From OnlineAthens.com
October 1st, 2016 04:10 PM
In the wild world of college football, there are fans, there are tailgaters and there are recreational vehicle tailgaters.
On Georgia gamedays, RVs stake out familiar spots on and off campus, with one of the most popular locales situated behind the Classic Center in the 440 Foundry Pavilion. Patrons generally arrive at the 22,000-square-foot-pavilion on Friday nights and most don’t leave until sometime on Sunday.
Bulldog supporters with RVs have long utilized Classic Center property for their pre- and postgame activities, but the facility — now in its second year of operation — has won the hearts of a number of fans that by Friday night were more than ready for No. 25 Georgia’s Saturday afternoon encounter with No. 11 Tennessee.
“This is a pretty good spot,” said Chris Byard of Woodbury, who comes to Georgia games with his father, David. “It’s covered, it’s convenient to the stadium and the people who are here are cordial and accommodating. It’s a community, really.”
By 11:30 p.m. Friday, much of the community had already turned in for the night and it’s likely they enjoyed a nice respite, as the pavilion — which at the time housed about 15 RVs — was as quiet as a whisper.
“This has power and water, so you don’t have to use your generator and you don’t hear that all the time,” said David Byard, who adds he’s been bringing his RV to Athens since 1999 and has utilized a number of different locales since that time.
The lack of generator noise is just one of the reasons Bulldogs fans pay $1,000 per season to lease one of 17 spots behind The Classic Center, which also offers some RV spaces behind the pavilion. The facility also boasts a sturdy roof, which is a nice amenity when the skies aren’t accommodating.
“I like the roof,” said Skip Youmans of Richmond Hill, who was gathered with about a half-dozen buddies on Friday evening. “What did we have last year, five rain games? We went back to our old spot before one game last year and everybody was absolutely soaked. And there’s no noise pollution with generators going on. It’s quiet in here.”
“This spot is awesome,” said Chad Barker of Vidalia, a friend of Youmans. “There’s no noise, there’s a place to plug in, you’ve got a roof over your head. It’s hard to beat. I’ve been coming in my RV for the last 16 years. This is by far the best spot in Athens to me.”
The Classic Center’s Danny Bryant said earlier in the week that for the most part, the pavilion’s patrons have remained constant since the facility opened.
“We’ve retained nearly the entire group for the two years we’ve hosted RVs in the 440 Foundry Pavilion,” he said.
Rick and Bobbi Davis of Destin, Fla., have divided allegiances — he’s a Bulldog and she’s a Volunteer. As a result, they wander throughout the Southeastern Conference during the fall months following the Dawgs and Vols.
“We went to the North Carolina game in Atlanta we went to the Battle of Bristol and went to Oxford and then we came here,” Rick said as he and his wife — former residents of Bogart — sat in front of a small fire pit and watched the Washington-Stanford game. “In two weeks, we’re going to go to Alabama and we’re going to Jacksonville.”
Bobbi Davis, who proudly touted “Slim,” a skeleton originally bought as a Halloween gag that now serves as the couple’s red-and-orange-clad mascot, says she felt fortunate to be able to grab space in the pavilion.
“It’s really nice,” she said. “We got lucky because all these spots are reserved and we were able to get in here. We got in for Missouri last year. We only got this space because somebody wasn’t using it this weekend.”
RV tailgating remains popular on campus, with a full house — about 100 spots — sold out for the Tennessee game. Fans can rent spots for the season or on a game-by-game basis, and sellouts have already been reported for the Oct. 15 game with Vanderbilt and the Nov. 12 game with Auburn.
With their lodging and provisions all squared away, several pavilion patrons offered their assessment of the game that was about 15 hours away.
“I think we’ll be better than last week,” said David Byard. “We better be. The receivers have got to get up there and get after the ball. The quarterback can’t do it all.”
“I’m hopeful,” said Youmans. “We’re just going to have to play better than we’ve been playing. The ability is there — we’ll just have to see.”
“I love Kirby Smart,” said Barker. “I just want to see us be competitive. That’s all I’m looking for. I know it’s going to take a while with a new coach coming in, but I just want to see us competitive.”
