Inside a Detroit firm’s plan to bring live entertainment to Clayton County
There’s a new entertainment venue in town.
The Arena at Southlake, located in Morrow, officially opened in April and hosted its first concert, by ’90s R&B duo Floetry, earlier this month. But the 8,000-seat, 268,000-square-foot facility, on property that formerly was the site of the Southlake Mall Sears store, is focused on more than music.
Owners Clayton County Public Schools and the Clayton County Board of Education intend for it to be a multi-purpose venue hosting large-scale conferences, graduations and sporting events, along with live music. In February, the arena held its first preopening event: the Georgia High School Association Traditional State Wrestling Championships.
After planning for the site to primarily host the school district’s graduations, Clayton County Public Schools expanded its vision to have a greater purpose for the $117 million arena.
“This is a building that belongs to the community, and in every way possible, we want to make sure that we take care of our children, our employees and our taxpayers who foot the bill for this building,” said Douglas Hendrix Sr., interim superintendent of Clayton County Public Schools.
Inside the spacious facility are many tentacles. The main entrance includes a wide lobby area for concessions. In another section of the building lies a Junior Achievement Delta Discovery Center for students’ career readiness. Another area of the venue includes a student-driven studio for creating visual and digital content. The more student-focused segments of the building are sequestered from the main arena, which also includes eight suites and a VIP lounge. The venue is adorned with a rooftop terrace, which can host weddings and other events.
Organizers plan to present a variety of entertainment options inside the arena, from comedy shows to rock concerts.
The Arena at Southlake is managed by The Right Productions, a family-run, Detroit-bred entertainment company. At its helm is Shahida Mausi, who’s leading the arena’s operations. Mausi and The Right Productions have operated the Motor City’s 6,000-capacity Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre (previously known as Chene Park) for more than two decades.
Mausi is also a founding member of the Black Promoters Collective, one of the top live music promoters in the country. Black Promoters Collective was also behind the Morrow arena’s recent Floetry concert, which Mausi said was “everything we envisioned” although the show wasn’t sold out.
“It’s a unique space in that it’s civic, it’s educational, it’s entertainment, both music and sports, and it’s a space that we’ve been working in for some time,” said Mausi, who expects to bring 200 to 300 full- and part-time jobs to the arena.
The AJC talked to Shahida Mausi about her goals for the expansive space.
This Q&A has been edited and condensed for clarity
Q: How long have you been involved in this project and what made you want to be involved?
A: Clayton County Public Schools issued a request for proposals at the end of 2024, and we submitted our bid early ’25 and we won the bid midyear. Since then, we have been in the process of negotiating and working with the Clayton County Public Schools as the building was being completed and moving toward getting ready for the opening and first events.
We’ve been excited about the prospect of this since the concept became known to us, which was actually some time ago when the Clayton County Public School System purchased (the building). They purchased that, demolished that, and then have now built the arena. It’s been an exciting and interesting program, and it’s something that’s unique in the country.
Q: Do you all have prior ties to Georgia?
A: We had other business relationships here, but this is the first, you know, in depth relationship that we’ve had here. And we’re based now between the two cities (Detroit and Atlanta).
Q: Stockbridge Amphitheatre, which also hosts soul and R&B acts, is only 25 minutes away. It’s a smaller venue (3,600 capacity), but do you envision any competition?
A: We’re a different-sized venue. We are a midsize arena, and that’s a unique mix, and we have excellent parking. We are right off I-75 and (are) 15 to 20 minutes from the airport. We’re positioned to do some really exciting and significant things.
Q: Should people expect more promoters outside of Black Promoters Collective?
A: Yea, we are absolutely an open venue. We are open to working with promoters in all different genres, as well as in the sports arena as well. We want the venue to serve the entire community: Black, white, Asian, everybody. It’s a great venue. It’s a beautiful venue, and it is paid for with the work from this community.
Q: How many events do you expect the arena to host each year?
A: I would expect more than 20 events on the books before long. But next year, there will probably be double or triple that. Part of what we are doing now is inviting other promoters to come in learn about the venue. A lot of folks are just now becoming aware that this is a possibility in this very important market that is the Atlanta metro area.
Q: There aren’t many venues owned by a school system and as multipurpose as this one. What would you say to those who may doubt the project’s sustainability?
A: What I would say is that (TRP) has 30 years of experience in doing concerts and events. We are cofounders of the 14th largest grossing concert promotion business in the world (Black Promoters Collective). Clayton County has the experience of building great facilities and serving this community. We have the expertise in these two areas. It is unique. It is new. And hold your hat. Get ready. We’re coming.
Q: What experience are you hoping to provide for people entering the venue for the first time?
A: Our goal is to create an experience for our customers that is warm and welcoming and one that caters to their tastes, to their needs. We want to make sure that we’re serving them. We are flexible and we can serve, and we want to hear from our customers what you like, and what can we do better?
Q: Now that TRP is working in Atlanta, is there a desire to do more projects here?
A: There’s a desire to do more. There’s a desire to serve, and that’s really the core of it. There’s a ton of work always when you’re doing events and detail upon detail upon detail upon detail, so the payoff for all of that (is) the impact that all of that work has on people, the ability to lift people’s spirits and leave our spaces in a better place than they came. That’s why we do it, and to do that here in Atlanta is an honor.
Heat Check is a monthly music column where AJC culture reporter DeAsia Paige explores the temperature of Georgia’s buzzing, expansive music scene — via the people and places within it. The column includes music news, trends and any Georgia-related music that DeAsia is listening to. If you’re a Georgia artist and have music you want to be considered for this column — or if you just want to talk music — feel free to send an email to deasia.paige@ajc.com. If you’d like to receive Heat Check via email, sign up here. Below is a May playlist:
About the Author
DeAsia is a music and culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She focuses on the intersection of arts, culture and diverse communities, as well as how emerging social trends are being expressed through the lens of the Atlanta aesthetic. DeAsia's work can be seen in Pitchfork, Essence, Teen Vogue, Elle and more.
