THE FLATS – Georgia Tech athletics and DPR Construction celebrated another milestone in the construction of the Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center on Friday with a topping out ceremony, commemorating the placement of the final steel beam in the 100,000-square-foot facility.
VIDEO: Fanning Center Topping Out Ceremony - March 7, 2025
Located in the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, the Fanning Center was approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia in April 2022, and is being constructed on the footprint of the former Edge/Rice Center. The 100,000-square-foot facility will serve as a state-of-the-art hub for Georgia Tech student-athletes, with areas dedicated to strength and conditioning, sports medicine (including mental health services) and nutrition, as well as expanded and enhanced meeting and office space exclusive to Georgia Tech football.
The Fanning Center will also be equipped with the Institute’s first-ever sports science lab, which will use pro-model motion tracking to capture student-athletes’ performance data that will feed into an in-house data analytics office for performance tracking and analysis.
Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) and being constructed by DPR Construction (both Atlanta-based), the design and development of the Fanning Center highlights Georgia Tech’s commitment to sustainability. In addition to energy-reducing strategies, steel from the portion of Bobby Dodd Stadium’s upper deck that was demolished to make room for the Fanning Center repurposed into the new structure. Cross-laminated timber will also be featured throughout the facility, adding warm accents, reducing the carbon footprint and boosting student-athletes’ well-being.
The building is named in honor of Georgia Tech alumnus Dr. Thomas A. Fanning, who holds three degrees from Georgia Tech (B.S. industrial management, M.S. industrial management, honorary Ph.D.) and was a visionary leader in the energy industry during his 43-year career with the Southern Company, which included serving as president and chief executive officer from 2010-23. Fanning’s volunteer leadership through the years has been integral to the growth and success of Georgia Tech. His extensive involvement with the Institute includes service on the Georgia Tech Foundation Board of Trustees, the Georgia Tech Advisory Board, the Alexander-Tharpe Fund Board of Directors, the Scheller College of Business Advisory Board and Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech Steering Committee, where he serves as co-chair.
Fanning, Georgia Tech President Dr. Angel Cabrera, executive deputy athletics director Jon Palumbo and DPR project executive (and Tech men’s basketball legend) Brian Oliver all spoke during Friday’s topping out ceremony. Members of Georgia Tech’s athletics staff and the DPR Construction crew were invited to sign the building’s final beam before it was lifted into place.
The Fanning Center is on schedule to open in Spring 2026.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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