By Aimee Braniff Cree
STEP INSIDE the famous stadium that has played background to films, hosted the late great Ray Charles and also was the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Images show Herndon Stadium in a state of disrepair with a brown field that was once the site of Olympic field hockey and graffitied bleachers where 15,011 fans could cheer on their teams.
Alonzo Herndon Stadium, named for Alonzo Herndon, is an abandoned 15,011-seat stadium on the campus of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
It is the only two-sided stadium in the Atlanta University Centre. It is one block over from the locally known Herndon Home, and sits above the MARTA East-West rail line.
The stadium opened in 1948. It is the largest stadium at an institution in the Atlanta University Centre, and the only one with stands on both sides.
In addition to sports, the stadium hosted concerts. Ray Charles recorded a live album at the stadium.
During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Herndon Stadium hosted field hockey. It was expanded and renovated ahead of the games.
It was also used as the stand-in for the demolished Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia during filming of the 2006 movie We Are Marshall.
The stadium was the home to the former Georgia Mustangs and the former Atlanta Beat women’s soccer club of the WUSA league, the latter of whom played there from 2001 until 2003.
Due to the college’s financial hardships, the stadium was abandoned and is in a state of disrepair, gutted by vandals and covered in graffiti and trash.
The stadium was sold by Morris Brown College, and was abandoned in 2014. Its sale created controversy due to a land-use agreement with other members of the Atlanta University Centre and historic property deeds.
The stadium is now owned by Clark Atlanta University. The school is planning to restore the stadium.
Urban explorer Leland Kent known online as Abandoned Southeast captured the once glorious stadium in Georgia, USA.
“What I found interesting about Herndon Stadium was that it was used in the 1996 Olympic Summer Games. When I was a kid, I attended an Olympic soccer game that was held in Birmingham during the 1996 Olympics,” said Leland
“This football stadium is the only abandoned Olympic venue I have had the chance to explore and being only a few hours drive I had to see it in person.
“As I approached the front, I pulled my camera out to take some shots and a security officer saw me and came over.
“We had a brief conversation which ended in him telling me I could explore the stadium. I watched him leave for the day as I was inside. I realised I had the property to myself.
“The view of downtown from the top is one of the best I have found around Atlanta.
“I ventured back after a while and flew my drone around the property. The graffiti had increased significantly.
“The old stadium is littered with debris and the facility itself has suffered from rapid deterioration due to years of vandalism.”
For more explorations visit Lelands blog.
As published in the Sun Online.
ENDS
