J.Mike's Missives

Halftime at the Georgia Dome during the Falcons-Chargers preseason game.

Some thoughts brewing in the blog, but we’ll pass the time with a YouTube clip of the team’s pregame introductions (upload took a little while).

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It may not be the biggest change to take hold at the Georgia Dome over the past three years, but the new scoreboards that make their football debut Saturday night are certainly the most noticeable addition.

The high-definition boards are three-times the size of the previous offerings and offer a number of new abilities to the game entertainment team.

“It was like watching a replay on your telephone in the past,” Falcons vice president of marketing Jim Smith said. “Now when you go to this format, you can show a replay. Fans will really like seeing the replays. One of the things we really heard — or that the NFL has heard — is that fans feel you can get a better viewing experience at home. Some of that’s due to the replay. Now we’re going to show replay better than what you can see at home.”

I know I’m looking forward to catching some replays in HD.

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Sitting in the press box at the Georgia Dome fighting back feelings of nostalgia and listening to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sing along with “One Thing Leads to Another…”

The Falcons plan to kickoff the mock game at Roam the Dome around 12:30 p.m. but thousands of fans are already filing into the Dome.

Roam the Dome doesn’t offer the same, live action scrimmage feel from Friday Night Lights, but the trade off comes in the game day atmosphere. The team plans to show the 2009 NFL Films highlight real on the new, HD scoreboards and a full-scale team introduction will push out from the tunnel.

Why? To get the team used to a game-day atmosphere and all the non-football bells and whistles from an NFL game.

The coach-to-player headsets are plugged in and ready to go. The music is pumping and the team will go through a routine, pre-game warm up.

No wonder Head Coach Mike Smith’s teams are comfortable at home.

More photos and some Flip video to come from the event…

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Crews at the Georgia Dome spent the weekend installing a grass field in preparation for Wednesday’s soccer match between Mexico and Venezuala.

It will be the first time the venue hosts an event on a grass field (click here for photos).

Sod from Precision Turf in Lilburn was laid in 4-by-8 foot sections. It will be removed after the game and more grass will be put down in preparation for another soccer match on July 22.

In chatting with head groundskeeper Jim Hewitt (@FalconsGrounds) Tuesday I learned the grass doesn’t need much to stay in place. A bed of plastic and plywood do the trick for a base (pictured) and the large sections of grass (about 2 inches thick) buddy up and start to connect.

I also learned that grass, especially in Georgia, needs plenty of heat and light to grow.

That was a problem when the idea of putting a natural surface in an indoor stadium was first explored.

Engineers of the Astrodome originally put down Bermuda grass, which would — in theory — grow under a semitransparent roof. A section of the roof was painted to prevent glare which, combined with the problem of growing grass in the absence of sunlight, led to the demise of the concept.

The Houston Texans also play on a grass field inside of Reliant Stadium, but the sod is brought in and out of the retractable-roof facility on trays. The Arizona Cardinals also play on grass under a retractable roof, but the entire field is tracked in and out of the stadium.

According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta plans to be in a proposal to host World Cup games in 2018 or 2022

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The Falcons expect to wrap a three-phase renovation project at the Georgia Dome in time for the 2009 preseason.

Crews are currently removing the old replay boards and replacing them with new, state-of-the art equipment. It’s the last undertaking of dome enhancements, which have included new seats, a re-designed club and suite level and a fresh coat of Falcons black and red on the exterior walls.

According to director of event marketing and client services Roddy White, the new boards will produce an image at 1080i resolution and measure 101′ x 24′ (three times the size of the original boards).

More photos to come as work progresses, but here’s a glimpse at what’s being done…

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