{"id":295,"date":"2023-03-26T21:43:01","date_gmt":"2023-03-26T21:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/?p=295"},"modified":"2023-12-09T00:59:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T00:59:43","slug":"news-conference-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/news-conference-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Girtz Voices Frustration Over Construction Delays and Rising Costs for The Classic Center Arena, Anticipates August 2024 Opening"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ashtin Barker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz gives a presentation to University of Georgia students at a news conference on Dec. 1, 2023 in the Fine Arts Building about the development of The Classic Center Arena. The arena opening has been delayed but is now expected to open August 2024. (Photo\/Ashtin Barker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz said he is frustrated with the growing cost of The Classic Center Arena and he is \u201creasonably confident\u201d that the arena will open August 2024, nine months later than initially anticipated<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girtz discussed the progress of the arena, surrounding commercial and residential development and its impact on Athens during a Dec. 1 press conference at the University of Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the delay in construction, the project total is now projected to be approximately $150 million, he said, with $34 million of funds coming from SPLOST revenue. The arena is partially funded by the SPLOST, an additional sales tax approved by the voters of Athens-Clarke County in 2019, and is also funded by bonds and private fundraising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned over 17 years in local public policymaking that nothing ever happens as fast as I would like so I’m gonna be delighted when it comes out of the ground,\u201d Girtz said. \u201cDo I wish that timeline was faster? Absolutely.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arena is predicted to bring 600 new jobs to Athens and have a $33 million annual economic impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athens is home to a historic music scene with venues like the Georgia Theater and 40 Watt Club. Once open, The Classic Center Arena will be the largest venue in downtown Athens with a capacity of 8,500 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re pulling from anywhere, we\u2019ll be pulling shows out of Greenville or out of Charlotte or out of other larger markets,\u201d Girtz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mallory & Evans Development plans include a 1,200-space parking lot, new hotels, retail and dining space. Lane Westbrook, general manager of the downtown Athens Mellow Mushroom, said he thinks the arena will be good for business<\/a> and bring more people over to the east side of downtown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just many bars, restaurants and retail in this one little bitty area and it’s been that way for as long as I\u2019ve been alive,\u201d Westbrook said. \u201cAnd, you know, I hate to say it, the strong survive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Ashtin Barker (@by.barker.media)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Topics:<\/strong> Concerts, Restaurants, New Jobs, Tourism<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I Wrote the Story: <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Classic Center Arena is a very large project that is projected to impact Athens in some major ways. Getting the perspectives of those involved with the development of the arena as well as the perspectives of people in the community who will be affected by it is very important. Athens residents should be informed about what is going on in their community and hearing the voice of the mayor and his opinion on the growing cost of the project is important as well. This project is implementing a lot of sustainable energy sources including a large solar array on the roof. I learned a lot about how to report on politicians when writing this story and how to ask good questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ashtin Barker Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz said he is frustrated with the growing cost of The Classic Center Arena and he is \u201creasonably confident\u201d that the arena will open August 2024, nine months later than initially anticipated. Girtz discussed the progress of the arena, surrounding commercial and residential development and its impact on Athens […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4432"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/rp-ashtinbarker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}