ATHENS — Additional information regarding Georgia's proposed Indoor Athletic Facility highlighted the quarterly meeting of the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors on Friday.
Foremost among the new information presented Friday were plans to upgrade an existing facility on South Milledge Avenue -- currently used by UGA's club sports -- into the Georgia football team's practice fields. These fields would be used by the Bulldogs for three major time periods in 2016: spring practice, summer camps and fall practice. After the conclusion of Fall 2016 football practice, the South Milledge facility would then be turned back over to the Club Sports programs in a condition that would greatly exceed its current quality.
During the indoor facility's construction, the Bulldogs would bus the short ride on South Milledge for practices. Meanwhile, contingency plans have been prepared to provide UGA's Club Sports teams with ample space to run their programs during the temporary 1-year period.
''We think it will work really well as a transitional facility,'' said UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity. ''It's not that far away, just a quick drive from campus, and we will have a terrific practice facility for our team. And our plan is to leave one of the best club facilities in the country when we return to campus.''
Pending a final approval by the University System Board of Regents at its October meeting, construction of the Indoor Athletic Facility is tentatively scheduled to begin in late December of 2015. It is currently slated for completion by the end of calendar year 2016. Construction work to upgrade the UGA Club Sports facility on South Milledge would begin in October, McGarity said.
The Indoor Athletic Facility will be located on the Woodruff Practice Fields and will be connected to Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. The connection of the Indoor Athletic Facility to the current facility entails the removal of the Nalley Multipurpose Room and the renovation of approximately 6,000 square feet of adjacent space.
The facility will be designed for maximum functionality and for use by a number of Georgia's varsity sports. It will be approximately 140 yards long, 80 yards wide and 76 feet high, adding nearly 109,000 square feet of space.
Additionally, the board heard UGA professor David Shipley, the Athletic Association's faculty athletics representative, announce that UGA student-athletes compiled a 3.03 grade point average for the 2014-15 academic year. That figure matched the previous year and represented UGA's highest student-athlete GPA on record. The women's swimming & diving team (3.42) and men's cross country team (3.16) earned the Faculty Athletics Representatives Awards for having the highest team GPAs during the 2014-15 academic year.
Shipley also made a short presentation in behalf of the relatively new Student-Athlete Wellness Committee. UGA Provost Pamela Whitten presented for the Facilities and Development Committee, and UGA Vice President Ryan Nesbit presented the Treasurer's Report.
Also giving brief introductory presentations were new UGA Track & Field head coach Petros Kyprianou and Mónica Lebrón, Associate Athletic Director for Development.
