A new arena being built in Athens that could seat up to 8,500 people is scheduled to open by August 2024, more than two years after breaking ground.
Danny Bryant, general manager for the arena, gave The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and potential clients a hard hat tour last week of the property, which is costing $150 million.
Eighteen months after the groundbreaking, the precast concrete seating bowl was being placed piece by piece with a massive crane that week. The roof was not yet in place but was set to go in later this month. Good weather has helped keep the build on schedule.
Bryant said the arena has also signed a deal with a minor league hockey team, though they don’t plan to announce the team name just yet. For the past 20 years, Atlanta ECHL team the Gladiators has been based out of Gas South Arena in Duluth, about 50 miles west of Athens and recently committed to four more years there. The Thrashers, Atlanta’s last NHL team, left the city in 2011.
A contact for the ECHL did not immediately respond to the AJC’s request for more information on a potential Athens team.
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
The new Athens venue could fit 5,500 to 8,500 seats depending on the configuration. This makes it smaller than Gas South Arena (maximum capacity: 13,000) but larger than the Fox Theatre (4,665). It will be the biggest arena in the area not directly affiliated with the University of Georgia. The 60-year-old Stegeman Coliseum, the university arena that fits up to 10,000 people, is primarily used for school-related activities such as UGA basketball games, commencements and convocations.
The neighboring Classic Center Theatre, which opened in 1995, seats about 2,100 people, while Georgia Theatre in downtown Athens fits about 1,000.
Given Athens’ relative proximity to Atlanta, it may compete to some degree with venues in Atlanta for certain types of conventions. sporting competitions and musical acts. Management said it hopes to book 25 concerts per year along with 10 family shows (such as “Disney on Ice”), 55 sporting events, 20 community events and 15 conventions.
“We can do high school tournaments, pickleball tournaments and gymnastic competitions,” said Paul Cramer, Classic Center CEO and president.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho
While it is currently called The Classic Center Arena, management is actively seeking a naming rights sponsor to provide more regular income.
The county hoped the building would open in June of 2024, but Cramer said there was a two-month delay getting started because there was more granite in the ground to break up than expected and excess chemical-laden dirt to remove. The land was the site of an incinerator decades ago. Georgia Power, which owned the land, cleaned the site up and donated it to the county, he said.
The original plans had priced the build at $90 million. By last year, inflationary labor and the price of raw materials raised the estimated cost to $130 million. Now the anticipated cost is $150 million. The money is coming from a mix of public and private funding.
The county also owns several acres of land surrounding the arena that it hopes can be developed into an entertainment district with retail, apartments, condominiums and a hotel to generate more income and help pay off the cost of the arena.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
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