As voters head to the polls to cast early ballots in the Nov. 7 referendum on a new James Brown Arena, renovations continue at the adjacent Bell Auditorium.
Arena backers conducted a behind-the-scenes hard-hat tour at the Bell Tuesday, in the hope of fueling excitement for the new arena, which will connect to the Bell via a 30-foot-tall wing that’s already under construction.
Once complete, the entertainment complex will stretch the length of three football fields, said Brad Usry, vice-chairman of Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority and chairman of the authority’s arena committee.
“Before you just went to the show,” Usry said. “With the new venues, you will experience the show.”
Visitors ooh’d and ahh’d Tuesday at the Bell’s new amenities, intended to take the already-popular venue to a new level. Joe Kinsey, senior project manager for McKnight Construction, said the Bell’s new lobby will be nearly four times as large.
Removing the 1950 Bell’s aging carpet, contractors discovered its original terrazzo floors, which they hope to preserve in some fashion, Kinsey said.
And with a theme of “behind the curtain” the wing will include a 30-foot-tall red velvet curtain that will hang along its original brick facade, he said.
The renovations, expected to be complete in mid-2024, will add something many patrons have likely missed over the years: New restrooms for men and women on both sides of the venue, rather than one side for each, and featuring nearly twice the number of toilets as the old Bell, he said. The company is also adding new fire suppression systems throughout.
A new club room is almost twice as large, with private restrooms and a full bar, as well as a glass wall through which club patrons can watch the show, he said.
On the building’s west side a “speakeasy”-style club room will be offered for memberships as well, he said.
With many acts preferring to dress in their tour buses rather than use the Bell’s aging dressing rooms, the renovated Bell will feature a separate entrance for “talent” and three levels of fully-updated dressing rooms with elevator access, he said.
If voters give the OK, construction on a new 10,500-seat arena is scheduled to start in the spring and last 30 months, Usry said. To address any shortages, the new venue will provide shuttle access from area parking garage and place a premium on ride-sharing, he said.
The completed complex will have a $1.6 billion economic impact and create 600 permanent jobs, Usry said.
James Brown Arena has missed out on many shows over the years due to its limited seating of 6,700 and its limited rigging capacity, he said. That’s the ability of its infrastructure to support shows of a certain weight.
The authority recently commissioned a feasibility study on the area’s ability to support a hockey franchise and the study found it could. Talks with team owners are ongoing but nothing has been finalized, Usry said.
Turnout almost doubled Tuesday in advance voting for the new arena with 240 casting ballots in two days.
If the Nov. 7 referendum passes, it will impose a half-cent sales tax on retail purchases to raise up to $433 million to finance construction of a new $250 million arena.
Voting continues at Augusta Municipal Building through Saturday. On October. 28, advance voting will expand to three additional sites at the Charles Evans, Robert Howard and Warren Road community centers.
