A shell of a stadium: the demise of Morris Brown's Herndon Stadium


DAHILL

DAHILL

Well-Known Member
DSC_0053.jpg


Away from all of the pomp and circumstance of those two games, Alonzo Herndon Stadium sat in complete silence. No band to move the crowd. No cheerleaders to pump up the crowd. In fact, there was no crowd to sit and watch the game, or to parade around and chat. It's been that way since Morris Brown cut its football program in 2002.

I came into town Friday for the Atlanta Classic, and we cruised around the campuses of Spelman, Clark Atlanta and Morehouse. Before heading back to downtown, a friend told me I had to see Morris Brown's stadium, where part of the original Drumline was shot.

full story at
http://www.hbcugameday.com/2014/10/a-shell-of-stadium-morris-browns.html
 
Wow!

Real talk I remember right after Herndon was built for the 96 Olympics, a few friends of mine at Morehouse, Clark and Spelman all said "Mo Brown didn't deserve or knew how to manage that big stadium." Now we see. Embarrassing.
 



Philly Jag said:
Wow!

Real talk I remember right after Herndon was built for the 96 Olympics, a few friends of mine at Morehouse, Clark and Spelman all said "Mo Brown didn't deserve or knew how to manage that big stadium." Now we see. Embarrassing.
Click to expand...

They deserved and knew how to manage the stadium.. they just didn't know how to manage the SCHOOL!

I went to several games over there and the crowds were good. They wanted to join the SWAC but the COPs knew they were on a slippery slope and never voted them in... but had they not had those financial problems, they would be in the SWAC right now!
 
Tigerpride said:
They deserved and knew how to manage the stadium.. they just didn't know how to manage the SCHOOL!

I went to several games over there and the crowds were good. They wanted to join the SWAC but the COPs knew they were on a slippery slope and never voted them in... but had they not had those financial problems, they would be in the SWAC right now!
Click to expand...

It goes hand in hand TP!
 
Tigerpride said:
They deserved and knew how to manage the stadium..
Click to expand...
I doubt that. Even before they canceled football and lost their accreditation, they were trying to overcharge for use of the stadium. It would've been a win-win for Atl Pub Schools and MoB to use that stadium for Washington and Doug games. (The hypest high school game I ever went to was Doug/SWD at Herndon Stadium back when they both were good. ) But word is that MoB wanted to charge too much to use that stadium. So it just sat there. Falling down. It has been in bad condition for a long time now. I'm surprised it hasn't been condemned. :smh:
 
bernard said:
Sad. Morris Brown's Bubblin Brown Sugar shole was fine!
Click to expand...

We had a home & home with them back in '99 & '00 I believe. When we travelled to them I could have sworn I saw every last one of them at the Blue Flame later that night. :lol:
 
C-LeB28 said:
We had a home & home with them back in '99 & '00 I believe. When we travelled to them I could have sworn I saw every last one of them at the Blue Flame later that night. :lol:
Click to expand...

Yes sir. That's westside Atl for you. :lmao:
 
C-LeB28 said:
We had a home & home with them back in '99 & '00 I believe. When we travelled to them I could have sworn I saw every last one of them at the Blue Flame later that night. :lol:
Click to expand...

Quiet as it is kept, you probably saw a few AU Center folks in there working. LOL. Between them Nikki's and the higher end gals at Magic City.
 
Last time I went to the Georgia Dome... Morris Brown band alumni was trying to charge me to park on their campus... You KNOW i went off on them. I told them they not even a school no more. Them some GREEDY folks over there at Mo B!
 
DAHILL said:
Last time I went to the Georgia Dome... Morris Brown band alumni was trying to charge me to park on their campus... You KNOW i went off on them. I told them they not even a school no more. Them some GREEDY folks over there at Mo B!
Click to expand...

They do still have a band tho mane. Im sure they need all the funds they can get... (or they did STILL have the band at one time). They broke. They have to charge for everything. Even when MH said they charge too much for the stadium use. I'm sure MoBrown had to charge them for insurance, electricity, water, security, etc... If they charge $5000 rental but expenses are $20K, how does renting it out help?
 
