Burger Bowl is an athletic field on the West Campus of the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, at the intersection of Hemphill Avenue and Ferst Street. It is located behind the Fitten, Freeman, and Montag dorms. The bowl itself is split in two by a sidewalk creating the larger Burger Bowl, adjacent to the SAC fields, and the smaller Taco Bowl, adjacent to Hemphill Avenue. The Burger Bowl was known for its characteristic lack of grass, the prevailing contents of the soil being a mixture of dirt, rocks, and urban debris. The elevated lips that give the green space its bowl-shape lead to the flooding in the field, puddles from heavy rains sometimes leaving the field in a marshy state. In 2010, the bowl was renovated and leveled, and new sod was laid down. Since then, the Burger bowl has been a fertile , grass-filled landscape for students to gather, play and relax on.

History

The bowl-shaped field picked up the "Burger" name during the 1970s, when

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

opened a restaurant across Hemphill Avenue from the field. The Burger King, which closed in the mid-1980s, was next to the site of former Georgia Governor

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationis ...

Pickrick Cafeteria Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationis ...

. The Burger Bowl was used as a practice area for field events for the 1996 Olympic Games. Following the Olympics, the Atlanta Commission for the Olympic Games (ACOG) had 6 inches of sand placed over the field, and grass sowed in it. This slightly improved drainage of the field, but did nothing to improve grass cover, given the wear and tear it faced as a rugby practice field.

Uses

The field is currently a recreational field for a variety of intramural athletics, and home to the Georgia Tech Rugby Football Club (a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team). The Bowl also serves as a meeting place for clubs and events, including most Georgia Tech Homecoming and Greek Week events. The field is on a slight grade, so ends of the field are often referred to as uphill or downhill for location purposes. Georgia Tech built the Leadership Challenge Course in the northeast corner.

References

External links

*Map: {{Coord, 33, 46, 42, N, 84, 24, 10, W, format=dms, display=inline,title, type:landmark_region:US-GA Georgia Tech buildings and structures Sports venues in Atlanta