We were fortunate to have Georgia Dome PR representatives Ashley Grubbs and Mark Springfield to give us a firsthand look at this incredible facility. Once you step on the field, and look up and see a massive field of green seats all around you, the adrenaline soars, and one can only imagine the feelings of each player as they take the field to a sea of raucous fans...it is simply an undescribable feeling for a sports fan.

The surface on the Georgia Dome field is FieldTurf, a unique artificial surface that is mostly rubber-based. When you walk on the surface, it feels very much like a combination of wet grass on top of a good track foundation. It is well-liked by football coaches and players, and is noted for being a supportive surface for athletes. On the field, painters were hard at work painting the endzones and midfield for the Atlanta Falcons. According to Springfield, it usually takes 8 hours to scrub down an old paint job, and then replace it with a new one. However, with the Dome hosting the Peach Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and a Falcons game in 4 days, it was a hectic, non-stop effort that the paint crew performed to start 2006!

We were shown the visitors' locker room, which was interesting not only for its massive size (it's basically four locker rooms in one) but also for it's primary color: purple. I had to ask if the Falcons had anything to do with the color scheme, given that at Iowa, the visiting rooms are painted in pink to give the optical illusion that the room is extremely small. However, the colors were not the choice of the Falcons, but rather an official color picked out by the Georgia Dome administration. During the SEC basketball tournament, temporary barriers turn each football locker room into four seperate locker rooms for participating teams, giving each team ample space to work with.

The press box at the Georgia Dome is simply incredible. It seats 300 easily, and provides a perfect view of the field for each member of the media. Unlike many outdoor stadiums, there are no windows that seperate the press box from the fans in the stands. This is a major plus, and really helps to provide the best gameday experience possible. The skyboxes nearby provide ultimate comfort for fans, and visiting owners alike, and every detail is taken care of. Even higher up (in fact, it's up in the raftors) are the coaches boxes. Their view is amazing, but it's REALLY high up! The boxes, though, like everything at the Dome, are really spacious and very comfortable. The Georgia Dome strives to be first class, and from the looks of things, it certainly never fails.

All in all, it was the perfect beginning to start our 3 month road trip. The Georgia Dome is truly a palace for college football fans, and come December, it will be the perfect setting to decide the championship in football's greatest conference.