Construction of the new James Brown Arena is going according to schedule, said project manager Jon Rawlings to the Augusta Coliseum Authority during its monthly meeting, Tuesday afternoon.
In April, Rawlings explained, workers will begin rerouting the arena’s sanitary sewer line. Demolition to clear space for the new building’s footprint is still underway, alongside backfilling and compacting the excavated area. This will be followed by foundation work, wherein which micropiles—small-diameter steel bars grouted into pre-drilled holes for structural support—and precast concrete will be installed.
“You’ll see a lot of dirt moving over the next few months. Really, you still won’t see those deep foundations go in,” explained Rawlings, noting that passersby will see the building go vertical—or its construction move skyward—once the upcoming arena’s precast is installed. “And you’ll look for that in later fall of 2025.”
Nations Group is set to release a request for proposal (RFP) this week to draw bids for the signage fabrication.
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“So that’ll be all the graphics, exterior building signage, the interior signage, wayfinding, any type of graphics you’ll see,” Rawlings said. “Food service concessions, once you start to have restaurants in there, their signage will be in there. So that’s all going to be included in that package. It’s out. And so what’s being requested to be bid on is the fabrication to install it.”
Bids for the fabrication will be due April 21.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
