gt athletics
Thanks for the Memories Alexander Memorial Coliseum will be replaced, but like the domed roof, the thrilling memories will remain By Adam Van Brimmer
T
The cheers sound like murmurs at first, lost in the cavernous space beneath the 270-foot round ceiling of Alexander Memorial Coliseum. But as the claps and the shouts and screams build they circle upwards until they finally hit that big subwoofer in the sky: The 55-year-old dome. Once the 9,000-plus fans in the building reach full-throat, the coliseum becomes the Thrillerdome. “Whoever built it knew what they were doing,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. “The sound bounces around in that place better than any building I’ve ever been in. It starts to get loud and then you make one big play and it’s deafening.” Loud enough to awaken the ghosts of moments past, others say. Like Roger Kaiser’s jumper to beat Adolph Rupp’s Kentucky team in 1961. And Brook Steppe’s free throws to knock off Ralph Sampson and Virginia in 1980. And John Salley’s three-point play in double overtime to defeat Maryland in 1984. And freshman Dennis Scott’s 28-footer at the buzzer to beat DePaul in 1988. And Stephon Marbury’s turnaround jumper in the lane to upset Duke in 1996. And Jarrett Jack’s clutch free throws versus Wake Forest in 2005. And freshman Iman Shumpert’s pull-up jumper to
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The Buzz
upset the sixth-ranked Demon Deacons in 2009. “Whenever a big shot comes down the line, the ghost of Dennis Scott gets channeled. Free throws? Mark Price. Three-point plays? John Salley,” said Wes Durham, Georgia Tech’s radio voice since 1995. “When it comes to that building, no matter how many people are there or how big the game is, there are moments that remind you of another. That’s how many big moments there have been in that building.” The potential for more is waning. Alexander Memorial Coliseum will close in March, more than likely with the Yellow Jackets’ season finale against Miami on March 6. The facility will be gutted in what can only loosely be considered a renovation: Everything under the domed roof will be replaced. The new building will open in 2012 and be christened the Hank McCamish Pavilion in honor of the lead donor on the project. Plans call for a modern arena, but one with a nod to the coliseum’s past. The character will change, say those who have played or coached in the Thrillerdome, but the noise and the ghosts will remain. “The building itself is fine, but what made it so nice for me was the people inside it,” said Roger Kaiser, Georgia Tech’s first All-American