| "The Flats" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Former names | Grant Field (1914-1988) |
| Location | 155 North Ave., N.W., Atlanta, GA 30332 |
| Coordinates | 33°46′21″N 84°23′34″W / 33.7725°N 84.39278°WCoordinates: 33°46′21″N 84°23′34″W / 33.7725°N 84.39278°W |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Owner | Georgia Tech |
| Operator | Georgia Tech |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $15,000 (original west stands) $75 million (Latest expansion) |
| Capacity | 55,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
(NCAA)
(1913-Present) Atlanta Beat (WUSA) (2001) Atlanta Apollos (NASL) (1973) Peach Bowl (NCAA) (1968-1970) |
|
Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field is the football stadium located at the corner of North Avenue at Techwood Drive on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It has been home to the Yellow Jackets football team, often referred to as the "Ramblin' Wreck," in rudimentary form since 1905 and as a complete stadium since 1913. The team participates in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. It is also the oldest and winningest stadium in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
Bobby Dodd Stadium is named in honor of Robert Lee "Bobby" Dodd,[1] longtime football coach and athletic director at Georgia Tech. The field is named for Hugh Inman Grant, son of John W. Grant, a well-known Atlanta merchant and original benefactor of the stadium.
Contents |
The stadium is located on the east side of the Georgia Tech campus,[2] across from freshman housing facilities and just a short walk to the campus library and fraternity/sorority row. The facility is located in midtown Atlanta, just off Interstate 75/85 (the "Downtown Connector"), across from the famed Varsity restaurant. The stadium's atmosphere is unique in its setting, with a picturesque view of the downtown and midtown Atlanta skylines looming overhead during games.
It was previously known as Grant Field (having been renamed Bobby Dodd Stadium in 1988), and in fact the playing surface itself, as opposed to the stadium, is still styled as such. It is the oldest continuously used on-campus site for college football in the southern United States, and the oldest in the FBS.[3]
Football has been played at the current site since 1905. In 1913, permanent grandstands were built for the first time, mostly by Tech students.[4][5]
The stadium bears little, if any, resemblance to its original form, having been expanded many times. The original facility, roughly corresponding to the lower level of the current stadium's west grandstands, seated 5,600. By 1925, the west and south stands were completed, making the stadium a 30,000-seat horseshoe with an open north end. The west stands were rebuilt and a large press box was added in 1947, bringing capacity up to 44,000. The original all-steel 4,105-seat North stands were erected in 1958, and in 1962 and 1968 the upper decks were added to the East and West sides, respectively, bringing capacity to its all-time high of 58,121. In 1985 the South stands were razed to make room for the William C. Wardlaw Center, a modern field house and athletic office facility to replace the facilities in the old Heisman Gym, which was located just to the north of the stadium.
The current, modern west grandstand covers the old concrete one, which is still intact underneath. The high interstitial space is currently used for storage. Grant Field was occasionally used as a site for Atlanta Falcons games during the team's early years when it was sharing Fulton County Stadium with the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and there were scheduling conflicts. The lighting was replaced in 1998.[6]
Following the 2001 season, a major expansion and renovation project was started, which was done in two phases in order to play the 2002 season in the stadium. For the 2002 season, seating was returned to the South end in front of the Wardlaw Center, and the original North stands and lower east bleachers were rebuilt and bowled in. After the 2002 season, the expansion was completed by adding a massive free standing upper deck in the north end zone. This addition of a north end zone upper deck brought Bobby Dodd Stadium to its current capacity. The new stadium was rededicated during the 2003 home season opener versus the Auburn Tigers on September 2, 2003.
In the summer of 2009, Bobby Dodd Stadium underwent a number of changes. First, the scoreboard was renovated and after completion, is now twice as big as the old scoreboard. Also, ribbon boards were installed in front of the Wardlaw Center, as well as along the sides of the stadium. Another change was the improvement of the sound system in the stadium. [7]
October 7, 1916: Georgia Tech
222, Cumberland College 0
In the most lopsided game in American football history, Georgia
Tech, under legendary coach John Heisman, defeated Cumberland College
222-0. It has been said that Coach Heisman was repaying the
Bulldogs for a 22-0 defeat the previous year in baseball in which
Cumberland had used allegedly professional players to ensure
victory. In any case, the Engineers (as the Georgia Tech team was
known at the time) never threw a pass and never took more than four
plays to score.
