'Chomping at the bit': Classic Center Arena closing in on finishing construction

With the recent announcements of the home opener for the Athens Rock Lobsters hockey team and The B-52s returning to the town of their birth for the inaugural concert, the Classic Center Arena is rounding third and heading for home.

Classic Center President and CEO Paul Cramer said at The B-52s’ announcement on July 15 that construction of the roof for the 192,000-square-foot facility has been completed, opening the door for the finishing stages of the $151 million project.

The venue – funded by a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax approved in 2020 – can seat 5,500 for hockey and concerts and has a total capacity of 8,500.

“We’re making progress and it’s looking good,” said Classic Center Arena general manager Danny Bryant. “We’re nearly completely dried in and the roof is completely done, which allows things to move a lot faster. … We’re excited to get in there and start moving equipment in and get this place ready to host folks.”

The arena’s first scheduled event will be on Friday, Dec. 6 as the Rock Lobsters host the Blue Ridge Bobcats in a Federal Prospects Hockey League game. The Rock Lobsters will play 11 road games before their home opener, the first of 28 pro hockey games at the arena. After hosting the Bobcats on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7, the Rock Lobsters will play 11 of their next 12 games at home.

“The FHL was great in collaborating with us and the team was flexible to be road warriors for the first part of their season,” said Bryant, who added that the arena would host some “soft community opening events” the week leading up to the first hockey game.

Up next will be the return of The B-52s who will be christening the arena for concerts on Saturday, Dec. 14, with Of Montreal opening.

Not surprisingly, the facility’s dance card is already filling up as the University of Georgia’s men’s and women’s hockey teams have scheduled dates on the ice, and the College Hockey South Division I men’s and women’s playoffs will be here in February. And there’s a lot more in the books.

“Some events we haven’t yet announced as we’re working through the final marketing details, but we’ve got a pretty robust calendar – about 80 events – already on the books, including the hockey teams, concerts, upcoming shows and our convention business has grown into that space,” said Bryant. “Some of the sports tournaments we’ve traditionally hosted here, like the Made in the USA Gymnastics and the Bulldog Brawl volleyball tournament, will be expanding into the arena as well.”

The Rock Lobsters will also utilize the arena for practices, Bryant confirmed.

And it shouldn’t be too long before the arena receives a name change.

“We are very close on our naming rights partnership and you can anticipate something coming out in the next month about that,” said Bryant.

There’s still a lot of work to be done before the arena gets busy, and Bryant is among those more than ready.

“I’m excited – that’s the ultimate feeling,” said Bryant. “We’re all chomping at the bit to welcome the community. It’s all encouraging. The Rock Lobsters’ merch store is open and we’re already seeing items sold out. We think the community is really excited about this and so are we.”