AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > June > 01 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGolf Hall gets short shrift
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
The battle of the halls of fame is on in Georgia. Everybody has a favorite. Governor Perdue favors the Sports Hall of Fame at Macon. Others favor the Golf Hall of Fame at Augusta. As a member of both, I suggest that the golf project is getting the back of the governor’s hand.
The Sports Hall was built at a cost of $8 million to $10 million, and costs the state anywhere from $600,000 to $800,000 annually to keep operating. The logical location was the Georgia Dome, which was being built about the same time and would have tied it in with a guaranteed flow of sports fans.
But, “Middle Georgia gets nothing. It needs an attraction like this. Atlanta gets everything.” That was the major plank in the mid-state politicos’ platform.
Located in Macon, off the speedway that is I-75, it has no way of attracting casual visitors and assuring its upkeep. And the demand will worsen, for structural repairs and maintenance will become a constant strain. Its appeal is regional.
The Golf Hall is located in Georgia’s golf central. Augusta is home to the Masters, whose prestige is international. It generates more publicity for the state, due to its proximity to the Masters, and the statuesque presence of such great Masters champions as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Raymond Floyd, plus the abiding presence of Bobby Jones, this state’s most widely renowned athlete. More than $7 million has been spent on the project, so it is written, but there is still no housing structure. Now it has become a sparring issue between Governor Perdue and Rep. Ben Harbin of Evans, two Republicans of differing ilk.
This is unfair to the sport that has brought more publicity to Georgia than can be measured. Governor Perdue has vetoed any appropriations for the Golf Hall, whether in the interest of budget-balancing or par for the course in a match between political rivals. Ah, the governor does enjoy his vetoes.
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