November 29, 1917: Georgia Tech 68, Auburn
7
This win marked the end of the first undefeated, untied National
Championship season for the Yellow Jackets. In 1917, Georgia Tech
would outscore opponents 491-17 in the midst of a 33 game
undefeated streak spanning over 5 seasons.
December 8, 1928: Georgia Tech 20, Georgia 6
This was the culmination of Georgia Tech's second perfect season
and National Championship, though the Yellow Jackets would go on to
the Rose Bowl to face Cal in what would turn out to be a famous game itself.
Georgia Tech played only two away games in its 9-0 regular season
lineup hosting Notre Dame, Alabama, Auburn and Georgia. The main
reason for this is that many of the other southern teams' stadiums
were not as large or accessible as Grant Field in Midtown
Atlanta.
November 15, 1952: #4 Georgia Tech 7, #12 Alabama 3
In one of the biggest games of Georgia Tech's third National
Championship season, two of the highest ranked teams to ever face
off on Grant Field saw Georgia Tech defeat Alabama in a closely
matched defensive battle. Tech, which had already defeated #6 Duke would go
on to defeat Florida State, Georgia and
undefeated #7 Mississippi (in the Sugar Bowl) in the midst
of a 31-game undefeated streak.
November 17, 1962: Georgia Tech 7, #1 Alabama
6
This incredible upset victory over top-ranked Alabama ended the
Crimson Tide's 26-game unbeaten streak. Bobby Dodd called it his
greatest victory as Tech thwarted Alabama comeback efforts by
preventing a two-point conversion attempt and intercepting a Joe
Namath pass deep in their own territory with just 1:05 left.
October 13, 1990: #15 Georgia Tech 21, #14 Clemson
19
Only two seasons removed from a dreadful 3-8 1988 season, Coach Bobby Ross had led
his team to a 4-0 record to face the Tigers. The Yellow Jackets
came out on top of this closely-matched battle and would go on to
defeat #1 Virginia and #19 Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl for its fourth National
Championship.
October 17, 1998: #25 Georgia Tech 41, #7 Virginia
38
In the second meeting between two highly ranked Georgia Tech and
Virginia teams (the first being in 1990), Georgia Tech again came
out victorious by the same score of 41-38 earning the Yellow Jackets a share of
the ACC Championship. This time, Virginia missed a field goal in
the final seconds prompting thousands of Georgia Tech fans to pour
onto the field.
November 27, 1999: #16 Georgia Tech 51, #21 Georgia 48 (OT)
In the highest scoring game ever in the series, Georgia overcame a
17-point deficit in the second half to tie the game and appeared to
be within easy victory after driving all the way to Tech's 2-yard
line with nine seconds left in regulation. Rather than kick a game
winning field goal, however, Georgia coach Jim Donnan called a
running play that resulted in a controversial fumble by Jasper
Sanks. In overtime, after holding Georgia out of the end zone, Tech
attempted a field goal on third down, but was blocked. Tech holder
George Godsey recovered the ball, however, and Tech's second chance
at the kick was good. The Georgia Tech student section rushed the
field and tore down the goal posts, chanting "To Hell With Georgia"
to the tune the UGA fight song.
November 1, 2008: Georgia Tech 31, #16 Florida State
28
During Paul Johnson's first year as Head Coach, Georgia Tech had a
6-2 record going into the game. Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden
had never lost to Georgia Tech in 12 meetings, since 1975. Georgia
Tech fell behind by a touchdown twice in the first quarter, but
pulled ahead in the 2nd quarter to finish the first half up 24-20.
A third quarter touchdown put Tech up 31-20, but Florida State
rallied back, scoring a touchdown and converting on the two-point
attempt to come within three. On their final drive Florida State
drove down to inside the five yard line. Florida State running back
Marcus Sims dove for the endzone and was met by Georgia Tech
freshman, Cooper Taylor, son of former Tech QB Jim-Bob Taylor. The
football was knocked loose into the endzone and recovered by Tech
freshman Rashaad Reid to secure the victory for Georgia Tech. Chaos
ensued as fans swarmed the field after witnessing their team snap a
12 game losing streak to the Seminoles, Tech's longest to any
modern team.
