Georgia State University baseball is getting a home on the Downtown Atlanta campus. At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia gave the go-ahead for a 1,000-seat baseball stadium along Pollard Boulevard.
When the vote was taken, the team played at a facility in Panthersville, 12 miles from campus. The new ballpark goes on the current location of Georgia State's Green Lot, a site that includes the footprint of the former Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
Budget and timeline
The project carries a budget of $15.85 million. Funding comes from GSU Athletic Association gifts and reserves along with Foundation funds and gifts. With the regents' vote in hand, the University System Office and GSU staff now take on design and construction under Board of Regents procedures. The target is to finish in time for the 2026 season, which starts in February 2026.
Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb thanked the board and its staff in a press release, saying there is a lot of work ahead. He described the on-campus facility as modern, accessible to students and fans, and convenient for student-athletes, and said it would be a big boost to the baseball program.
Hank Aaron's statue will follow the team
The statue of Hank Aaron that stands in the entry plaza at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium will be moved to the baseball site. The relocation honors his record-breaking 715th home run, hit on April 8, 1974, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the same ballpark whose footprint sits within the Green Lot.
Part of an "athletics village"
The press release says the baseball facility fits Georgia State University's master plan and its placemaking strategic initiative. The ballpark will sit just north of Center Parc Credit Union Stadium, where Georgia State football plays and where the athletic program has its headquarters. Just to its north is the new GSU Convocation Center, the home court for the GSU basketball teams.
That cluster of venues, described as an "athletics village," has helped drive redevelopment in the Summerhill neighborhood around it. Cobb pointed to that relationship when looking ahead. "We have been great stewards of our relationship with the Summerhill community, and the baseball facility is the next step," Cobb said.
Softball could be next. Cobb said that once the baseball project is complete, the next step will be starting the process of moving the softball facility downtown as well.
Reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.