Before Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins begins his second season this fall, the Yellow Jackets will yield Grant Field to the strains of “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Paradise City.”
In an effort to generate additional revenue out of Bobby Dodd Stadium, Tech will play host to a Guns N’ Roses concert in August. It’s one of two concerts that the stadium will be used for this summer, along with K-Pop group BTS in May. The GNR concert was announced Monday.
The Guns N’ Roses show will take place Aug. 12, which is three weeks before the Yellow Jackets play their season opener against Clemson on Sept. 3 at Bobby Dodd. The athletic department would have time for the field’s turf to be replaced if necessary.
The two shows are revenue streams to help balance the budget of an athletic department that faces perpetual financial challenges. As was the case with Atlanta United playing at Bobby Dodd Stadium in its inaugural season, Tech officials likely also see the concerts as a way to introduce metro Atlantans to a campus that they might not visit otherwise.
The athletic association is facing a $700,000 deficit for the 2020 fiscal year and is also trying to replenish a fund balance that is projected to finish the fiscal year at $4.6 million in the red. The BTS concert is expected to net about $200,000, according to a copy of a recent income statement.
Tech has looked to concerts previously as a source of income. In 2015, the Rolling Stones played Bobby Dodd Stadium, which was the first concert played there since 1994.
The Guns N’ Roses concert will be part of a North American tour in July and August. BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member boy band from Korea that has achieved worldwide popularity, selling out Wembley Stadium in London and the Rose Bowl in 2019. As of Monday, the least expensive tickets available for the BTS show on May 17 were $242.
Guns N’ Roses tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday.
