ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia Bulldogs held the dedication ceremony Tuesday for their recently completed $80 million expansion and renovation project of the Butts-Mehre football complex. That the ceremony was conducted inside the same $31 million indoor practice facility that was dedicated only five years ago says a lot about where UGA Athletics is these days.
That the dedication came four months after coach Kirby Smart brought Georgia its first national championship in 41 years probably won’t hurt the Bulldogs’ recruiting efforts either.
“We have done incredible things here in terms of catching up with facilities,” Smart told a crowd that featured fans, donors, state legislators and various dignitaries. “But we can’t be done yet. We will not be complacent. We will not sit idly by and let other people pass us by. It’s been a catch-up game for us for quite a long time. We feel like we have caught up, but now we have to maintain and continue to grow.”
Indeed, all three major construction projects have come on line during the seven years that Smart has been the Bulldogs’ football coach. The indoor facility was set to break ground before Smart arrived on the scene in December 2015. A $63 million locker room and recruiting lounge was built into the west end of Sanford Stadium and dedicated in 2018. Now the operations addition to the football complex is 99% completed, with a few minor “punch outs” to be addressed.
UGA President Jere Morehead and Athletic Director Josh Brooks each made a point to thank Smart for the vision he brought and energy he expended into making the new facilities a reality.
“Coach Smart came in with a vision and helped us develop that vision and cast his vision into facilities and what we needed to do to get caught up,” Brooks said. “It was his vision and his leadership that got us to this point.”
Those attending Tuesday’s ceremony were treated to a self-tour of the new spaces, with athletic department personnel spread throughout the facility to answer questions.
There are sensory-deprivation chambers, cold pools, warm pools and sauna and steam rooms of various sizes and purposes. There are custom-built lockers with “Lamborghini seats,” and giant meeting rooms for the team and for the various position groups.
Senior outside linebacker Nolan Smith was among the speakers and shared with the crowd his two favorite things about the new facility.
“Now I don’t have to share a 27-year-old locker room with coach Smart,” Smith quipped. “It makes our day-to-day so much easier.”
Smith also said he was quite partial to the “Bones,” the new football-dedicated restaurant located in the center of the facility.
“I call it a little Applebees,” Smith said. “I love it. It’s a nice restaurant. There’s always something good cooking in the neighborhood there.”
Recognizing a possible NIL-plug buried within Smith’s comments, Morehead said, “I’m sure Applebee’s appreciates the mention.”
