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![]() Center Parc Stadium in December 2017 | |
Former names | Centennial Olympic Stadium (1996) Turner Field (1997–2016) Georgia State Stadium (2017–2020) |
---|---|
Address | 755 Hank Aaron Drive SE [1] |
Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
Coordinates | 33°44′7″N84°23′22″W / 33.73528°N 84.38944°W |
Owner | Georgia State University |
Capacity | 24,333 [2] |
Surface | FieldTurf [3] |
Construction | |
Broke ground | July 10, 1993 (as Centennial Olympic Stadium) |
Opened | August 18, 2017 |
Renovated | 1996–97 (rebuilt as Turner Field) 2017 (rebuilt as Center Parc Stadium) |
Construction cost | $209 million (as Centennial Olympic Stadium) [4] ($406 million in 2023 dollars [5] ) |
Architect | Atlanta Stadium Design Team (a joint venture of Heery International, Inc., Rosser International, Inc., Williams-Russell and Johnson, Inc. and Ellerbe Becket, Inc.) [6] |
Tenants | |
Georgia State Panthers (NCAA) (2017–present) Atlanta Legends (AAF) (2019) [7] MEAC/SWAC Challenge (NCAA) (2019-present) |
Center Parc Stadium (also commonly referred to as Georgia State University or GSU Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium is the home of the Georgia State University Panthers football team as of the 2017 season, replacing the Georgia Dome which had served as their home stadium from the program's inception in 2010 until 2016. [8]
It was originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics as Centennial Olympic Stadium . Following the 1996 Summer Paralympics, the Olympic Stadium was reconfigured as designed into the baseball-specific Turner Field , serving as the home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball from 1997 until 2016. After the Braves' departure for Truist Park in Cobb County, Georgia State University acquired the stadium and its surrounding parking lots for a large scale expansion of the university's campus, including new private and student housing, academic, and retail space, in addition to the stadium redevelopment.
Center Parc Stadium is the second former Braves ballpark to be converted to a college football stadium, the first being Boston's Nickerson Field. [9]
The stadium was originally constructed as the 85,000-seat Centennial Olympic Stadium and used for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Private entities, including NBC and other Olympic sponsors, agreed to pay a large sum of the cost to build the Centennial Olympic Stadium (approximately $170 million of the $209 million bill). It was complete and ready for the opening ceremony in July 1996, where it hosted track and field events and the closing ceremony.
The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) designed and built the stadium in a way that it could be readily converted to a new baseball stadium, and ACOG would pay for the conversion. This was considered a good agreement for both the Olympic Committee and the Braves. The 71,000-seat Georgia Dome had been completed four years earlier by the state of Georgia to become the home of the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons, so there was no need for another large stadium in downtown Atlanta. Furthermore, the Braves had already been exploring opportunities for a new stadium.
Immediately after the 1996 Summer Paralympics, which followed the Olympics, the stadium went through its first conversion. In the multimillion-dollar renovation covered by the ACOG, much of the north end of the stadium was removed in order to convert it to its permanent use as a 49,000-seat baseball park. This involved demolishing the temporary stands that had made up nearly half the Olympic stadium and replacing them with outfield stands and other attractions behind them.
The Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority continued to own the stadium and leased it to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2016. The Braves operated the stadium. As Turner Field, the stadium hosted notable events such as games 1 and 2 of the 1999 World Series and the 2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The end of the Braves' most recent lease in 2016 coincided with the team's departure for Truist Park. [10]
In November 2013, the Atlanta Braves announced that they would vacate Turner Field upon the expiration of their lease in 2016 after negotiations between the team and the city of Atlanta to extend the lease broke down. [11] According to then-Braves vice chairman John Schuerholz, Turner Field required $350 million in renovations—$150 million for structural upkeep and $200 million to improve the fan experience. [12] Then-Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed stated that the city could not afford the cost of the renovations desired by the Braves while also partially funding the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Falcons [13] and the renovation of Philips Arena (now known as State Farm Arena) for the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. [14]
Between April and May 2014, Georgia State University announced its intentions to pursue the 77-acre (31 ha) Turner Field site for a mixed use development. One proposed development plan included reconfiguring Turner Field into a football stadium and building a new baseball field on the footprint of the former Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, incorporating the wall where Hank Aaron hit his historic 715th home run; an alternate proposal submitted in November 2015 proposed adaptively reusing portions of the ballpark for a mixed housing and retail development while a new football-specific stadium was built to the north along with the aforementioned new baseball field. [15] [16] On December 21, 2015, the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority announced that they had accepted Georgia State's bid for the stadium property. [17] It was decided to go with the reconfiguration plan and on August 18, 2016, Georgia State and the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority reached a tentative purchase agreement for Turner Field, and the purchase and redevelopment plan was approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on November 9, 2016. [18] [19]
