Greg McGarity is excited about new bathrooms… at least as much as he can be.
“To see it now, coming into play, there are a lot of workers on site, just like any other project that closes. It’ll certainly be dynamic and a tremendous addition for our fans and our prospective student-athletes as well as our current kids. They’ll really enjoy these new spaces.”
Seeing as that’s where the bulk of the $63 million is going, I’m sure the recruits and players will.
Meanwhile, official word came down yesterday from UGAAA that the brand new Bulldogs Tailgate Club is already offering a 20% discount on its season ticket packages and that a limited number of individual game packages will be available soon. The laws of supply and demand are a bitch sometimes. Apparently Michael Adams’ war on tailgating has left its mark, which is ironic now that the school has finally gotten around to monetizing it.
While I give Butts-Mehre credit for not ignoring fan needs completely, there’s still a way to go on the planning and implementing stage, no matter how many times McGarity utters the word dynamic. Let’s hope they make a good faith effort to improve there.
Get The Picture 
Well said…
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Yeah, I looked into it, because it would be really convenient, but it was crazy expensive. AND you can’t grill, which we often do. AND they shut it down after the 1st qtr, so no hanging out and waiting for traffic to clear. It really didn’t meet our needs, even if money weren’t an issue. But I am a thrifty soul, and there’s no way I could justify the money, even if it did. :).
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It looked to me like the absolute worst tailgating experience possible other than the location as it pertained to walking to the stadium. I would equate this tailgating package to something the govt would come up with.
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Location is bad with respect to parking. It is not catered, so you get to pay the Athletic Department thousands of dollars for the ‘privilege’ of hauling your own tailgating supplies several blocks up and down the hill between your rental tent and your car before the game.
It will only take one game for Bulldog Tailgate Club members to realize the expensive mistake they made.
The only thing this accomplished was making all the loyal season ticket holders who used to park at the North Deck mad. Announcing it after the the contribution and ticket money was in just added insult to injury.
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“Dynamic” – does that mean they’ll be se urinals where the water swirls around in the bottom???
Seriously though, the tailgating thing was sure to be a bust. Big money people already had good and convenient spots in the Journalism, Chemistry and Railroad lots. Hardcore tailgaters, who have already spent a bunch of money on their rigs, spots, etc., aren’t gonna just chuck ’em AND pay more to be closer, and the “amenities” offered were, pretty pathetic (two whole coolers worth of ice!). No doubt this would’ve worked better 5 years ago, but they are (as usual), behind the times…
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Its amazing we made it just fine for decades with $shitty bathrooms, long lines and bad food and now its always a subject of discussion.
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Who’s this “we” you’re referring to? There are plenty of folks who have stopped going to Georgia games.
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And can you honestly say its because of the bathrooms or the food? Its because of ticket prices, crappy games, competition for time and $$ (Braves, United, Falcons), increasing time devoted to kids sports, changing game times….
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It’s all kinds of things.
The main point is that B-M hasn’t adapted to the market. No doubt it doesn’t feel the need to do so, given ticket demand. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t legitimate grievances about the game day experience.
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Agree with you there. It’s what it is. It should be better. No doubt. Why not go all the way? I couldn’t stand Michael Adams and I am not fan of McGarity. I think there is a laziness in Athens that comes from success and a lack of accountability. Morehead, is Morehead. There is NO incentive to demanding excellence. But if I am Kirby I go into both their offices and tell them what needs to happen. I think it is happening now to a degree. But I don’t go to games or not because of bathrooms or music, or concession lines.
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BM has record revenue and more demand than they can satisfy when it comes to football. They have zero motivation to spend money to improve the game day experience. The laughable tailgate packages show how little they care about the game day experience.
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We were fine with bad bathrooms when tickets were $30 and you could park on the sidewalk on Baldwin St. They were the ones who monetized everything, so now they have to offer an experience that makes it worth the money and inconvenience. In the long term, Ubiquitous HDTV coverage may be stiffer competition than they can handle.
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When there were only a couple of games a year on tv, yes, you would put up with a lot more “stuff” to be there…
I would also add that no one needed an area like this 20 or 30 years ago, because you could just roll-up Saturday morning, park in almost any parking lot or sidewalk you wanted, and stand or sit-around your car and have some food and a few drinks before the game…
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Put up with stuff? We showed up at what is now Legion Lot at the crack of down and if we wanted to grill, we carried a small Coleman.
Granted the students had a gripe and these days the students would be blocked in by Thursday.
I love a game in Athens but the stadium is not placed well for modern tailgating which is compounded by a clueless Athletic Department which can not figure out how many trash cans they need for open tailgate areas.
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Lines did not move any faster at a Braves game a month ago. If you want more than peanuts and a Coke at a UGA game, you’re tailgating wrong.
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Mike Adams – I hope he is never allowed to set foot back on campus.
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I would really be pissed if I had spent a lot of money to join the Bulldog Tailgate Club then learned a few weeks later that others were getting the same for 20% less.
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Anyone who was thinking about joining the “Bulldog Tailgate Club” was a fool for not following Groucho Marx’s rule on clubs: I would never belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member!
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Did you pledge Delta Tau Chi while you were in Athens?
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A bucket of chicken and few cold drinks…that’s my idea of a perfect tailgate…I’m not moving in…
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Much better amenities and cost nothing at my tailgate in Five Points…………….
Tailgated at Sigma Chi for 40+ years. New business school moved all those lots. Tried Boggs. Have been told 20+ times “you can’t do that” They have no clue
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I still think the no tailgating until five hours before kickoff rule on North Campus is such BS. It’s totally destroyed the game day experience on campus and near downtown. I’ll never forget all the big games I went to as a kid when those two quads were rocking with excitement and you could feel a special buzz in the air. When I was in school and living downtown, I would walk through North Campus on my way to a tailgate up by Myers Quad and it’d be completely dead. As a life-long Dawgs fan, that just sucked the life out of me some game days. I understand the concern about people trashing those quads, but the university could easily afford to pay people to clean up during the game or get students and kids from the community who need community service or environmentally conscious volunteers to do it for free. If Ole Miss can figure out how to keep the Grove nice, it shouldn’t be too hard for UGA to create a system that allows people to enjoy themselves on the nicest part of campus.
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It’s easy to figure out when you care
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And killing the grass and the trees? Collateral damage?
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That’s a valid concern, but it was never the reason given by the administration for implementing restrictions. It was always about the trash and unruly behavior (https://www.ajc.com/news/local/uga-eases-tailgating-restrictions/MNq2rTdbvSsmO7rYHIvKpM/).
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What grass? North Campus is mostly weeds.
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