Voter’s last chance to weigh in on new James Brown Arena
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - If you live in Richmond County Tuesday’s your last chance to weigh in on whether or not you want to help pay for the new James Brown Arena. It’s election day and the $235 million needed to bring these plans to life will be on the ballot.
So far a little over 3,000 people have already cast their votes deciding what the future of the JBA will be. Most special elections do not see turnouts like this. The last general election only had 68 votes so it’s clear people are invested in the arena’s future one way or the other.
We spoke to one local who says he’s ready to see some changes.
“The arena behind me is over 40 years old and we definitely need an upgrade,” said David Peltier.
The nearly 50-year-old building has approximately 7,000 seats, limited parking, sells preferred parking tickets for a spot close by, general parking is in the seventh or eighth street lots for $5, doesn’t have the ability to be adjusted for bigger and more elaborate events, two-star dressing rooms, two large dressing rooms and broken ice-making equipment.
“It’s done it’s purpose and it’s time we invest in a new one and really try to liven it up,” he said.
The current JBA has acts like Riley Green, Dancing with the Stars live, Hairspray, and a Magical Cirque Christmas on their agenda. But the Coliseum Authority says the JBA is functionally obsolete. And some residents agree.
“So they’re going to other markets and that’s a missed opportunity for Augusta if you’re going to be a leader here in Georgia for economic growth we need to look at exactly what is going on with our entertainment aspect of our city,” he said.
The new building would have 11,000 seats, with luxury options and club level experiences, rooftop terraces to see the cities skyline, a ballroom, bring in similar but bigger mid-sized acts like Cirque de Soliel, rodeos, and basketball, and keeping events like Monster Trucks. As for parking, the situation would be similar – purchasing one of about 300 limited spots on-site and promoting parking across downtown.
They hope it would be a catalyst for economic growth in the area over the next 30 years.
The polls will be open tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All of the polling places will be open so check your voter registration card.
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