Officials cut the ribbon, opening the newly renovated Bell Auditorium to the public at a ceremony on May 28.
Augusta Coliseum Authority member Brad Usry says that he was pleasantly surprised at the turnout by the public, as over 250 people showed up to see the ribbon being cut and tour the building to see the changes made by the $19 million update.
“I started counting the number of RSVPs and I got excited that so many people wanted to come out and see the changes,” Usry said.
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The renovations include a new 5,000 square foot lobby, a new “speakeasy” VIP lounge with VIP restrooms, as well as doubling the number of patron restrooms on the ground floor.
Backstage, the restrooms and dressing rooms have been totally redone with showers, television sets and other amenities for the performers. According to Usry, in the past, performers had to traverse the seating area to access the communal restrooms on the third floor.
“Most of the artists actually preferred to stay in their tour bus because the dressing rooms were just old and outdated. Now they have full service dressing rooms, an elevator to access all three floors and a green room where they can relax and enjoy the catering we provide,” Usry said.
Even though the historic building was grandfathered in and allowed to operate without a fire suppression sprinkler system, the authority decided to make the building truly state of the art in terms of safety.
Even with the additions to the renovation plan, the project was finished on budget and on time, according to Usry.
“Our architects and contractors did a tremendous job of preserving the historic character of the building while making it much more functional,” Usry said.
The Arte Modern style building was completed in 1940 and has played host to acts ranging from Elvis Presley to Pat Benatar. The Bell was also a “ground zero” location of the civil rights movement, when, at the height of his career, Ray Charles famously refused to take the stage when he was informed that the audience was segregated.
Charles’ action would spur other artists, such as the Beatles, to also refuse to play segregated venues.
The next step of the overall $230 million new James Brown Arena project is to demolish the current arena structure and Usry says that phase should start by mid-July.
“We have a construction manager ready to start the work and we have already applied for the permits,” Usry said.
The Bell will host “Brick” and “Rockin the Suburbs” singer Ben Folds on Friday, May 31.
.Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
