The level of excitement in Athens, Ga., is still at peak levels following the University of Georgia's (UGA) lopsided victory over Texas Christian University Jan. 9, bringing the Bulldogs their second straight college football national championship title.
But much of the city and the campus also is anxiously awaiting another sports-related development that is aiming to set a new bar for events facilities northeast of metro Atlanta.
Almost a year after it broke ground, the $126 million Classic Center Arena project has begun vertical construction on North Thomas Street in Athens near UGA's North Campus and other landmarks, including the Athens Banner-Herald building and several downtown hotels.
Designed by the team of Perkins & Will, and Smallwood — two architectural firms with offices in Atlanta — the new arena is set to become a regional destination for music, sports, entertainment and other events, with 5,500 permanent seats and 9,000 for basketball.
The project, built by JE Dunn Construction, a contractor that also has an Atlanta location, is being described by venue officials as nothing short of "Northeast Georgia's premier event facility."
The new arena will provide the region with a new option for downtown concerts, conventions, tournaments and other events, plus a larger arena for the UGA Club Hockey squad and an ECHL minor-league professional hockey team.
Classic Center Arena by the Numbers
Other capacities, amenities and specifications for the new Classic Center Arena include:
- A total of 7,000 seats for end-stage concerts.
- Up to 8,500 seats in the round.
- Three basketball courts.
- Four volleyball courts.
- Space for 150 trade show booths.
- Room to accommodate 2,000 banquet attendees.
- Seven trailer load-in docks.
- An ice hockey floor.
- An arena floor space measuring 150 ft. by 358 ft.
Urbanize Atlanta reported that of the venue's estimated $126 million cost, $33 million of that will arrive via the state of Georgia's special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST), a financing method for funding capital outlay projects.
The rest of the financing for the arena's construction is slated to come from municipal bonds, land leases, naming rights, vendor contracts, future tax revenue and other sources.
It will join the multi-use Classic Center next door, a complex that includes a performing arts theater, conference center and outdoor pavilion for weddings, concerts and sports.
Project backers have predicted the Classic Center Arena will create 600 jobs and generate 90,000 more hotel room nights annually, with an overall impact of $30 million per year.
The 192,000-sq.-ft. effort broke ground last February and is currently expected to finish construction in February 2024, according to JE Dunn.
It joins other million-dollar condominiums and mixed-use projects of significant scale in downtown Athens' development pipeline.
More Parking Made Available for Arena
In December, the Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Commissioners approved a plan allowing a private developer to construct a 1,000-space parking deck, rather than a 500-space deck proposed earlier, near the city's Multimodal Center.
The structure will be privately built because lenders are reluctant to let ACC borrow more money for the project, Blaine Williams, manager of ACC, told Flagpole, an online Athens community news service.
As a result, the Classic Center will buy 41 percent of the parking spaces within the deck for arena use. Because it will be owned by a private company, the deck also will generate taxes that could be plowed back into the project through an existing tax allocation district encompassing the eastern edge of downtown Athens.
Despite his mixed feelings, ACC Board Commissioner Jesse Houle told Flagpole he voted for the plan because the Classic Center also put a $15.85 minimum wage in writing. His colleague, Tim Denson, also voted yes after adding language guaranteeing that the project will include affordable housing.
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