May 1, 2024
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum, which closed after a chunk of concrete fell from the roof in early March, will reopen in time for the next college basketball season.
The school announced Thursday that an extensive structural review conducted by several engineering firms has been completed.
The timeline for repairs will allow the men's and women's teams to compete at their longtime home arena when the hoops season begins in November.
The gymnastics team will also return to the 10,523-seat coliseum next spring after being forced to move a pair of home meets to Gas South Arena in suburban Atlanta near the end of this past season.
The volleyball program, which begins its season before the other sports, will be the only team affected by the repair schedule. It will relocate temporarily to the Ramsey Student Center, where it played from 1995-2017.
Stegeman Coliseum has been closed since March 2 after a small piece of concrete fell from the ceiling of the nearly 60-year-old facility. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred shortly after the end of the home basketball seasons.
Engineering reports found that thermal movement — the daily expansion and contraction of materials that all buildings undergo — as well as misalignment and tight precast joints from the original construction are the primary contributors to chipping concrete.
Crews have already installed scaffolding throughout the facility to begin repairs, which will include a protective mesh to keep future concrete pieces from falling to the arena floor.
“We are pleased with the solution that has been identified by these structural engineering firms," athletic director Josh Brooks said in a statement. "Over the summer, we will begin the planning process for further ways to modernize the facility and substantially enhance the fan and student-athlete experience. I think folks are really going to be excited about all that we have in store.”
The 10,523-seat arena opened in 1964 as an all-concrete structure built around two giant parabolas. It has undergone numerous renovations over the years, including a $13 million project that was completed in 2009.
A giant scoreboard was hung from the roof in 2017 as part of another set of improvements that cost $8 million.
A separate analysis is now being conducted to determine if the scoreboard and north and south end curtain walls, which were added in 2010, contributed to the ceiling issues.
