Moving games to neutral sites has long been a lucrative proposition in college football but Georgia Tech’s move down the road to Mercedes-Benz Stadium is supersizing more than a few checks for the school over the years in a way not really seen in the sport.
As per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, five future Yellow Jackets home games that are being shifted from Bobby Dodd Stadium down to the home of the Falcons will bring in an estimated $10 million more for the program than if they had remained in the cozy confines of campus. Even better for Tech is that those numbers could increase rather significantly too.
The school reportedly makes right around $2 million per home game at Bobby Dodd but will cash a $5 million check for their 2022 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic game against Clemson. They are also estimating some $4.4 million in take home revenue each for a pair of Notre Dame games at Mercedes-Benz as well, which will take place in 2020 and 2024 and are part of the Irish’s scheduling agreement with the ACC. Two, as of yet unnamed, conference opponents will also play the Yellow Jackets in the venue in 2021 and 2023 but only the lower bowl will be utilized to bring the capacity more in line with what the school currently works with a few miles to the North.
Add it all up and it approaches nearly $10 million more for the program with the potential for an even bigger revenue increase depending on how brisk ticket sales and prices become in the future.
While more than a few folks seemed to question Georgia Tech moving the games to Mercedes-Benz when the initial five-game set was announced a while back, it’s quite clear that the bottom line was the biggest driver (and for good reason).