$140 million plan to modernize this Columbus stadium is presented. Council reacts
Columbus Council members indicated during Tuesday’s meeting that big renovations to modernize A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium may be dead on arrival, but they asked the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to offer minimal upgrade options to improve the facility.
Holli Browder, director of the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, and Scott Allen, with Columbus-based 2WR Architects, presented a concept of a modernized A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium and explained to the council what challenges are presented by the stadium in its current condition.
If all the changes Browder and Allen presented are made, which may include demolishing the stadium and rebuilding, the price tag for Columbus taxpayers could run as high as $140 million.
Councilors mentioned other large projects on the horizon, such as potentially needing to fund the construction of a new Muscogee County Jail, as to why it is not feasible to plan for big renovations at the stadium.
The council didn’t vote Tuesday on this issue because the recommendations and subsequent discussion were on the meeting agenda as a presentation.
Councilors directed Browder and Allen to continue working on smaller projects at the stadium that could be done and asked them to return to present those options at an unspecified date.
Problems with A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium
Browder and her team were asked to look at improving the stadium’s locker rooms and scoreboard after the council allocated $1.6 million for the effort in 2024.
But after they began looking at those areas for repair or replacement, she said, it became clear that the allocated funding was is not enough to do either of those tasks.
Based on the cost of the scoreboard purchased for Synovus Park, Browder said, they learned early on that it could not be replaced. They then began working with Allen and his team to put together different designs to determine what would be the best fit to renovate A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium.
“We were directed by the former city manager to explore this exercise,” Allen told the council.
This was done because the facility is heavily used by the local school district and other entities, along with hosting “several classic football games,” Browder said.
The Columbus United soccer club also began playing at the stadium last season, she said, but it does not meet their league’s standards for play in terms of size and dimension.
“The facility is aged (originally built in 1925) and in need of major replacement, not just repair,” Browder said.
A major issue is that the field is grass, she said.
“We’re one of the few stadiums within about 45 minutes to an hour that is still grass,” Browder said.
Most schools, public or private, now play on artificial turf fields, she said.
Grass is a problem because there is a period of time throughout the year teams must stay off of the field, Browder said, so they can accommodate all the local games and events that happen in the fall.
“That’s a struggle for us because many times we have to tell people no in order to make sure that the playing surface is available and in the condition we need it to be when we host those fall games,” she said.
Artificial turf would allow the stadium to host more events without having to worry about destroying the sod, Browder said.
Field drainage and underground pipe erosion are other big issues, Allen said.
“It’s been repaired several times over the years,” he said.
Along with field drainage, the bleachers need to be repaired or replaced, Allen said, and their position does not allow for regulation soccer. The stadiums’ locker rooms are also “greatly” undersized, he said.
All these problems begin a domino effect of cost for renovation, Allen said.
Other issues at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium include:
- Concrete stands and retaining walls cracked and failing
- Restrooms and concession stands in need of renovation
- Lack of appropriately sized scoreboards
- Heavy maintenance and landscaping schedule
- Stadium security and access.
Allen presented several upgrades that could be done to modernize the stadium. These include increasing the field width, increasing the locker room sizes to comfortably hold over 100 players, installing new scoreboards that conform to professional requirements, creating new vendor space and restrooms.
These changes could help the stadium host more soccer events, outdoor concerts and ensure legacy events, such as the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic, return to Columbus. It also could expand football opportunities, like hosting rounds in the stat playoffs.
Revenue potential from modernizing the stadium includes hosting a college football bowl game or offering naming rights, according to Browder and Allen’s presentation.
Columbus Council’s reaction
Columbus Councilor Toyia Tucker of District 4 asked Browder about how long the stadium had been facing these challenges. Browder said problems have been ongoing for over 20 years.
Allen told the council the estimated cost of the renovations range from $100 million to $140 million and could take 14 to 18 months to complete.
“There are a lot of variables,” Allen said. “Those numbers I gave you are literally from these renderings and some drawings compared with other facilities that have been constructed recently. So, there’s a lot of variable there.”
To complete the project, the stadium likely would be demolished while preserving the historic pieces and then rebuilt, he said.
With a price tag upwards of $140 million, a project like this would have to be brought to the citizens for a vote through a special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST), Tucker said, a process that would start around 2028.
“The SPLOST conversations will start in two years,” she said. “And this would be something we could take to the citizens. … We have different town halls in different areas throughout the districts.”
Councilor Glenn Davis of District 2 got clarification on whether a structural engineer had inspected the concrete and was told by Ryan Pruett, the Columbus director of inspections and code, that the city would bring them forward after starting the design process for a project.
“I love creativity,” Davis said. “And I love the concept, … but the reality is we’re not able to do this. We just can’t, not anytime soon anyway, with all the other challenges that we have. It’s astronomical, and you’d never get your return back on this.”
Davis also questioned how much a new McClung stadium would be used after the Muscogee County School District opened in 2022 Odis Spencer Stadium, a $27.6 million sports complex, and continues to use renovated Kinnett Stadium.
He asked how much it would cost to do smaller projects, like just replacing the sod field with artificial turf. Allen informed said the rough estimate would be about $1.5 million to $2 million, which includes addressing the drainage problems on the field.
Davis asked Allen and Browder to look at what minimal improvements the city could afford now, understanding the stadium needs major upgrades.
“That’s going to be a decision at a later date because we just don’t have the funds,” Davis said. “We’ve got some challenges in front of us — mainly a new jail that needs to be dealt with and some other things too.”
Allen and Browder agreed to look at lower-cost options, such as the locker rooms or field, and returning to present their findings to the council.
Councilor Charmaine Crabb of District 5 also expressed interest in exploring options through a public-private partnership to get help funding upgrades to A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium through naming rights or nonprofit organizations helping to fundraise.
Crabb also raised concerns about developing South Commons, a project that is going through requests for proposals with the Columbus Development Authority.
“I have a hard time moving on with an economic development plan that’s adding more buildings to that area when the buildings and the infrastructure that we have in that area are deteriorating,” she said.
