University of Georgia Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall Renovation and Expansion
Athens, GA
Client: University of Georgia Athletic Association
This is the football training facility of the future. No technological perk was spared in creating this landmark project for UGA.
The main feature of the facility is the film room. The digital film database holds a plethora of game, practice, and recruiting films, all of which are stored on three video servers boasting 110 terabytes of storage. Throughout the complex, coaches' offices and meeting rooms are linked by an interlocking network giving the staff full access to the films.
The second floor is split into two hallways-Offense and Defense-each lined with coaches' offices, film rooms and meeting rooms. The War Room, a large conference room capable of sitting 45 people, sits in the middle of the two hallways and is fully covered with wall-to-wall white boards, providing ample space for diagraming plays and game planning.
A commonality throughout the facility is television monitors – they are literally everywhere. Television monitors were chosen over traditional artwork due to the flexibility and functionality they provide. Depending on the day, the staff can program the televisions to show anything from team highlights or University announcements to the weather forecast. The facility houses a 103-inch plasma television which has the capability to split into 64 different screens, as necessary, for the different functions of watching film. Additionally, each room is equipped to film what is currently occurring, allowing the players to take copies back to their dorms to further digest the coaching advice.
The Georgia Bulldogs are a well-respected program in the SEC that is constantly ranked high in the BCS polls. Colleges and Universities around the country try to duplicate their success, from recruiting techniques to offensive and defensive plays, even to marketing priority games as a "Black-out" like the Bulldogs first did in 2007. It is no surprise that the security of the facility was an utmost importance. The entire facility is secured by keyless entry with staff members, coaches, and players progressing from room to room by scanning their fingerprints. The fingerprints are kept in a database that holds over 300 prints currently. The keyless entry allows the staff to control when players are admitted into the facility and what facilities they can access.
From the comfort of his desk in his wood-paneled office, Coach Mark Richt can tap into any meeting within the facility and overlook what is happening on the field, both inside and outside.
Coach Richt set out to transform this facility into a state-of-the-art, football-focused athletic facility to be coveted by collegiate and professional teams around the country, and when it was dedicated in February 2011, he completed his goal.
As the working headquarters for the Athletic Association and Football Program, Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall serves as a monument to the long-standing University of Georgia Bulldog athletic tradition and the end product delivered by Brasfield & Gorrie's construction team serves as a testament to the firm's commitment to excellence. There is no doubt that the state-of-the-art facility will serve well as a recruiting tool for the Bulldogs, drawing top football talent to the University for years to come.
For a tour of the new facility please visit, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et41NYcUU5Q.
