Athens Reporter

Athens Area Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Jan. 4. 

On Thursday, December 9, 2021, The Classic Center partnered with Perkins & Will, Smallwood, J.E. Dunn, and Impact Construction Management LLC. to provide a fly through screening to unveil the detailed design plans for the new arena coming to The Classic Center in Fall 2023.

Exciting experiences are in the works for The Classic Center Arena. There have been 50 out of the 125 promised events already booked for the new arena. The Classic Center has also formally signed an agreement to bring a professional hockey team that will be in addition to the beloved UGA Ice Dawgs, calling The Classic Center Arena their home facility.

The Classic Center has established a partnership with Piedmont University to finalize a unique learning model where students will have an opportunity to work in The Classic Center facility while gaining college credit. In addition to the new arena, The Classic Center has signed a partnership with Oak View Group for booking, marketing, preopening services, premium seat sales, and sponsorship sales. The Classic Center has also extended their collaboration with Levy catering as their in-house catering partner.

“Looking at the overview of this project, I hope you realize that this is so much more than a just a building,” said Paul Cramer, President/CEO of The Classic Center. “With the help of The Classic Center Cultural Foundation and First Community Development, we have pulled together a great deal of community input and mapped out an exciting 5-year strategic plan which will maximize the economic development of this project.”

The strategic plan for the new arena has three main initiatives; to create a new tourism product, focus on Education & Workforce Development, and to create an entertainment endowment in Athens. This facility will have the capacity to hold 7,500 people and has the ability to transform for any occasion from concerts and sports tournaments to banquets and general sessions.

Construction is estimated to begin at the beginning of the new year and a formal groundbreaking ceremony is slated for February 10, 2022. The Classic Center Arena will create over 600 new jobs, provide an additional 90,00 hotel room nights, and will provide an estimated $33 million in annual economic impact. The arena will be a place that both residents and guest of the city can enjoy.

Original source can be found here.