Although it may not look like it, athletic director Josh Brooks said Phase 2 of the 45 million dollar Foley Field project remains on schedule.
“We’ll be ready February for the season,” Brooks said following Friday’s quarterly meeting of the UGA Athletic Association Board meeting. “We’ll be ready to roll. They’re moving fast right now.”
With fall practice underway, the Bulldogs are currently using the facilities at nearby Athens Academy while the work at Foley Field is being completed.
“Coach has been great, the student-athletes have been great about it,” Brooks said. “They’re excited. Pardon our dust, so to speak, but they’re excited. It’s an OK issue to work though.”
Fans might not recognize Foley Field once the work is complete.
Among the changes, there will be a new pitching lab, hitting area, and coaches' offices.
Also, at Johnson's behest, AstroTurf is installing a brand-new synthetic surface. Numerous professional leagues, high schools, and universities use the group. SEC programs Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas are among the schools that AstroTurf installed the surface Georgia will now have for baseball.
“It’s outfield, infield, the entire thing,” said Brooks, who reminded reporters this isn’t anything like the old concrete-like surface formerly used by major league teams.
“This is a focus on efficiency and when we talk about practicing day to day, not having to tarp a field, maintain a field,” Brooks said. “Coach Johnson (who pushed for the new surface) is a lot like Coach (Kirby Smart), he’s focused on every minute he can be efficient throughout the day, and it starts with the efficiency of our own team practicing.
But that also leads to what we’re going to have in this pitching lab and be able to host events because people will want to come and use our facilities. Now, because of turf, we can have camps and clinics going on all the time. It’s just another way for us to get people on our campus.”
In other news from Friday’s board meeting:
• Brooks began his remarks by recognizing new Georgia gymnastics coaches Cecile Canqueteau-Landi and Ryan Roberts, who each spoke to the board and thanked them for their support.
• Georgia student-athletes compiled a 3.21 combined GPA — the highest GPA in an academic year in school history. The previous record was a 3.20 in 2022-23.
• Thirty-three athletes represented UGA at the Paris Olympic Games, winning six medals.
• For the first time in school history, football, soccer, and volleyball all began the year ranked in the top 25.
• Brooks highlighted the completion of phase II of the Sanford Stadium South Side improvements. That project was dedicated at a ceremony earlier on Friday.
• The Jack Turner Softball Stadium project is scheduled to be completed this October; Foley Field is on schedule for a finish in February 2025; the new track and field complex is scheduled to be complete in January 2026.
• Brooks also announced a design funding request for the Woodruff Football Practice Fields expansion.
• He also offered an update on the Stegeman Coliseum master planning and renovation, prioritizing lighting and sound upgrades for the 2025-26 season. The video board and new premium area has been moved to Phase II.
