Burger Bowl is an athletic field on the West Campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology, at the intersection of Hemphill Avenue and Ferst Street. It is located behind the Fitten, Freeman, and Montag dorms.
The Burger Bowl is 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. The mixture of water, rocks, and miscellaneous debris creates a gritty mud whose grating potential has earned the Bowl a nickname as "The House of Pain" by the home team and visiting competitors alike. In 2010, the bowl was renovated and was leveled, and new sod was laid down.
The bowl-shaped field picked up the "Burger" name during the 1970s, when Burger King opened a restaurant across Hemphill Avenue from the field.[1] The Burger King, which closed in the mid-1980s, was next to the site of former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox's Pickrick Cafeteria,[2] which Maddox chose to close over desegregating. Currently the Pickrick Cafeteria is the Ajax Building, owned by Georgia Tech and used for Purchasing.[3]
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 team).[1] 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.[4]