The sale of the Turner Field property to Georgia State was officially closed on January 5, 2017, with the stadium conversion project beginning in February 2017. [20] The stadium acquisition and renovation project was expected to cost $52.8 million; the university did not expect to add or increase student fees to fund the project, and the proceeds would come from revenue from bookstore operations, parking, and housing, as well as private donations. Renovations took place over multiple phases, and included installing an artificial turf playing surface, reorienting the lower bowl, covering upper deck seating, and upgrading locker rooms. Initial capacity for the stadium was 23,000, with future expansion for 33,000. In addition to football, the university intends to use the stadium as a multipurpose facility. [19]
The university announced on February 9, 2017 that the Panthers' first game in Georgia State Stadium was scheduled for August 31, 2017 against Tennessee State. [21] Reconstruction for Georgia State Stadium began on February 27, 2017, and the first phase of construction was completed prior to the Panthers' first scheduled game at the stadium. The second phase of construction took place in 2018 and built out the remainder of the stadium. While the university planned to tailor the stadium to suit the Panthers' football team and its future needs, the university also planned to honor the legacy of the 1996 Olympics and the Braves' tenure at the stadium. [22] On August 8, 2017, the university announced that the playing surface would be named in honor of Georgia State alumnus Parker H. "Pete" Petit, who contributed $10 million towards the Panthers athletic program. [23]
Prior to and since the acceptance of the bid from Georgia State and developers Carter and Oakwood Development for Turner Field, residents of the Summerhill and Mechanicsville neighborhoods, which lie adjacent to the stadium, have expressed their criticisms over the impending development, particularly over the potential of being displaced due to gentrification, despite both Georgia State and the developers seeking input from local residents to help mitigate their concerns. In April 2017, protesters set up a tent city near the stadium; however, the encampment was removed by the Georgia State Police Department at the behest of Summerhill residents in June 2017 for health and safety reasons. [24]
On August 11, 2020, the university entered a naming rights agreement with the Atlanta Postal Credit Union (APCU), in a contract lasting 15 years and valued at $21 million. The stadium was renamed under APCU's new consumer brand Center Parc as Center Parc Stadium. [25] [26] Under the agreement, APCU can change the name of the stadium no more than twice with approval from the university and the Georgia Board of Regents. [27]
The stadium's first event was the 2017 Corky Kell Classic, a series of high school football games, on August 18 and 19, 2017. [28] The first Panthers home game in the stadium was on August 31, 2017, a 17–10 loss to the Tennessee State Tigers in front of an announced sellout crowd of 24,333. [29] Georgia State's first home victory at Center Parc Stadium came on October 26, 2017 with a 21–13 victory over the South Alabama Jaguars. [30]
Foo Fighters played the first concert at Center Parc Stadium on April 28, 2018 as part of the Concrete and Gold Tour. [31]
The Legends' first home game was played on February 24, 2019 against the Birmingham Iron, where they lost 28-12. [32] [33]
On September 10, 2022, Georgia State hosted a Power 5 conference school for the first time in the Panthers' history. [34] The game was a 35-28 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
In 2018, Center Parc Stadium became the new neutral home of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. [35]
On May 7, 2019, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) announced that the football championships would be moved from Mercedes-Benz Stadium to Center Parc Stadium starting in the 2019 season, citing the higher costs of renting Mercedes-Benz Stadium compared to the former Georgia Dome. The GHSA's first two years at Mercedes-Benz Stadium were also marred by logistical issues, with the six of the eight 2017 championship games postponed and moved to school sites due to a winter storm hitting Atlanta on the weekend of the championships, and the 2018 championships were moved to mid-week due to Major League Soccer's Atlanta United FC hosting MLS Cup 2018 on December 8. [36] In December 2022, the GHSA and the Atlanta Falcons reached a three-year agreement, starting in the 2023 season, to bring the football championships back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. [37]
Center Parc Stadium is located in the Southeastern Atlanta neighborhood of Summerhill. [38] It is located on Hank Aaron Drive, which provides multiple parking areas.
Center Parc Stadium is also accessible from multiple bus routes near the stadium courtesy of MARTA. MARTA does not offer a direct rail station at the stadium; however, it can be accessed from the Georgia State station on the Blue/Green Line. [39]
Rank | Attendance | Date | Game Result |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 24,333 | August 31, 2017 | Georgia State 10, Tennessee State 17 |
2 | 24,238 | August 26, 2023 | Jackson State 37, South Carolina State 7* |
3 | 23,333 | September 1, 2019 | Jackson State 15, Bethune-Cookman 36* |
4 | 23,088 | August 30, 2018 | Georgia State 24, #5 (FCS) Kennesaw State 20 |
5 | 21,720 | October 19, 2019 | Georgia State 28, Army 21 |
6 | 21,088 | August 27, 2022 | Alabama State 23, Howard 13* |
7 | 20,351 | September 7, 2019 | Georgia State 48, #7 (FCS) Furman 42 |
8 | 20,011 | November 24, 2018 | Georgia State 14, Georgia Southern 35 |
9 | 18,280 | September 4, 2021 | Georgia State 10, Army 43 |
10 | 17,908 | November 16, 2019 | Georgia State 27, #25 Appalachian State 56 |
Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics, it was converted into a baseball stadium to serve as the new home of the team. The Braves moved less than one block from Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, which served as their home field for 31 seasons from 1966 to 1996.