October 17, 2009: #19 Georgia Tech 28, #4 Virginia Tech
23
This win is the first time Georgia Tech defeated a top 5 team at
home since it defeated No. 1 Alabama 7-6 in 1962. After the victory
students rushed the field, tore down the North Goal Post, and
carried it to Georgia Tech President George P. "Bud" Peterson's house. The
victory launched the Jackets to #11 in the AP Poll. It also ended
up as the game which won the ACC Coastal Division title which
allowed the Jackets to beat Clemson in the 2009 ACC Championship Game
and earn its first conference title since 1998 and its first Orange Bowl berth since
1967.
| Preceded by first stadium |
Home of the Peach Bowl 1968 – 1970 |
Succeeded by Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium |
| Preceded by Miami Orange Bowl |
Host of the Drum Corps International World Championship 1984 |
Succeeded by Camp Randall Stadium |
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| "The Flats" | |
|---|---|
| Former names | Grant Field (1914-1988) |
| Location | 155 North Ave., N.W., Atlanta, GA 30332 |
| Coordinates | 33°46′21″N 84°23′34″W / 33.7725°N 84.39278°WCoordinates: 33°46′21″N 84°23′34″W / 33.7725°N 84.39278°W |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Owner | Georgia Tech |
| Operator | Georgia Tech |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost |
$15,000 (original west stands) $75 million (Latest expansion) |
| Capacity | 55,000 |
| Tenants | |
|
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (NCAA) (1913-Present) Atlanta Beat (WUSA) (2001) Atlanta Apollos (NASL) (1973) Peach Bowl (NCAA) (1968-1970) | |
Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field is the football stadium at the corner of North Avenue at Techwood Drive on the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It has been home to the Yellow Jackets football team since 1905. It is also the oldest stadium in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.
Bobby Dodd Stadium is named in honor of Robert Lee "Bobby" Dodd,[1] longtime football coach and athletic director at Georgia Tech. The field is named for Hugh Inman Grant, son of John W. Grant, an Atlanta merchant.
Contents |
The stadium is located on the east side of the Georgia Tech campus.[2] It is in the middle of Atlanta, just off Interstate 75/85, across from the Varsity restaurant.
It was first known as Grant Field (it was renamed Bobby Dodd Stadium in 1988). The stadium is the oldest continuously used on-campus site for college football in the southern United States.[3]
Football has been played at the current site since 1905. In 1913, grandstands were built for the first time, mostly by Tech students.[4][5]
The stadium does not look like it originally did. It has been expanded several times. The original stadium seated 5,600. By 1925, the west and south stands were completed, making the stadium a 30,000-seat horseshoe with an open north end. The west stands were rebuilt and a large press box was added in 1947, bringing capacity up to 44,000. The original all-steel 4,105-seat North stands were built in 1958. In 1962 and 1968 the upper decks were added to the East and West sides bringing capacity to its all-time high of 58,121. In 1985 the South stands were taken down to make room for the William C. Wardlaw Center.
The west grandstand now covers the old one, which is still underneath it. Grant Field was occasionally used as a site for Atlanta Falcons games during the team's early years when it was sharing Fulton County Stadium with the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. If the Falcons needed to play a game at the same time as the Braves, they would play at Grant Field. The lighting was replaced in 1998.[6]
Following the 2001 season, a major expansion and renovation project was started, which was done in two phases in order to play the 2002 season in the stadium. For the 2002 season, seating was returned to the South end in front of the Wardlaw Center, and the original North stands and lower east bleachers were rebuilt and bowled in. After the 2002 season, the expansion was completed by adding a free standing upper deck in the north end zone. This addition of a north end zone upper deck brought Bobby Dodd Stadium to its current capacity. The new stadium was rededicated during the 2003 home season opener versus the Auburn Tigers on September 2, 2003.
In the summer of 2009, Bobby Dodd Stadium underwent a number of changes. First, the scoreboard was renovated and after completion, is now twice as big as the old scoreboard. Also, ribbon boards were installed in front of the Wardlaw Center, as well as along the sides of the stadium. Another change was the improvement of the sound system in the stadium. [7]
| Error creating thumbnail: sh: convert: command not found |
   | Official Georgia Tech Athletics page for Boddy Dodd Stadium - Bobby Dodd Stadium At Historic Grant Field - GEORGIA TECH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE |
| | Bobby Dodd Stadium At Historic Grant Field :: A Cornerstone of College Football for Nearly a Century - Bobby Dodd Stadium At Historic Grant Field - GEORGIA TECH OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE |
| | Campus Map: Bobby Dodd Stadium - Georgia Institute of Technology :: Campus Map |
| | Let there be light at Bobby Dodd Stadium - Let there be light at Bobby Dodd Stadium |
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