150 Bobby Dodd Way, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30332
Virtually unmatched among collegiate athletics facilities, the Arthur B. Edge, Jr., Intercollegiate Athletics Center is the headquarters for the Georgia Tech athletics family.
The four-story, $7 million facility, which was opened in February, 1982, is part of the J.C. “Bud” Shaw Sports Complex. The Edge Center contains more than 65,000 square feet of space and houses Tech’s entire athletics program, including administrative offices, the Hearn Academic Center, locker rooms, training room, dining hall and equipment room, plus a number of other facilities.
Financed entirely by gifts and contributions from Georgia Tech alumni and friends, the Edge Center was dedicated on Oct. 30, 1982. Since then, the facility has undergone several facelifts, most notably the addition of the Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance in 1996.
The ground floor, which opens into the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium, houses the football locker room and equipment room as well as Tech’s primary training room.
Offices for athletics administration and many of the sports programs are located on the first floor. The second floor is comprised of the athletic dining hall and the football office, which connects to the Howard Candler, Jr., Conference Center.
The Andrew Hearn, Sr., Academic Center comprises the majority of the third floor along with the men’s and women’s basketball offices.
Perhaps it is not what is in the Edge Center which makes it so unique, but the way the center houses it. Built in a dramatic architectural style, the Arthur B. Edge facility is one of the most eye-catching athletic buildings in the country. A visitor can’t help but be impressed upon entering the building through the entrance plaza to the first floor and seeing the lobby rise through the top floor to a glass atrium.
The lobby is decorated with the “Circle of Champions,” an elaborate display honoring all of Tech’s individual and team national championships, including four national football titles. The “Circle of Champions” leads to the George W. Mathews, Jr., Athletic Heritage Center, a museum that chronicles Tech’s rich athletics history. The Heritage Center is part of the Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance, which was built as an extention to the Edge Center.
The Edge Center is named in honor of Arthur B. Edge, Jr., a prominent Tech alumnus and former president of Callaway Mills. It is located at the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium at the intersection of Bobby Dodd Way and Techwood Drive.
George W. Mathews, Jr. Athletic Heritage Center
Preserving and telling the story of Georgia Tech’s rich athletic heritage for future generations of Yellow Jacket fans is the mission of the George W. Mathews, Jr., Athletic Heritage Center.
Located within the J.C. Shaw Sports Complex on the second floor of the Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance, the Center chronicles Tech’s history in all sports, with emphasis on the accomplishments of the football program. Static displays of trophies and memorabilia are augmented by video kiosks and interactive displays that bring to life Tech’s storied athletic past.
Opened in May of 1996, the Center also includes a theater where Tech fans can view highlight films covering achievements such as Tech’s 1990 national championship in football, the 1990 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four, and the 1994 College World Series.
A 1948 graduate of Georgia Tech in Industrial Management, George W. Mathews, Jr., played football for two of Tech’s legendary coaches, William Alexander and Bobby Dodd, participating in the Orange Bowl in 1945 and 1948 and the 1947 Oil Bowl. Mathews is retired from Intermet Corporation, the $500 million company he founded and the largest independent foundry in North America. The George W. Mathews, Jr., Athletic Heritage Center was made possible by a gift from the Intermet Corporation upon Mathews retirement in 1994.
Howard Candler, Jr., Conference Center
The Howard Candler, Jr., Football Conference Center provides Georgia Tech with perhaps the best football conference center in the nation. In addition to eight meeting rooms of various sizes, the Conference Center also houses state of the art video facilities which allow the entire Center to be connected together, or be used as separate meeting rooms.
The late Charles Howard Candler, Jr., was a lifelong Atlantan with widespread interests in business, real estate and education. He served for 27 years as a Director of the Coca-Cola Company and also sat on several Boards, including Trust Company Bank of Georgia and the Atlantic Steel Company. The Howard Candler, Jr., Football Conference Center, which opened in May of 1996, was funded by a gift from his widow, Lee Edwards Candler.
Fuller E. Callaway, Jr., Plaza & Gateway to Bobby Dodd Stadium
The Fuller E. Callaway, Jr., Plaza and Gateway to Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field provides an attractive new entrance to Georgia Tech’s historic football facility.
The Plaza was dedicated in memory of Fuller E. Callaway, Jr., an internationally-recognized leader in the textile industry and a 1926 Textile Engineering graduate of Georgia Tech. His personal gifts and contributions from the Callaway Foundation, Inc., totaling millions of dollars, have funded professorships, scholarships and numerous facilities for students on the Tech campus.
