Page 18 - Athens Chamber Guide 2015
P. 18
ATHENS CLASSIC CENTER Center of Athens’Social Calendar
is the expanded Classic Center
Made in the USA Sports Festival
Sports events are hosted here. Athens’ Classic Center is not just a “For every overnight guest that we have,
Children ice skate for the first time convention center made of four walls assume that’s $225 they will spend on
here. Amazing theatrical and musical and carpeted floors. It’s the cultural, civic, a hotel room, dinner, and drinks. And
performances inspire here. Through and social center of Athens, and the staff with the size of the groups that the
high school graduations, community is honored to be a part of the lives of so new expansion allows us to host, many
fundraisers, and softly spoken wedding many in the community. of those are 3,000-person groups, so it
vows, new chapters begin here. In 2013, The Classic Center completed doesn’t take very long to meet those
its $24 million expansion, doubling economic expectations.”
the size of the exhibit hall and adding However, visitors and conventions
a beautiful 8,000 square-foot atrium are not the only priorities of the staff at
modeled after the openness and The Classic Center. While large groups
classic design of Grand Central Station. pouring money straight into the local
With the expansion project came economy is a nice economic boost to say
big expectations. The Classic Center the least, The Classic Center staff strives
Authority promised to bring in 10 to include residents in the fun events
new conferences and/or conventions they host. Sports events, gymnastics,
annually, contribute $6 million in cheerleading camps, and a seasonal ice
economic impact for Athens-Clarke skating rink draw locals to The Classic
County, and increase hotel occupancy. Center in the name of community spirit
The staff at The Classic Center, including and fun, as well as the many in-house
Director Paul Cramer, has already events such as Athens Wine Weekend,
exceeded these expectations. In a little Christmas at The Classic Center, and the
over a year, The Classic Center has Classic City BBQ Festival.
booked 48 new groups that will bring in “The diversity of what we do, I think,
$36 million in economic impact over a is pretty special,” Cramer said. From
five-year period. birthday parties and hockey games to
“We wanted to make sure we had a concerts and large events like the North
number we could hit,” Cramer explained. Georgia United Methodist Conference,
16 Athens Area Chamber of Commerce • w w w.athensga.com • 706.549.6800
