Georgia Tech football begins $4.5 million locker room renovation

The Yellow Jackets have started work on a major renovation of the program’s football locker room at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

A donor, who has remained anonymous, put up the $4.5 million Georgia Tech is spending on its locker room, according to a release Tuesday.

The current home dressing room at Bobby Dodd Stadium hasn’t undergone a major renovation in 15 seasons. The latest overhaul is set to make the Tech locker room one of the most state-of-the-art in all of college football.

According to Georgia Tech, upgrades will include visual displays, enhanced audio-visual systems, a hydration station, a hydrotherapy area, steam room upgrades, as well as increased shower and restroom capacity.

The plan includes all 116 individual lockers to be fitted with mechanical systems for ventilation and drying, along with charging stations for mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. In the modern age of recruiting where facilities are a huge selling point, the Jackets future locker room is sure to be a hit with recruits.

On the heels of a contract extension for head coach Paul Johnson, a new defensive coordinator, and fundraising effort for the recruiting budget, the football locker room donation and renovation adds to an already busy time for the Yellow Jackets.

“The locker room is one of the areas where football student-athletes spend their most time, so this upgrade will not only greatly benefit our current student-athletes but is also a big part of our efforts to enhance our football recruiting,” Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury said in a release. “We’re grateful for the generous gift given by an anonymous donor that has allowed us to provide our football student-athletes with a brand-new, state-of-the-art home.”

Grant Field is currently the oldest football venue still in use among Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Georgia Tech started playing at the current site of Bobby Dodd Stadium in 1913, making it second oldest in all of college football only behind Harvard’s 1903 facility.

The latest upgrades have been designed by architects at Heery International, Inc. and will be completed by JE Dunn Construction as the project’s general contractor.

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Renovations will start with the demolition of Tech’s current facilities and are slated to be complete before the Yellow Jackets open fall camp in August.