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ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum, which closed in March after a small piece of the roof was found on the floor, is set to reopen in time for the next basketball season, and the school has no plans to permanently close the arena in order to build a new one.

Here’s what you need to know:

• An outside firm, Walter P. Moore, found “no indication” of structural deficiencies that caused the palm-sized piece of ceiling material to come loose, the third time in five years that had occurred.
• However, a root cause could be the center-hung scoreboard and/or heating and cooling system, which were installed in spring 2017. The first piece of roof material fell in spring 2018, the next in fall 2020, and the next on March 2, when Stegeman immediately closed.
• Stegeman Coliseum opened in 1964 and has undergone several renovations, including a new roof in 2008.
• Georgia’s volleyball team, the only Bulldogs fall sport that uses Stegeman, will have to relocate temporarily to the arena at the Ramsey Center, its previous home from 1995 to 2017. The repairs to the roof are due to be completed in time for the Georgia men’s and women’s basketball teams, and gymnastics teams, to begin play for the winter sports season.

Why not replace Stegeman with a new arena?

Because the repairs are considered doable, plenty of money has already gone into Stegeman, and school officials like the arena’s location, in the center of campus a few blocks from Sanford Stadium.

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Most importantly, there’s the cost, which athletic director Josh Brooks said would be “easily north of $200 million,” and that’s as a starting point.

“Trust me, that’s the first question we would ask, right,” Brooks said Thursday when asked whether replacing Stegeman was considered.

“We have great bones at Stegeman. To think of a venue of this size, the volume of events Stegeman has, it creates a lot of opportunities for us,” Brooks said. “If you would try to recreate that from scratch, you’re looking at about a high-nine-figure number. We think we’ve got great bones to continue to work with. … I think this is a great opportunity to keep re-imagining Stegeman.”

What is being done to make sure the roof is safe?

The scaffolding has been up inside the arena since March and will remain up as repairs are made. Three were specified in a report provided by UGA, all working on the roof itself.

The engineering firm also recommended doing a “detailed structure analysis” of the roof structure that focuses on the root cause, and how much is due to the scoreboard and other 2017 renovations. That analysis is expected to be completed in about eight weeks.

However, Brooks is already thinking about moving on from the central scoreboard and replacing it by putting a larger video board on the wall on the west end of the coliseum, where there is currently a mural. That change would take place after the 2023-24 basketball season.

But one move is being done sooner: The roof is painted a darker color, giving what Brooks called “a more modern look.” It has been the standard concrete color since 1964.

(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

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