Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Arena Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Arena District committee approves scope and advances Accenture contract, caps first phases at $600,000
Summary
On March 3 the Arena District Theory Committee approved a scope of work for an arena development facilitator and advanced a contract with Accenture, authorizing up to $600,000 for phases one and two and proposing a three‑way funding split among SPLOST, TAD revenue and the Classic Center Authority.
The Arena District Theory Committee on March 3 approved a scope of work and moved forward a contract with Accenture to facilitate concept planning and early development analysis for the Arena District, setting a cost cap of "not to exceed $600,000" for phases one and two.
The committee’s presenter told members the initial engagement will focus on study and concept‑level planning, due diligence, stakeholder engagement and data gathering — not detailed planned‑development drawings. The presenter said the consultant team will review market studies, environmental documents and utility maps, and may recommend targeted updates to recent studies before advancing to later development phases.
The scope divides the work into multiple phases. Phases one and two will encompass visioning, feasibility, public outreach and financial modeling; phases three and four — including developer solicitation and deal structuring — were described as contingent on outcomes from the early work and were not priced. "Phase one and phase two would be not to exceed $600,000, inclusive of any outside consulting," the presenter said. Committee members emphasized that future development must be grounded in fiscal realities: "Got to pay the bonds," one member said, underscoring the priority of revenue‑generating uses adjacent to the arena.
On funding, staff proposed roughly equal shares from three sources to cover the initial cap: one‑third from existing SPLOST (local sales tax) revenue, one‑third from accumulated TAD (tax allocation district) revenue directed west of the river, and one‑third from the Classic Center Authority. Staff said the split would be prorated if billable expenses came in below the cap (the presenter noted $562,000 as an example of billable expenses that would be prorated among the three sources).
Members asked how procurement and developer selection would work later in the process. Staff and counsel explained that because some property lies in the hands of a public authority rather than a local government department, the facilitator could assist with procurement and developer matchmaking through the authority structure rather than running separate public procurements for each parcel. The presenter said the committee will reconvene to evaluate developer candidates during phases three and four.
A motion to accept the scope of work passed by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carried and the contract with Accenture will be routed for agenda consideration in March with the expectation of a voting meeting in April. Staff said the merit commission is likely to consider the contract at an April 7 voting meeting and that the project team will hold a kickoff governance session and consultant onboarding in early April to establish decision protocols and reporting cadence.
The committee scheduled ongoing updates and quarterly reporting from the Classic Center and the consultant team; staff reiterated that precise costs for later phases remain undetermined and will depend on findings from the initial study and concept work.
The meeting adjourned after the committee completed the agenda.
