Sanford Stadium will get a cosmetic makeover for the 2018 season

Georgia took more than a victory over Notre Dame during its trip to South Bend, Indiana.

At the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors Meeting, which took place at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds at Lake Oconee, the board was shown renderings of visual enhancements to Sanford Stadium's walls and columns. Deputy Athletic Director for Operations Josh Brooks presented images that displayed murals over the otherwise gray walls inside the stadium. The purpose of each image is to highlight Georgia's history throughout the stadium.

Brooks said his staff got the idea after the program visited Notre Dame Stadium last September. The Bulldogs defeated the Fighting Irish 20-19 in that game.

To the left of the East end zone scoreboard, there will spaces to recognize Georgia's four retired jerseys — Frank Sinkwich (No. 21), Charley Trippi (No. 62), Theron Sapp (No. 40) and Herschel Walker (No. 34). On the right side, there will be spots to honor Georgia's national championships in 1942 and 1980.

Brooks joked that "there's always room for growth" on the national championship side of the scoreboard, and "he's got room for two but will gladly build a new one after three, four and five." At Reed Plaza, the columns will be painted black and will honor the years of various conference championship seasons. Much like at Notre Dame, the columns will also have a replica photo of a program from that year to commemorate the season.

"We took a step back and thought how can we celebrate our rich history at Sanford Stadium and also warm the stadium up at the same time?" Brooks said.

On the 100 level at Sanford Stadium, Brooks pointed out the gray space seen throughout when walking through the concourse and through the concession aisles. On these various walls, Brooks said the plan is to paint historic moments equipped with quotes. One rendering showed a picture of Walker scoring a touchdown against Tennessee in 1980, with longtime broadcaster Larry Munson's quote, "My God, a freshman!" depicted over it.

In addition, the giant Bulldog statue located at the East end zone will be moved to the Northwest corner of the end zone. The statue's new location would make it more accessible to those attending games, Brooks said.

These minor renovations, like the West end zone project, are expected to be finished before the start of the 2018 season.

"It's about beautifying the stadium," Brooks said.

After the board meeting was over, Athletics Director Greg McGarity said about $48 million has been pledged for the West end zone project, which adds a new home locker room and recruiting lounge. Georgia's fund-raising goal for the project is $53 million, with the total cost being $63 million. Georgia plans to use $10 million from its reserve fund to pay for the rest of the project.

UGA President Jere Morehead quipped that now the university needs those who promised to donate to send in their money, so they can move to other areas of expansion.

"We need people to pay off their pledges," Morehead said.

One of those areas could be to expand the Georgia football program's weight room, although neither McGarity or Morehead would confirm if that is coming soon.

McGarity said the athletics department needs to pay off the West end zone construction before moving on to the next project.

The reason for waiting, Morehead said, has to do with the bond-related covenants Georgia's athletic association has entered into, which requires a certain amount of cash to be in a reserve at all times.

"We can only be so far indebted as an athletic association and meet our bond requirements," Morehead said. "We're always going to be prudent and thoughtful in how we do these things."

During his presentation, Brooks also revealed how much renovations to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex will cost. It is an estimated $7 million to re-do the grandstand and an estimated $16 million to construct an indoor facility. The plan would be to construct a new indoor facility over the present one. There isn't a timetable yet to do so, however. McGarity expects that topic to be brought up at the fall board meeting.

McGarity did say he hopes the tennis project is completed by the time it is time to bid on hosting the NCAA Tournament. The earliest possible year Georgia could host the tournament would be in 2023.

Morehead added another crucial element to secure before getting started on construction.

"Part of it will depend on fundraising," he said.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Sanford Stadium will get a cosmetic makeover for the 2018 season."