"Music is central to our story," said
DeMott. "Part of what we envisioned
when we were building the arena is a true
venue that could serve national record-
ing acts in Athens. We've had Megan
Moroney, Billy Strings and many others.
Concerts have done really well here."
Impact on Athens
DeMott believes the best is yet to come
for Akins Ford Arena and the surround-
ing community, with potential nearby
developments in the works including
hotels, retail, residential structures and a
budding entertainment district appearing
as part of the rink's economic and civic
impact on downtown Athens.
"The arena has surpassed pretty much
every benchmark that we had in our
minds as we opened the building," said
DeMott. "It has generated up to about
$90 million of economic impact back into
Athens-Clarke County. Our facility has
created around 600 jobs and we're going
to continue to grow that with the addi-
tional development in the coming years.
"We've heard comments from teams
that this is the nicest rink they've played at
and have had coaches and officials talk to
us about how they know when they come
to Athens the ice quality is going to be
perfect. That's a big point of pride for us.
To be able to do all of this in our home-
town of Athens is what it's all about." J
*
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