the Braves were secretly in cahoots with Cobb County. That, and it being clear that the city was going to take care of the Falcons for a 2nd time in 20 years, are the biggest reasons the Braves are no longer located in downtown Atlanta.
As a Cobb County taxpayer, I absolutely hate the way this shady ass deal went down (I am fundamentally opposed to providing public financing for billionaire capital projects when every single legit economic study has shown it does nothing to bring long-term economic benefit to an area), but the city of Atlanta had 50 years to make something happen by the old ballpark and did absolutely nothing that whole time so I do at least understand the Braves position.
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As an Atlanta native who spent most of my life in the area until my late 20’s, the thing that always bewildered me (and friends/family from other cities when they came to visit) was the fact that both Fulton Co. Stadium and Turner Field were basically non-accessible from Marta.
You have something like 50 miles of track and myriad stations, yet they never bothered to make either stadium accessible via Marta, which is embarrassingly absurd. So many visitors from other major cities couldn’t get over this, and wondered how a city could have such a lack of vision or simply be so poorly managed.
Also, as you mentioned, the fact that the city chose the Falcons (to support with funding) instead of the Braves defies all logic. The Falcons host 8 home games yearly compared to the Braves 81 — for that reason alone it should have been a no-brainer as to who to throw your support behind.
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The Cobb County traffic management plan for the new stadium estimates that 82% of attendees will be arriving via personal vehicle. That is absolutely mind-boggling to me. It’s ridiculous that public transit isn’t a real option to get to a stadium for most people in a major city.
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I guess my point is that the city thought that the new stadium in the ’90s after the Olympics would be a reason that people would consider living in the stadium area. They built in and the people never came.
Generally, I agree with everything you’re saying, but I do remember the sales job on the Olympics was that Turner Field would become a centerpiece of south Atlanta’s redevelopment and a part of the Olympic legacy.
I totally agree with the perspective about stadium development and the use of public money.
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I’ve attended two games with capacity crowds at SunTrust Park and found the traffic situation to be much better than Turner Field.
The key was the large number of people who arrived early and left late to explore the restaurants and bars in the area kept the traffic volume to a reasonable level. How long this lasts after the newness wears off is anyone’s guess, but the Braves and Cobb County are off to a very good start.
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Also, Audit is correct about the city of Atlanta’s lack of effort in working with the Braves. With Turner Field, the Braves were interested in making the area more of a destination than the acres of city revenue-generating surface lots surrounding the ballpark.
Sadly, the ill-fated Fan-Plex represented the sum-total of the city’s effort. After nearly two decades at Turner Field (and 31 seasons before that at Atlanta Stadium), there was still no landscaping, no parking deck facilities, no street-level retail, no additional lighting, no business incentives to move to the area, no rapid transit, no nothing for Summerhill.
Even the city’s streetcar boondoggle didn’t go there.
The city was confident the Braves had no negotiation leverage on the lease renewal, so they refused to negotiate in good faith and ended up getting what they deserved.
I believe Georgia State University will do more for the area than the city ever did, but the city missed a big opportunity in not working with the Braves.
http://www.clatl.com/news/article/13064891/fanplex-fulton-countys-failed-video-arcade-and-minigolf-experiment-finally-finds-a-purpose-update
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My thoughts exactly. At least on TV it seemed rather generic, standard for any number of baseball stadiums around the country and not unlike the Ted. More of the same in a different neighborhood. No more $10 parking on somebody’s front lawn.
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I believe the seats were renumbered in the early 90s to add more seats.
Even if they didn’t adding seats with cup holder would reduce capacity. Could you see the uprising if they announced season ticket holder were having to given up tickets, and that the price was increasing at the same time? B-M isn’t the smartest but I think even they can see the train wreck in that.
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They have done it again then since I lived in Greenville when they did that and I have only been here since fall of 2006.
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The Senator tabled his cynicism, so let me see if I can take a shot at it:
This is about profit taking- the AD henchman is saying “no seats with backs”- but they will be happy to sell you their own shitty seat back so you can keep lard asses off your territory- all in the name of SECURITY- someone call Nell Carter and gimme a damn break. They pretty much do the same thing at the Masters, so my supposition is that someone invited our beloved accountant over there this year and instead of a $2 beer or Disney like crowd control implementation- you know things that would actually enhance fan experience- he found another way to hose the folks out of a few more bucks.
It honestly amazes me how little he cares about whether he is liked or not by his paying customers. He knows he can have congress level approval ratings but because the Board keeps cashing checks, he’s good.
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A big difference between this and the Masters is that you don’t have to buy a chair from them every year in Augusta. You can spend your $35 one time and use the chair in perpetuity. The folks in B-M are saying you can spend an amount every year per seat to borrow a seat with a back that has been bolted to your seat location.
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If there were a terrorist attack, which would be horrible for the victims and their families, and also for college football, all of these complainers would be first to berate the UGA administration for not taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of the team and the fans.
Thanks to the SEC for the bag policy, and to the UGA Administration for going a step further with this cushion policy to protect all of the rabid dawg attendees including these naysayers/complainers/winers.
