Georgia State Football Team's New Field ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Georgia State University will field its first football team ever in the fall. Two years ago, it hired former NFL player and coach Bill Curry to lead the team. Recently, another piece of the puzzle fell into place, tucked between train tracks and the Downtown Connector. Jeanne Bonner reports.


If you board an eastbound MARTA train at Five Points station, it's not long before a bright green vista appears on the right where a vacant lot had stood.

What you see is an Astroturf field where last month Georgia State's football team began practicing. Coach Curry says the field is working out well.

"Four-tenths of a mile from our campus, with the beautiful Capitol of the state of Georgia in view. I'm not sure you could ask for more," Curry said.

On Tuesday morning, the field was a beehive of activity. Curry was taking the young team through its paces as MARTA trains passed overhead. He said he feels the excitement about the new team and not just among students.

"Everywhere I go, I have street cops stop me, Hey Coach I got my tickets today. We're going to be there. How are the guys doing?' I have sanitation workers and the maintenance workers at the school are our biggest fans," Curry said.

In 2008, Georgia State paid $6.6 million for the property on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Officials say the field is not ideal. The former industrial site contained hazardous materials that needed to be removed.

The 3.8-acre site is also a tight fit, says James Greenwell, an official with the athletic department. But he says it's not the first time the university has breathed life into a vacant corner of the city.
"There is a tremendous sense of pride when we can revitalize parts of the city that otherwise wouldn't be used," Greenwell said. "It's tremendous - a tremendous opportunity for the city and a tremendous opportunity for the university."

The property includes a brick warehouse building that eventually will be converted to meeting space and a locker room. The team will play its games at the Georgia Dome, where the home opener takes place on Sept. 2.

© Copyright 2012, WABE