How do you define what makes a high school football stadium better than others? What is it that sets one stadium apart from the rest? When it comes to the best venues to watch a high school football game on a Friday night in Georgia, fans have strong opinions.
We recently asked our audience to give us their feedback on which stadiums they thought provided the best game day experience. Factors that affected fans’ opinions included the tailgating experience before the game; the character of the stadium; the game-viewing experience, including the audience’s proximity to the field; and the pregame experience, including the team’s entrance into the stadium, with several stadiums now adding to the experience with the addition of the LED lights.
Stadium size wasn’t really mentioned as a factor in many of the comments we received, but we all know better. Size does matter.
There’s no objective way to rank which Georgia high school football stadium is the best. Instead, we present to you the 10 stadiums that were mentioned the most by our audience.
So, in no particular order, here are the top Georgia high school football stadium experiences.
The Brickyard, Thomson High School
Talk about a stadium with character. The Brickyard has it, and it’s truly the stuff of legends.
The home of the Thomson Bulldogs seats 7,000 people and is surrounded by a wall built of bricks that came from the old Thomson High School, which burned in 1938, according to former Thomson coach John Barnett. Barnett co-wrote the book “Ghosts of the Brickyard,” which tells the history of Thomson High School football.
In a Facebook comment, fan Dondrell Kendricks said: “Coming to Thomson is tough, especially in big match-ups. Not only do you have to deal with current players… you have to deal with the ‘ghosts of the bricks,’ meaning the energy of all the Thomson legends that came before the current roster.”
Another fan identified only as Crystal said: “The Brickyard is a legendary spot. The history, the energy, and the tradition make it one of the toughest environments in Georgia high school football. The ghosts of the Brickyard are real… Thomson football is built differently.”
Martin Stadium (aka The Concrete Palace), Lowndes High School
There’s likely not another stadium that gets more daily views than the home of the Lowndes Vikings. Every day, several thousand vehicles drive right by this mammoth stadium, which is located right off of I-75.
Martin Stadium checked just about every box we were looking for in identifying the great Friday night venues for experiencing Georgia high school football, from well before the game starts to the final horn.
The tailgating scene outside the stadium is one of the more impressive in the state, as hundreds of fans gather on the 76 acres that make up the Lowndes High School campus. The pregame party scene is an impressive display of crimson-and-white-clad fans under pop-up tents as far as the eye can see.
Once inside the 13,000-seat stadium, the pregame experience provides fans with one of the most electric atmospheres in Georgia high school football.
As the stadium lights are dimmed, the large video board lights up with a tribute to the Vikings’ fighting spirit, complete with seafaring Viking ships making their way into battle. According to Luke Bush, the president of the Viking Touchdown Club, this is known as the Vikings’ Valhalla. The presentation is complete with thundering audio and a dizzying LED light display.
As the video closes, the home team makes a dramatic entrance onto the field and is greeted by the school fight song being played by all 350 members of the Georgia Bridgemen, the school’s marching band, much to the delight of the home fans.
Throw in the visiting team as they make their entrance with their band firing up their own fight song, and you have a pregame experience that’s hard to top.
Throw in a great game against a hated rival, like the Winnersville Classic versus Valdosta High School, and the energy inside the stadium becomes one of the most electric high school football experiences you’ll find anywhere.
The Shamrock Bowl, Dublin High School
The home of the Dublin Fightin’ Irish is indeed a bowl stadium. The grass end zone has provided fans an area to sit and watch the game when all other seating was taken, like when the stadium hosted the 2006 state title game between Dublin and Charlton County.
Dublin fan Nelson Carswell lV pointed out another unique feature about the stadium.
“The home and visitor side have the same amount of seating,” he said.
Fans John and Lori Strickland also told us about the live shamrock that used to surround the stadium: “The original shamrock in the bowl was a live shamrock made up of a lighter green and darker green border. Now, it’s just a concrete painted version.”
This stadium inspired not only fans, but an official working the game.
“I officiated the Dublin-Thomasville quarterfinal playoff game, and the entire parking lot across the street was packed with tailgaters having a great time,” Reese Chapman Smith said.
This 5,000-seat stadium also made an impression on fan Roshoun Carter, who said, “I vote for Dublin, with its tailgating and seeing the players walk down the hill.”
Bill Chappell Stadium, Dalton High School
Suggestions for Dalton High School’s stadium actually came to us from fans of visiting opponents.
John Eunice, a Valdosta Wildcats fan, visited Dalton’s Bill Chappell Stadium when his Wildcats played there in a 2016 semifinals matchup, and he described it as “something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.”
“It was like stepping back in time as far as the feel of it,” Eunice said, adding that the stadium has a long, 90-year history.
Several others remembered that 2016 semifinals game, including Chris Greene, who said, “That was a great night. Awesome atmosphere.”
Monty Long said: “I’ve been to a lot of stadiums, and the best atmosphere I’ve ever been in was the stadium in Dalton for the 2016 semifinals. They still had the old crown on the field. Truly an amazing atmosphere.”
Phillip Shane Thompson said: “Bill Chappell Stadium in Dalton when I coached there was electric, Fire Trucks escorted us in, 100s of fans lined up as we got off buses, an entire practice field of live band and tailgating!”