Georgia State University is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of higher education by enrollment based in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation with a student enrollment of around 50,000, which includes approximately 21,000 undergraduate Perimeter College students, and 33,000 undergraduate and graduate students at the main campus downtown.
The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. Opened in 1992, it was then the second-largest covered stadium in the world by capacity, behind the Pontiac Silverdome. Though the Georgia Dome was a profitable facility, its primary tenant, the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League, grew dissatisfied with it less than two decades after its opening and began planning for a replacement stadium. It was closed and demolished in 2017.
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball from 1966 until 1996 and the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League from 1966 until 1991. It was built to attract an MLB team and in 1966 succeeded when the Milwaukee Braves relocated from Wisconsin.
Centennial Olympic Stadium was the 85,000-seat main stadium of the 1996 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Construction of the stadium began in 1993, and it was complete and ready for the opening ceremony in July 1996, where it hosted track and field events and the closing ceremony. After the Olympics and Paralympics, it was reconstructed into the baseball-specific Turner Field, used by the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball for 20 seasons (1997–2016). After the Braves departed for Truist Park, the facility was purchased by Georgia State University, which rebuilt the stadium a second time as Center Parc Stadium, designed for American football.
GWCC/CNN Center station is a rail station in Atlanta, Georgia, on the Blue and Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. Located on the western edge of Downtown Atlanta, the station officially opened on December 22, 1979. It was originally called Omni station due to its proximity to the Omni Coliseum, which was demolished to build Philips Arena. The station's name expanded in 1992 as Omni/Dome/World Congress Center with that year's opening of the Georgia Dome as well as the Georgia World Congress Center. By the year 2000, the station name had changed to Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center. In June 2019, MARTA held a town hall to gather community input on a new name for the station after the demolition of the Georgia Dome and the renaming of Philips Arena to State Farm Arena. The station was one of five MARTA rail stations that were under consideration for new names in 2019. The name of the station was changed to GWCC/CNN Center.
The Georgia State Panthers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Georgia State University, located in Atlanta, Georgia. All GSU teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS level as members of the Sun Belt Conference, a conference of which they were a charter member. Previously, GSU was a member of the CAA, and prior to that, the ASUN Conference.
Summerhill is a neighborhood directly south of Downtown Atlanta between the Atlanta Zoo and Center Parc Stadium. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Grant Park, Mechanicsville, and Peoplestown. Established in 1865, Summerhill is one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods and part of the 26 neighborhoods making up the Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit system.
The Georgia State Panthers football team is the college football program for Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. The Panthers football team was founded in 2010 and competes at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers currently play at Center Parc Stadium, about ten minutes from GSU's downtown campus.
A total of twenty-nine sports venues were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The Georgia State Panthers baseball team represents Georgia State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference. It first began competing there before moving to the TAAC, and the CAA. Beginning July 1, 2013, Georgia State returned to the Sun Belt Conference for all sports. The Panthers play their home games at Georgia State's Panthersville sports complex in the GSU Baseball Complex.
The Georgia State Panthers men's soccer team represents Georgia State University (GSU) in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. As of the 2022 season, the Panthers play in their full-time home of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), which reinstated the sport after a one-season hiatus. During the SBC's men's soccer hiatus, GSU had been a single-sport member of the Mid-American Conference. However, following a major conference realignment in 2021 and 2022 brought several new men's soccer schools to the SBC, that league announced it would reinstate men's soccer no later than 2023, eventually moving that date forward to 2022.
The Georgia State Baseball Complex is a baseball venue in Decatur, Georgia, United States. It is home to the Georgia State Panthers baseball team of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference. The venue, which has a capacity of 1,092 spectators, opened in 1986.
Sports in Atlanta has a rich history, including the oldest on-campus NCAA Division I football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium, built in 1913 by the students of Georgia Tech. Atlanta also played host to the second intercollegiate football game in the South, played between the A&M College of Alabama and the University of Georgia in Piedmont Park in 1892; this game is now called the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. The city hosts college football's annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest 10 km race. Atlanta was the host city for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics, and Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park was built for and commemorates the games.
The Corky Kell Classic is an annual series of high school football games played in Georgia at the beginning of each Georgia High School Association football season, featuring many of the state's top teams. The 2023 Classic consisted of eleven games, four of which were played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, two at Rome's Barron Stadium, two at Kell High School, two at West Forsyth High School, and one at Fellowship Christian School. The teams play to help raise money for the Corky Kell Scholarship Fund.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it is the home of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is owned by the state of Georgia through the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, and operated by AMB Group, the parent organization of the Falcons and Atlanta United FC. In 2016, the total cost of its construction was estimated at US$1.6 billion.
Truist Park is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. Opened in 2017, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. Previously named SunTrust Park, the ballpark was renamed after SunTrust Bank became Truist Financial in 2020.
The Battery Atlanta is a mixed-use development located in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, in Cobb County, Georgia. It is adjacent to Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. The complex is a mix of shops, dining, living and workspace in the area surrounding the ballpark.
The 2023 Georgia State Panthers football team represented Georgia State University as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by seventh-year head coach Shawn Elliott and played their home games at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta.