$170M renovation to revamp nearly everything at Gas South Arena
Credit: Courtesy of Gas South District
The event-going experience has changed a lot in 23 years, but perhaps nothing has evolved more than attendee expectations.
A baseball game needs more than hot dogs and boxes of Cracker Jack, just like concertgoers want things to do between parking their car and getting to their seat. For suburban arenas designed decades ago, those modern expectations require stark changes to remain fresh.
That’s what the leaders of Gas South Arena plan to do through a $170 million-plus renovation campaign to modernize nearly everything at Gwinnett County’s largest event venue. The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday to help finance the endeavor.
“Other than the basic walls of the building, everything inside it will be brand new,” Stan Hall, president and CEO of the Gas South District, said. “We’re excited to present Gas South Arena in a manner that we think will be competitive with any large venue anywhere.”
Open since 2003, the 13,000-seat arena near I-85 is one of the region’s largest event spaces outside Atlanta’s city limits. Formerly known as Infinite Energy Center, it’s a perennial concert venue and acts as the home base for the Atlanta Gladiators minor league hockey team and the Georgia Swarm professional lacrosse team.
The renovation campaign aims to build upon other changes and additions to the 118-acre campus surrounding the arena, which is overseen by Hall’s organization in partnership with the county. Those include more than doubling the size of Gas South Convention Center, opening the Westin Atlanta Gwinnett hotel and renovating the on-campus theater.
Credit: Jason Getz
Once those efforts were completed in early 2024, Hall said the next logical step was to reevaluate the central arena.
“We took a really hard look at the building,” he said. “Not only aesthetically, but from a technology perspective, from a security perspective and for all those things that are so important to a building of that size.”
The upgrades, which the county said will be financed through a mixture of bond financing, reserve cash and other sources, will be extensive. But Hall said his team aims to do the renovations in phases, minimizing the number of days the venue is closed.
The campaign includes a replaced roof, a revamped front plaza, a redesigned main entrance, a new parking deck and entirely new seating throughout the arena. Upgraded technology, such as modernized concessions and security checks, will also be incorporated.
Low-level floor seating options will be added, a common feature in refreshed arenas that act as new high-end ticket options.
“In the days that our building was constructed, the most expensive seats that you could buy were at the furthest point up in the suites,” Hall said. “So you couldn’t have gotten any farther away from what you were watching, and you were paying the most expensive price for it.”
State Farm Arena went through a similar refresh when it turned 20. Formerly Philips Arena, the downtown Atlanta venue underwent a $200 million renovation that ended in 2018. Other new venues have also joined Atlanta’s event landscape, from Truist Park in Cobb County to the future 5,300-seat Live Nation Entertainment venue at Centennial Yards.
Hall estimates Gas South Arena’s renovations will cost between $170 million and $176 million, depending on some final design choices. Inflation has hit the construction industry particularly hard in recent years, which Hall said impacts the high price tag. He estimates a new arena would easily cost at least $500 million.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
“It’s a lot of money, but in the grand scheme, it’s an absolute bargain for what we’ll have when the completion date arises,” he said.
His organization estimates Gas South Arena has delivered more than $1 billion in economic impact for Gwinnett over the past decade. The financial impact of stadiums and arenas are often disputed and debated among economists.
Gwinnett Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said Tuesday ahead of the board of commission’s vote that by “modernizing and expanding these facilities, we’re ensuring that the Gas South District will continue to be a source of pride and a draw to Gwinnett County for generations to come.”
Architecture firm Perkins & Will is the project’s master planner with additional support from Brasfield & Gorrie and Impact Development Management. Renovations are slated to begin early next year and take about two years to complete.
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