The Granite Bowl, Elbert County High School
Buford Wolves fan Kenny Parlotte, who played his high school football at the Granite Bowl for Elbert County, said it was an experience like no other.
“The Granite Bowl was made from tons of donated granite back in the ‘50s,” Parlotte said. “The fans there are right on top of you. There is no track, just fans and football right on top of each other.”
Sean McGuire added his opinion of the unique stadium: “Elberton is the granite capital of the world. The stadium is unique, and it’s the best in Georgia.”
Former Elbert County football player Ontario Rucker said, “Ain’t nothing like playing in the Granite Bowl in Elbert County.”
The Pit, Toombs County High School
The home of the Toombs County Bulldogs was a favorite of many fans replying to our informal poll of best high school football stadiums in Georgia, and the reasons were many.
“It’s almost built into the ground like a pit with all-concrete walls around it,” Jared Morris, a Toombs County fan, said about the stadium. “Everything echoes, and it can throw you off.”
Other fans offered their comments about The Pit.
“There’s none like The Pit in Toombs County,” Gracy Dykes said.
“That one right there (The Pit) is certainly a unique environment,” Thomas Hughes said.
The Hawg Pen, Colquitt County High School
The home of the Colquitt County Packers is one of the state’s oldest stadiums and one of the most intimidating for visiting teams and coaches.
Jeff Herron, one of the winningest coaches in the state with 334 wins over his 32 years, has taken his teams into many different venues and has coached in many different atmospheres. He said that the Hawg Pen was one of the toughest places he’s ever coached in.
“When they got those lights and that sound system going, we couldn’t hear each other,” Herron said. “It was so loud. The crowd is right on top of you. It’s a very intimidating place to coach and play.”
Northcutt Stadium, Marietta High School
The home of the Marietta Blue Devils is nestled smack dab in the middle of one of the city’s oldest residential areas, and the game day experience there has just about everything for fans, players, and the media.
A large grass lot, which also serves as the practice field for the team, is located right outside the entrance to the stadium, and Blue Devils fans take full advantage of the spacious area on game day. The tailgate scene is arguably one of the best in the state, complete with bounce houses for the kids and families enjoying buffets under pop-up tents.
The stadium’s press box is a three-story building with a scenic view of Kennesaw Mountain behind the north end zone and the huge video board.
Northcutt Stadium has everything a football fan, and those of us covering the game, would want.
Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, Valdosta High School
Also known by many as Cleveland Field, it’s hard to not include the home to the winningest high school team in the country.
Many of Bazemore-Hyder Stadium’s best memories are prior to 2004, when the stadium underwent a major renovation that modernized the venue, but also buried many of the “ghosts of Cleveland Field” from the glory days of Valdosta football. That was the era of Wright Bazemore and Nick Hyder, when the two legendary coaches won 21 of the school’s 23 state titles from 1941 to 1995.
During its heyday, there were not many more intimidating places for opposing teams than Cleveland Field, where a large wooden sign at the west end of the stadium greeted fans with “Welcome to Death Valley.”
Trey Wethgerington, an ardent Wildcats supporter and sixth-grade coach of the Alley Cats, agreed that the best memories of the home of Valdosta football were from days gone by.
“From the ‘50s to 2000 was a pretty impressive stretch,” Wetherington said. “The ‘50s and ‘60s were as good as any.”
Memorial Stadium, Ware County High School
Memorial Stadium in Waycross, Georgia, is one of the most unique in the state, hands down. A former baseball stadium that served as the home to minor league teams in the ‘50s and ‘60s, it became the football home to the Waycross High School Bulldogs. Consolidation brought an end to the Bulldogs, making Memorial Stadium the home of the Ware County Gators in 1993.
The original grandstand area, which included a canopy covering the fans behind home plate for baseball games, remained intact in the southeast end of the stadium once it was converted for football only. The best seats in most football stadiums are usually at the 50-yard line, but fans at Memorial Stadium can enjoy Ware County football games under the protection of the covered seats in the southeast end zone.
As Ware County fan Lerrick Baker said, it also creates a disadvantage for opponents.
“When visiting teams are backed up in their own end and their backs are towards our southeast corner, the loud crowd chants of ‘defense’ bouncing off the shelter make it tough for opponents to hear their calls and audibles,” Baker said. “That’s when most of the game’s momentum swings happen during the games.”
“Back when I officiated football, I visited many stadiums, and Ware County stadium was number one,” said Junior Troupe, a former high school referee.
Honorable Mentions
- The Jackets’ Nest, Thomas County Central High School
- House of Pain, Washington County High School
- Veterans Memorial Stadium, Thomasville High School
- McConnell-Talbert Stadium, aka The Mac, Warner Robins High School
- Ray Manus Stadium, Roswell High School
- Jaycee Stadium, Fitzgerald High School
- Rose Bowl Field, Monticello High School
- Trojan Field, Lee County High School
- Billy Henderson Stadium, Clarke Central High School
- Chris Gilman Stadium, Camden County High School
- Ray Lamb Stadium, Commerce High School
Surprised They Didn’t Make The List
- Big Orange Jungle, Parkview High School
- Brodie Field, Tift County High School
