$34 million Classic Center Arena expansion plans to bring a variety of entertainment to Downtown Athens

Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz speaks on the plans for the new Classic Center Arena. Girtz was elected mayor of Athens in 2018.

(Photo/Gray Barbee)

On Friday Morning, Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz held a conference regarding the ongoing construction of the new Classic Center Arena in the Fine Arts building on UGA’s North Campus. The $34 million project will increase the arena’s maximum capacity to 8,500 people. 

“We first created a pretty large addition about 10 years ago… And that’s allowed for gatherings of 3,500 or 4,000 people. But the Classic Center Authority working with the commission and myself realized we may need to take it to the next level,” said Girtz.  

The arena’s location will provide many new benefits to downtown Athens businesses as it projects to draw 50 million dollars of annual economic impact to the city. The arena will also offer an array of community benefits as it will create more than 600 jobs. The project will bring a plethora of new entertainment to Athens as the expansion will accommodate everything from family-friendly shows such as “Disney on Ice” to UGA’s Ice Dawgs, as well as a professional hockey team that has not been named yet. 

The UGA Ice Dawgs were established in 1987 and play their home games in the Classic Center. The Classic Center’s expansion project plans to accommodate both the Ice Dawgs and the unnamed professional team by featuring a main arena and another hall with hosting capabilities. 

“I think the Ice Dawgs may sometimes spend their time in the arena and may sometimes spend their time in the hall. So we’ve got the opportunity to move between the two. But I have every confidence that we can manage that question,” said Girtz

The expansion project won’t just stand to benefit attendees in the crowd. The Classic Center Arena plans to serve as a full-time practice facility for the Ice Dawgs.

“The most thing I’m excited for is not having to drive to Duluth every week for practice,” said Ice Dawgs Senior Forward Josh Mesaros. “Most teams have to go off campus to play but it being downtown is gonna be so nice and so convenient.”

The new Classic Center Arena is currently slated to open Aug 1, 2024 but another delay is possible. 

“Let me say (I’m) reasonably confident. Reality is in any large construction project there are ripples and hiccups. And so if it is not Aug 1, I expect it to be shortly thereafter,” said Girtz. 

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Why I Wrote the Story:

I wrote this story for my reporting I class in UGA’s Journalism program. I covered local business this semester for the class and our final project was to cover a news conference with Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz. I learned that there is much ongoing action behind the scenes of local businesses and government that can be more exciting to cover than I initially thought.

Beat Q&A with The Wuxtry’s Nate Mitchell

Nate Mitchell holding an early REM EP. “Radio Free Europe.” REM’s two founding members met at The Wuxtry.

(Photo/Gray Barbee)

Nathaniel Mitchell is the store manager at Wuxtry Records, serving the Athens community for over 13 years.  

Q: “How long have you lived in Athens?”

A: “Over 15 years, since early 2006.”

Q: “So what’s your job at the Wuxtry?”

A: “Store Manager.”

Q: “How familiar were you with the Wuxtry’s impact on the Athens music scene before you started working here?

A: “I guess I knew about REM starting in Athens. It wasn’t until I first visited the town in 1999 and stopped in here and bought some music, I think it was probably around that time I was explained the history of the store. It was kind of responsible for the beginning of REM.”

Q: “What would you say to entice people who consider themselves big music fans but don’t collect records or don’t see the value in it into giving it a try?

A: “Well, you might remember just a few months ago a lot of people were protesting Spotify carrying the Joe Rogan podcast. Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, these are pretty major artists and they just pulled their whole catalog off Spotify. I mean, that’s like the main streaming service most people subscribe to. I tell people, owning a physical copy of the album It’s your copy, they won’t be able to change those songs once they’re released. I mean, it might get another pressing, there’s definitely albums that had songs taken off of them or changed artwork. So yeah, I feel like invest in stuff that you like.”

Q: “What do people need to know about upcoming events at the Wuxtry and around Athens?

A: “I guess the big one, I almost feel like this has spiraled a bit out of control as far as how popular it ended up being but I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the 60s TV show and TV band, the Monkees. Just in the past week or so it was an unexpected announcement that Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member of the original four piece, had recorded a four song EP that was him covering REM songs. They were asking if it was alright if they used a photo of the storefront with the album cover; I said fine, no problem. I kind of jokingly asked, ‘any chance that Mickey might be able to do an in-store appearance for his record signing?’ And they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t know, I have to check with his manager.’ And I got a call from the manager and it was possible. And then after that, I got a call from Micky Dolenz. They are thrilled to come here. At this point, we’ve had over 300 people call in and preorder the album coming in from all over the place.”

 

Why I Wrote the Story:

I’ve been an avid record collector for five years now, the Wuxtry is the business that I frequent the most often downtown. I learned that you have to be on your toes at all times during an interview whether its because you have to be ready to ask follow up questions or troubleshoot with your recording or any number of other problems.