Construction on The Classic Center Arena likely be completed by August, according to mayor

Katherine Davis  |  December 4, 2023

Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz is “reasonably confident” that The Classic Center Arena will open as scheduled in August 2024. The arena, which broke ground in April 2022, was originally slated to open in November 2023.

Along with the delay in opening, construction costs have increased from the originally proposed $89 million to approximately $150 million.

“The reality is, in any large construction project there are ripples and hiccups,” Girtz said during a press conference about the arena Friday.

The arena is taking sustainability initiatives to keep the cost of maintaining the facility cheaper upon opening, such as a stormwater management facility underneath the parking deck and high efficiency heating and cooling systems to reduce the use of power. The roof of the arena will feature the largest rooftop solar array in Athens-Clarke County, according to Girtz.

Girtz also said that the arena is expected to create 600 jobs for Athens upon opening, most of them full-time. The pay for these jobs will reflect the Clarke County living wage calculation published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Classic Center Arena will be a venue for concerts, sports, banquets, and more. It hopes to host 25 or more concerts per year, according to Girtz.

“This is an arena that’s purpose-built for music,” Girtz said. “Whether you’re Stevie Wonder or Carrie Underwood or The Weeknd or Billy Strings, this is a room that’s gonna be built for you to come and provide for Athens.”

An unnamed minor league hockey team has signed a deal with the arena, which Girtz said will most likely begin playing in winter 2024. The Classic Center is already home to three University of Georgia hockey teams.

The arena is expected to have a capacity of 8,500 people. However, the new parking garage that is being built alongside the arena will only add 1,200 additional spaces to the 1,000 spaces already existing around The Classic Center, according to Girtz.

University of Georgia student Jackson Fountain said that the parking situation sounds concerning.

“If you were traveling it might be a little more daunting,” said Fountain, a third-year political science major. “But me being a student, I know I could find a spot somewhere within walking distance, like on-campus.”

Girtz said that what sets The Classic Center Arena apart from other venues, such as the Gas South Arena, is that it will be surrounded by places to eat and drink. Private developers are also expected to develop the area around the arena further to resemble The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County, which will likely increase the urban density of downtown Athens.

“The more the merrier, for sure,” Fountain said. “You know, besides the parking stuff.”

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Why I Wrote this Story

This story was an opportunity to practice my journalism skill at a faster pace and become familiar with writing data stories. The news conference was especially tough for me because there was a lot of information thrown at us all at once and then after we had to sort through it. As someone who is indecisive, it was hard to decide what information was important enough to include in the story and what didn’t make the cut.