Tigerpride said:
They deserved and knew how to manage the stadium.. they just didn't know how to manage the SCHOOL!

I went to several games over there and the crowds were good. They wanted to join the SWAC but the COPs knew they were on a slippery slope and never voted them in... but had they not had those financial problems, they would be in the SWAC right now!
Click to expand...

The SWAC should have voted them in. Assuming they would have kept their accreditation it would have been a win-win for both. It amazing how we turned our back on our own when they are down instead of trying to help out.
 
Tigerpride said:
They do still have a band tho mane. Im sure they need all the funds they can get... (or they did STILL have the band at one time). They broke. They have to charge for everything. Even when MH said they charge too much for the stadium use. I'm sure MoBrown had to charge them for insurance, electricity, water, security, etc... If they charge $5000 rental but expenses are $20K, how does renting it out help?
Click to expand...

they aint have no damn band... that grass looked like it hadn't been cut in over a year. NOTHING on their campus looks open. Their campus looks like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
 



2000 was the peak for that stadium, I still have the image in my head from bubbling brown sugar in those purple uniforms :eek:. Very nice facility and if you went to the top by the press box you could see downtown. If what y'all saying about MOB is true then you reap what you sew.
 
An active MB alumni member told me a few years back that Georgia St wanted to lease the stadium but was turned down. sadh...
 
Tigerpride said:
They deserved and knew how to manage the stadium.. they just didn't know how to manage the SCHOOL!

I went to several games over there and the crowds were good. They wanted to join the SWAC but the COPs knew they were on a slippery slope and never voted them in... but had they not had those financial problems, they would be in the SWAC right now!
Click to expand...

True.......After they loss their Title IV funding and went through the little edowment money on hand, they did not have enough revenue to take care of facilities nor pay the folks that were doing so. Over 500 folks loss their jobs and about 3,000 students were adversely impacted in that episode. All because of 2-3 incompetent decision making people had the unmitigated gall and audacity to try the DOE.
 
Keno1970 said:
An active MB alumni member told me a few years back that Georgia St wanted to lease the stadium but was turned down. sadh...
Click to expand...

If that's true.......It's conceivably another bad decision. Of course we don't know the leasing stipulations that GSU may have demanded and whether MBC felt like they could honor it with their financial situation.
 
Hell, let Georgia State have that stadium and the area around it. They can renovate the stadium and add parking. Their stadium issues would be solved right there. You already know that once that new Falcons stadium gets built, Georgia State is going to have a hard time playing in there.

You have a perfectly good stadium (once the clean up and repairs are done) that's not being used at all. Put it to some use.
 
Antroy,
Most likely Ga St is building their own stadium when the braves leave turner field next season. As far as Herndon stadium being "perfectly good", they havent kept up that stadium in years. If its salvageable , it would take a LOT of money to save it.

Keno,
Youre right bout Ga St when they started football. Also the Chick Fil A foundation wanted to put a youth academy over there, but again, no dice (but that one wasnt solely because they wanted too much, it was also an issue with Clark Atl)
 
Has MB completely closed down? What would it take to get MB back on good grounds? Is it just money? What if somebody like Jay-Z or Will Smith took interest in MB and provided the necessary resources, could it return?
 
Bane said:
Has MB completely closed down? What would it take to get MB back on good grounds? Is it just money? What if somebody like Jay-Z or Will Smith took interest in MB and provided the necessary resources, could it return?
Click to expand...

They are done. They came close to reaching a deal with the Department of Education a few years back but the current Morehouse President basically killed it.
 
I don't see Morris Brown coming back. I think they have something like 100 students. The vast majority of their buildings are in such bad shape that they would basically need to tear that campus down and start over again.
 
Oh well most Olympic Venues never pan out. There's photo after photo of defunct Olympic Venues. Even the birds nest in the last Summer Olympics is a mess...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top