Homecoming is a tradition that is celebrated to welcome back alumni and introduce the new homecoming court. The festivities are usually concluded by a football game at Lakewood Stadium, the home field for Atlanta Public Schools.

This year, the Georgia Dome opened its doors to host homecoming for three APS schools and a major game by another: Carver, Washington and Mays played their homecoming games, while Grady went up against region rival St. Pius in a battle of unbeaten teams.

“Domecoming” was held on Saturday and began at 11 a.m. with the Grady game. North Atlanta played next against Carver and Washington played Riverwood. The last game was between Mays and Villa Rica.

Usually during homecoming, Lakewood is so packed with fans that they overflow onto the visitor’s side. When this occurs, fans often have their personal space invaded by strangers and can forget any chance of saving a seat for friends that showed up late.

With such a large crowd, Lakewood faces issues with providing enough seating, parking, concessions and restrooms. The Dome is well-equipped to handle large crowds since it is home to the Atlanta Falcons, concerts, and other large-scale events.

Each seat gives the patron their own bubble of comfort. Another advantage to seating at the Dome is that there are backs on the chairs so they are more comfortable to sit on for prolonged periods of time.

“The game seemed very important, more important than any other game since I have been here,” said senior Ryan Carter of the homecoming game.

Having homecoming at the Dome provided an opportunity for students who have never been to experience it.

“It was a good first experience at the Dome for me. It seemed much bigger on television than it did in real life. Still, I would like to go there again,” Tommysina Porter, senior, said.

Besides the change in venue, the homecoming festivities during halftime basically stuck to the tradition. The band played a medley of ballads as the club queens, football sponsors, grade level kings and queens, and Mr. and Miss Mays finalists were introduced.

Tickets cost $10 dollars in advance and $12 dollars at the door. The prices were not as bad, but once the price to park and eat were added into the equation, things got expensive. The cost of parking ranged from $5 to $20 dollars. Five dollar parking usually includes a long walk to the stadium. At Lakewood, parking is free and even the space farthest from the stadium is not a bad walk.

At the Dome, a chicken finger basket, which includes three chicken fingers and fries, costs $8 dollars. A fountain drink would be another $4 dollars, bringing the total to $12 dollars. With that same $12 dollars at Lakewood, a fan could probably buy a couple of hot dogs, popcorn, an Italian ice or hot chocolate, and nachos.

The Dome is indoors, so the patrons are not affected by the weather. At Lakewood, everyone is at the mercy of the elements. Had the game been there on Saturday, it would have been extremely cold.

The night was made even more special when Mays went on to beat Villa Rica 38 to 14.