ATHENS -- The sky is not falling at Stegeman Coliseum, but the ceiling inside it is.
That’s according to people with knowledge of the situation, who told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that pieces of concrete are falling from the ceiling inside the 60-year-old facility. The situation is serious enough to have forced the cancellation of Friday night’s gymnastics meet between Georgia and Arkansas. That meet has instead been moved to Gas South Arena -- formerly known as Gwinnett Arena -- on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth on Sunday.
Several other events planned for the arena over the next few weeks might also have to be cancelled, postponed or relocated. The Gym Dogs are supposed to play host to Michigan in the regular-season finale on March 10. UGA and several high schools typically use the facility for graduation ceremonies.
Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks did not respond to messages seeking comment and athletic association spokesperson Claude Felton referred requests to a university publicist.
After issuing an original statement that did not mention falling concrete, UGA sent a revised statement to the AJC late Thursday night. It reads:
“The University of Georgia has closed Stegeman Coliseum until further notice. This action was taken because a small piece of the ceiling was discovered to have fallen yesterday. No one was hurt.
“Safety is the University’s top priority and the building will remain closed until the necessary repairs have been completed. We do not know how long that will take at this time. The university has begun notifying groups that have reserved the Coliseum and has advised them to find alternate locations.”
Asked to clarify the number and sizes of the fallen piece or pieces, UGA did not respond.
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Stegeman Coliseum -- once known simply as The Coliseum -- was built in 1963 and first opened for athletic events and rodeos in 1964. Today, it is the home arena for Georgia’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, volleyball and gymnastics.
The Lady Bulldogs basketball team is playing in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C., and will be bound for the NCAA Tournament afterward. So, they are not expected to need the facility. Georgia men’s team -- which just played its final home game at Stegeman Tuesday -- will be at the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week. That team isn’t expected to receive a postseason bid and volleyball team’s season is over.
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An all-concrete structure built around two giant parabolas, Stegeman Coliseum has undergone numerous renovations over the years. Millions were spent on refurbishing it before it hosted events during the 1996 Olympics, it underwent a $13 million renovation completed in 2009 and a giant scoreboard was hung from the roof in 2017 in another renovation that cost $8 million.
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