Athens-Clarke County Mayor says he is frustrated with the rise in price of The Classic Center Arena
Miller Rich
Dec. 1, 2023
Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz speaks to Professor Lori Johnston before a news conference with Reporting 1 students in the Fine Arts Building Balcony Theater on Dec. 1, 2023. Girtz speaks about The Classic Center Arena’s plans and benefits to the community and then answers questions from the students. (Photo/Miller Rich)
Mayor of Athens-Clarke County, Kelly Girtz said he is frustrated with the rise of price of The Classic Center Arena, at a news conference on Friday Dec. 1. The news conference was held at the Fine Arts Building Balcony Theatre to discuss The Classic Center Arena’s progress and benefits.
The estimated budget for the arena in the Athens-Clarke County SPLOST 2020 was $34 million. The final cost of the arena will be between $145 million and $150 million Girtz said.
“I’m frustrated with the rise in price of every project we’re doing,” Girtz said.
The rise in cost of labor, materials and interest rates caused an economic situation where the private developer pulled out of the contract for 3 weeks, but they are back in contract now, Girtz said.
The difference between this arena and the Gwinnett Arena is that the Gwinnett arena doesn’t have places for people to walk and eat, Girtz said.
The arena will be on the edge of downtown which will increase the number of people who go to businesses downtown.
“A big part of the benefit of the Classic Center’s geographic location is that before a show and after a show, there’s plenty of drinking and dining and entertainment opportunity,” Girtz said.
The increase of people downtown from attending events at the arena could help and harm businesses downtown.
Muhammad Nadeem, owner of Canyons, a convenience store downtown, said the number of people who come into his store increases on UGA football game days and events at the Classic Center. On game days, around double the number of people come into his store.
The construction of the arena is a good step for Athens, and the arena will increase the number of people that come into his store, Nadeem said.
The influx of people in Athens however, could mean more cars parked downtown.
Parking downtown is very difficult which negatively impacts every business downtown, Nadeem said. The new arena will make parking problems worse, and he wishes they would build a big parking lot.
There will be a new parking deck for the arena that is privately funded and will have 1,000 new parking spots available. This may alleviate some issues with parking that local businesses face downtown. However, the arena is planned to have 5,500 permanent seats and a capacity for 8,500 for people in-the-round.
Why I Wrote the Story:
I wrote this story because Mayor Kelly Girtz held a news conference about The Classic Center Arena and to get another perspective of the arena and its possible effects on Athens’ downtown businesses. I learned how to cover a news conference through live coverage and by writing a story with two perspectives.