A crowd stands outside of Coahulla Creek High School.VARNELL, Ga. -- Coahulla Creek High School will have the focus of Southeast NFL fans on Aug. 6 when the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons hold a joint practice in preparation for the upcoming season.
The practice begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Whitfield County school and is free to the public. The stadium seats 7,500 and has plenty of room for standing spectators.
"This is something that's been in the works for several months, and it's nice to be able to officially announce it," Coahulla Creek associate athletic director Chip Fleming said Thursday.
"We think it's a pretty big deal. The teams will take over the school that day, holding meetings at the school and holding 7-on-7 and inside drills. They're going to paint the field to represent both teams."
Whitfield County Schools' Superintendent Danny Hayes has a connection with Falcons' head coach Mike Smith. The two coached together at Tennessee Tech University and have remained close.
Whitfield County Schools spokesman Eric Beavers confirmed the practice but said the administration "had no further comment."
According to Titans' spokesman Gary Glenn, the teams hope to work out plans to make the joint practice an annual event. The Falcons have hosted combined drills at their Suwanee, Ga., headquarters against the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars the past two seasons.
Coahulla Creek, located next to Prater's Mill off Georgia Highway 2, also was chosen in part because of its location as a midpoint between Suwanee and Nashville.
The school's football team, the Colts, begins its second season in August and, in fact, has its first scrimmage of training camp scheduled the day after the Falcons/Titans practice.
"That will be another interesting part of this," Fleming said. "The kids get to play on a field two NFL teams just practiced on. We also hope the fans come out and enjoy the session."