The backdrop at Georgia Tech’s Grant Field is hard to beat, as the Atlanta skyline frames the north endzone. Then, there’s Sanford Stadium in Athens, which offers views of campus behind the west endzone.
Aside from those two, however, it could be strongly argued that Georgia Military College’s Davenport Field has the most picturesque backdrop of any football stadium in Georgia, with the Old Capitol Building overlooking the field and serving watch.
For many years, though, the rest of Davenport Field wasn’t nearly as impressive as the backdrop. Now, that’s changing, as Georgia Military College recently installed a new 16-foot-by-28-foot digital scoreboard in place of the previous one, which looked more like something you’d find at Walter B. Williams Jr. Park.
“Very excited,” said Athletic Director Rusty Courson.” This will add a great deal to the gameday experience. It will allow us to show replays. We’ll have pre-game introductions with the players and cheerleaders, hype videos, live feeds and pretty much whatever else we can imagine.”
It’s all part of a larger $1.7 million makeover of Davenport Field, which dates back to 1880. Phase 1 also includes a field resurfacing, as the old grass soon will be dug up and replaced with a FieldTurfbranded artificial playing surface. The artificial turf project is expected to be completed by Aug. 1.
Davenport Field originally served as a training ground and parade ground for the school. The first sanctioned football game was played there in 1907. Davenport Field, the name itself, dates back to 1922, when the stadium was renamed in honor of Michael Davenport, a GMC cadet who died tragically following a baseball game.
The price tag for the new scoreboard was $340,000, and the vendor was The Sign Station in Jones County. The school is continuing a fundraising project for the Davenport upgrades. More information can be found atdonate.gmc.edu