An ice hockey franchise could add 30 additional event nights per year and double net operating income at the new James Brown Arena, and it is going for voter approval Nov. 7.
A feasibility study released Tuesday showed a team’s return to the arena would increase total spending, total jobs and total earnings by more than 60% each over current expectations.
Consultant David Stone presented the new findings Tuesday to Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority and a small but enthusiastic hockey crowd.
“It’s nothing but a net positive for the community,” said Steve Munn, a former player for the Augusta Lynx.
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The Lynx enjoyed a decade at the arena until the franchise folded in 2008, to be replaced by the Augusta River Hawks in 2010. The River Hawks departed James Brown Arena and its broken ice system to become the Macon Mayhem in 2013.
Adding an ice system isn’t part of current $250 million construction plans and many details would have to be finalized, Authority Vice Chair Brad Usry said.
The planned arena is large enough to accommodate a rink, but the decision to include one can’t be finalized until after voters head to the polls Oct. 16, he said. That’s when early voting starts in the arena referendum.
Market has changed
Stone, who worked on the original arena feasibility study in 2015-2016, was hired about six months ago to reexamine the feasibility of hockey at the arena, said Trent Merritt, vice president for entertainment complex manager Oak View Group.
“We were open to hockey, but we didn’t have the tools or resources to properly handle it,” Merritt said.
Talking to various stakeholders, including coliseum authority members, commissioners, chambers of commerce and the Augusta Sports Council, Stone said he discovered interest has increased since the last study.
“The market has changed since Augusta last had hockey,” he said.
Today, it’s younger and full of transplants from other areas, he said. There’s also greater interest in having family entertainment events, such as hockey games and skating, downtown, he said.
Games would generate more activity downtown and greater business opportunities for downtown businesses, Stone said. But the team would need to connect with and invest in the community, he said.
Looking at the area’s demographics, Augusta is near the middle of what supports a hockey franchise, especially considering non-major league markets, Stone said.
Savannah and Jacksonville
And Augusta’s demographics are very similar to those of Savannah, which has supported the Savannah Ghost Pirates with enthusiasm since the ECHL team made new Enmarket Arena its home in 2022, he said.
Oak View Group also manages Enmarket, and the potential team owner identified for Augusta – Zawyer Sports – also owns the Savannah Ice Pirates and Jacksonville Icemen, he said.
The Ice Pirates sold out 33 of 36 games last year, with average attendance per game of 6,800, he said. In addition, all of Enmarket’s premium seats are sold out and have a waiting list, he said.
Zawyer is building a practice facility in Savannah for use by the team and the general public, Stone said.
Overall, two-thirds of Enmarket tickets were sold to people living outside Savannah, and one of its largest top markets for ticket sales is Augusta, he said.
James Brown Arena and the new Augusta facility are similar in size to an average ECHL arena, which has about 8,600 seats, he said.
Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville opened in 2003 and seats 13,000 for hockey. The Icemen led the ECHL in attendance last year and have been in the top four markets since 2017, he said. Zawyer privately renovated the team’s existing practice facility, he said.
In other action Tuesday, the authority received findings from its annual financial report. Jay Sanders, a CPA with SME accountants, said the audit came back “unmodified” or clean.
Audit comes back clean
Merritt told the authority the complex had its “most successful bottom-line finish in recent history in 2022, and its second-most successful in 2023.
Saturday’s Jagged Edge show at the arena was one of the facility’s highest-grossing in 8-10 years, he said.
Management has focused on using the arena for half-house shows that typically would play at Bell Auditorium while renovations are underway there, he said.
“We are getting calls off the hook about folks who want to come back and open the Bell back up,” he said.
Renovations at the Bell, scheduled to be complete in April 2024, include a large addition where shared kitchen and other facilities would connect to the new arena.
