A project is underway at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium so that the playing surface "will meet MLS specifications" for Atlanta United FC games, according to Ken Sugiura of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. The expansion club will play games at Bobby Dodd Stadium starting with the March 5 season opener "until Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens" in late spring. The field's natural grass surface "has been ringed by artificial turf along the sidelines and behind the end zones, but that has been removed to prepare for the installation of grass." GT "contracted with Atlanta United to loan Bobby Dodd Stadium earlier this year, an agreement that will pay the athletic association $45,000 for each game that the soccer team plays there and another $5,000 for each game that the club sells merchandise." GT also will receive $2 "for every ticket sold and will split net revenues on food and beverages." That is "in addition to $275,000 for locker-room accommodations and $350,000 to re-install artificial turf on the field’s perimeter once the final soccer game is played." The school was going to "replace the aging artificial turf that rings the field anyway, as it had hardened and become matted down." The deal with Atlanta United means that much, if not all, of the cost of doing so will be "footed by the soccer club." The deal to host MLS games stands to be a "useful revenue stream" for GT, which is facing a budget shortfall of $2.7M for FY '17 and has "made a point of finding ways to generate income from its facilities." Atlanta United "might hold seven matches in Bobby Dodd Stadium if the targeted June 1 opening for Mercedes-Benz Stadium holds" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 12/24).