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The clear bag is adding nothing to your security. Women aren’t generally the ones packing heat. They do not use metal detectors so men can still carry anything in their pocket since no one is patted down either. This was never about real security. Of course they still check my husband’s binocular every game to make sure he is not sneaking liquor in. No alcohol on his breath ever but the same guy checks every game.
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Terrorists use other means of destruction in addition to firearms that are non-metallic, but they might be seen in a clear bag if security is trained to identify typical components.
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You have a higher statistical probability of being struck by lightning twice than ever being involved in a terrorist incident. Lazy logic at its finest.
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Probably because there are security plans in place.
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Or this particular decision has nothing to do with security. But sure – keep knocking yourself out with that view.
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Are you suggesting B-M would lie to us to collect a dollar?
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Yea, it took me 20 years in the lottery to get a practice round ticket. In perpetuity doesn’t mean much to me.
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Until people starts bringing in huge chairs the masters let you bring in chairs. Then they moved to armless chairs. Last year we took a collapsible stool.
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Well played
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While I generally agree with your line of thinking when it comes to the care (or lack thereof) that the AA has for the fans, this decision aligns with the efforts to ease entry into the stadium and prevent someone from bringing in a weapon or other contraband smuggled in through one of the bulkier folding seatbacks.
It would be nice however if they added backs to the existing bleachers to remedy the loss. Who am I kidding though.
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Football attracts a significantly higher percentage of overweight fans than most other sports. It is not a sport that lends itself well to bleacher seating and the undefined seat boundaries that come with that.
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This is absolutely true, especially in SEC country. I’ve attended quite a number of sporting events over the years, from myriad college sports/events to the US Open tennis to minor league baseball. And if there was ever a sport or conference that badly needs defined seating, its SEC football. BTW, from my experience, Auburn fans are the fattest of all.
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You sit your butthole on the number. It’s crude but not rocket science. The problem is places like Neyland Stadium where the seating numbers aren’t even spaced for us non-obese people. That dump should should have a capacity closer to 90k than 100k.
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You just use the knees of the inconsiderate drunk behind you as a back rest.
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At this rate we’ll be removing seats like Tech before long. Hell, at this rate, I’ll be giving up 30 seasons worth of tickets. I already missed more games than I ever have last season because I have no faith in the decision makers, no faith in the program’s direction. I loyally soldiered through the 90s and for this?? I’m not just referring to the seat cushions, either. I’ve always been one of the more optimistic Dawg fans but I now find myself becoming more and more embittered.
For most of my life, Georgia football games were the only time I could spend with my dad and guarantee we’d never fight or argue. I can’t emphasize how much that means to me. Georgia football games have always been a family/friends reunion, too. The games have always been priority but It’s been so much more. Now It’s feeling more like work and I’ve all but lost hope in the direction.
McGarity has done jack for the program yet somehow gets to play a part in the firing of one of our best coaches, throwing Gurley under the bus, yet somehow still keeps his job. House needs be cleaned.
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Excuse my stream of emotional consciousness.
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Maybe it’s my own fault for putting so much emphasis and hope into a GAME.
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Anybody who thinks this was done for “security reasons” , I have some ocean front property in Albany I would like to sell you. The AA knows that the bench seating causes problems as far as squeezing in but they just DGAS. They are able to sell the solution on a yearly basis. This new rule will mostly eliminate only the kinds of seats that were sold in the bookstore. The seats with backs could establish your area just like the rental seats. I quite buying season tickets 3 years ago because of age and distance traveled but I really don’t see how UGA can keep up this screwing of the average fan for much longer save that Kirby really can deliver a better product than Mark. We’ll see but it will be from home on my TV.
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I’ve gotten seat backs for years, but this year I stopped. Honestly I really didn’t like them anymore.
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Just another reason not to go to games. My sofa and my easy chair both have a back and arms. Not to mention there is no line for the bathroom, the bathroom is clean and the drinks and snacks are all reasonably priced.
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Guess what? They are still selling stadium seats with a back through the UGA Bookstore.
http://www.bkstr.com/ProductDisplay?urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10001&categoryId=10060&productId=69504883&errorViewName=ProductDisplayErrorView&langId=-1&top_category=&parent_category_rn=&storeId=10210
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Why not keep selling them;-). You can still use the seatbacks just about anywhere…..except at UGA home football games.
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I was hoping I would see them for sale on Georgiadogs.com, but they are only selling the Bulldog Seatback. You can even get the MVP seat with arm rests. This is such a joke wrapped up in security. It’s ridiculous just like taking off your shoes at the airport.
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Ironically, I just received my complimentary clear plastic bag in the mail today with a nice note from the UGAA thanking me for my Hartman Fund contribution. Maybe next year, they’ll send us seatbacks chairs with arm rests, jk
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BTW, I wonder how many visiting fans show up with seatbacks in hand only to be told they must either throw them away or not enter the stadium, hahahaha.
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And how many of those will be re-sold at the bookstore, on Baxter Street, or on Sanford Drive, only to be confiscated and re-sold again.
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