The city of Alpharetta is floating the idea of constructing a sports venue that would potentially bring professional hockey back to Georgia. A feasibility study, funded by Alpharetta's Development Authority and Convention and Visitors Bureau, is underway as the city looks to assess whether the North Point Mall area is a suitable location for an arena. Fox5 Atlanta reports that the study is expected to take about five to six months to determine if the sports venture makes financial and economic sense for the region.
As part of a broader initiative to revitalize the waning district, The Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau and Development Authority have collectively committed $150,000 towards the market and financial study. This exploration, conducted by CAA Icon, promises to evaluate not just the economic viability of a hockey arena, but also the broader impacts its construction could have on the community. "This is a path we’ve been on for several years," Alpharetta’s city administrator, Chris Lagerbloom, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, articulating the city's trajectory towards realizing this sports complex.
Meanwhile, a competing proposal is shaping up in Forsyth County, where developers of The Gathering at South Forsyth are working on an 18,000-seat arena that also endeavors to host a professional hockey team. This highlights the broader ambition in the region to clinch a franchise that could fill the void left by the Flames and Thrashers, