City Council members tour potential arena sites | savannahnow.com

The city now has enough property to locate a new arena in west Savannah, where it was originally expected to be built.

Marty Johnston, the city’s director of special projects, informed members of the city council of the discovery while they took a bus tour to the four locations being considered for the facility on Wednesday afternoon.

Johnston said that staff found out about two weeks ago that the property the city owns north of Gwinnett Street along the Springfield Canal can accommodate an arena the size of a much-praised 11,500-seat facility in Gwinnett County. Up until then, city staff had said they would need to acquire more property, which would have likely required extensive environmental mitigation.

Since 2006, the city has spent about $1.6 million purchasing property west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Interstate 16 for the arena, with the intention of fostering economic development in area. Despite the investment, the city recently sought proposals from firms to conduct a location study that would examine three other locations.

The interest in other sites drew criticism from the Carver Heights and Cloverdale neighborhood association presidents, who said residents supported that last sales-tax referendum largely because of the city’s plan to locate the arena nearby.

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