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Olivia Sayer
Georgia teammates during game one of the NCAA Athens Super Regional between NC State and Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Georgia lost 18-1. (Photo/Mady Mertens; MadyMertensPhotography)
Foley Field will have a new look for the 2025 Georgia baseball season.
The team announced last week that it would partake in a full reseating of the ballpark, while also sharing the launch of the 2025 Georgia Baseball Fund (GBF) campaign. The Red & Black spoke with associate athletic director of facilities and capital projects Tanner Stines to discuss what it all means.
Georgia will flip its home and visiting dugouts, with the latter now located along the first base line. This will allow the Bulldogs to be closer to their new facilities — including a pitching lab, home bullpen, hitting facility and in-game player technology — that are currently under construction as a part of Foley Field’s $45 million renovation project.
The change creates what Stines called a “lot different fan experience.” Visiting fans will no longer congregate around what will be the main entrance and home bullpen off Rutherford Street.
“You’re going to walk in, a lot like an [MLB ballpark] is, and have a view straight over the top of the home bullpen,” Stines said.
However, the Georgia student section overflow area will still wrap around the bullpen in right field, which will now be home to the visitors. Stines said that this will create “a lot more hostile environment,” especially when the opposing team has a reliever warming up “in late innings to try and close a game.”
The regular student section will mirror that of previous years for SEC games. It will begin at the first base corner above the aisle and stretch down the foul line. It will end before the visiting dugout, as the SEC prohibits students from sitting behind opposing dugouts. For non-conference games, all seating will be general admission.
Stines said that placing the opposing bullpen in right field allows the Bulldogs to circumvent the conference rule.
In addition to reseating, Georgia announced the launch of its 2025 Georgia Baseball Fund (GBF) campaign. Similar to last year, fans will donate a minimum of $50 per seat to be a part of the 2025 Powerhouse Package, which includes 20 games.
Once the deadline to donate passes, fans can then select their seats. Appointment times will be determined based upon both The Georgia Bulldog Club priority point total and consecutive years of baseball season ticket purchased on the same account, which is similar to the football season ticket process.
Stines said that the profits will help support Georgia’s “growth efforts” in an era that incentivizes athletes playing collegiate baseball.
“For the first time probably ever, it’s a better proposition to come to college than to go play minor league ball,” Stines said. “Your experience is better, plus education and your brand management. From a marketing standpoint, for a player, you’re getting drafted higher now coming out of college, if you’re performing, than you would if you went out of high school.”
UGA Athletics will not accept any new ticket requests for the 2025 season until the 2024 Powerhouse Package members have an opportunity to claim their seats. Stines said that at least 75% of Georgia’s season tickets are sold through the Powerhouse Package, and there is an “ever-growing list” of about 1,000 people that have expressed interest.
“We’re not offering new season ticket holders until all of the current season ticket holders have been provided the opportunity to purchase, so that even if you know you may not have the same seats that you had in previous years, you’re not now getting removed from the stadium,” Stines said.
Athletic director Josh Brooks previously announced that the grass in Foley Field will be replaced with turf at the request of head coach Wes Johnson. Stines said that this will enable more efficiency from the Bulldogs, who lose about “4-5 hours of available practice time having to pause to do grounds work.”
From a fan’s perspective, it will decrease the amount of weather delays. Stines said that Georgia can now play through “a lot of rain,” as long as there is no lightning, because “a turf field is never going to get saturated the way a natural grass field will.”
Stines said that the estimated completion date for Foley Field’s renovations are Feb. 1. The Bulldogs begin their season on Feb. 14 at UNC Wilmington, and their home-opener is set for Feb. 20.