...READ MORE HERE...
October 1st, 2016 04:10 PM
In the wild world of college football, there are fans, there are tailgaters and there are recreational vehicle tailgaters.
On Georgia gamedays, RVs stake out familiar spots on and off campus, with one of the most popular locales situated behind the Classic Center in the 440 Foundry Pavilion. Patrons generally arrive at the 22,000-square-foot-pavilion on Friday nights and most don’t leave until sometime on Sunday.
Bulldog supporters with RVs have long utilized Classic Center property for their pre- and postgame activities, but the facility — now in its second year of operation — has won the hearts of a number of fans that by Friday night were more than ready for No. 25 Georgia’s Saturday afternoon encounter with No. 11 Tennessee.
“This is a pretty good spot,” said Chris Byard of Woodbury, who comes to Georgia games with his father, David. “It’s covered, it’s convenient to the stadium and the people who are here are cordial and accommodating. It’s a community, really.”
By 11:30 p.m. Friday, much of the community had already turned in for the night and it’s likely they enjoyed a nice respite, as the pavilion — which at the time housed about 15 RVs — was as quiet as a whisper.
“This has power and water, so you don’t have to use your generator and you don’t hear that all the time,” said David Byard, who adds he’s been bringing his RV to Athens since 1999 and has utilized a number of different locales since that time.
The lack of generator noise is just one of the reasons Bulldogs fans pay $1,000 per season to lease one of 17 spots behind The Classic Center, which also offers some RV spaces behind the pavilion. The facility also boasts a sturdy roof, which is a nice amenity when the skies aren’t accommodating.
“I like the roof,” said Skip Youmans of Richmond Hill, who was gathered with about a half-dozen buddies on Friday evening. “What did we have last year, five rain games? We went back to our old spot before one game last year and everybody was absolutely soaked. And there’s no noise pollution with generators going on. It’s quiet in here.”
“This spot is awesome,” said Chad Barker of Vidalia, a friend of Youmans. “There’s no noise, there’s a place to plug in, you’ve got a roof over your head. It’s hard to beat. I’ve been coming in my RV for the last 16 years. This is by far the best spot in Athens to me.”
The Classic Center’s Danny Bryant said earlier in the week that for the most part, the pavilion’s patrons have remained constant since the facility opened.
“We’ve retained nearly the entire group for the two years we’ve hosted RVs in the 440 Foundry Pavilion,” he said.
Rick and Bobbi Davis of Destin, Fla., have divided allegiances — he’s a Bulldog and she’s a Volunteer. As a result, they wander throughout the Southeastern Conference during the fall months following the Dawgs and Vols.
“We went to the North Carolina game in Atlanta we went to the Battle of Bristol and went to Oxford and then we came here,” Rick said as he and his wife — former residents of Bogart — sat in front of a small fire pit and watched the Washington-Stanford game. “In two weeks, we’re going to go to Alabama and we’re going to Jacksonville.”
Bobbi Davis, who proudly touted “Slim,” a skeleton originally bought as a Halloween gag that now serves as the couple’s red-and-orange-clad mascot, says she felt fortunate to be able to grab space in the pavilion.
“It’s really nice,” she said. “We got lucky because all these spots are reserved and we were able to get in here. We got in for Missouri last year. We only got this space because somebody wasn’t using it this weekend.”
RV tailgating remains popular on campus, with a full house — about 100 spots — sold out for the Tennessee game. Fans can rent spots for the season or on a game-by-game basis, and sellouts have already been reported for the Oct. 15 game with Vanderbilt and the Nov. 12 game with Auburn.
With their lodging and provisions all squared away, several pavilion patrons offered their assessment of the game that was about 15 hours away.
“I think we’ll be better than last week,” said David Byard. “We better be. The receivers have got to get up there and get after the ball. The quarterback can’t do it all.”
“I’m hopeful,” said Youmans. “We’re just going to have to play better than we’ve been playing. The ability is there — we’ll just have to see.”
“I love Kirby Smart,” said Barker. “I just want to see us be competitive. That’s all I’m looking for. I know it’s going to take a while with a new coach coming in, but I just want to see us competitive.”
...READ MORE HERE...
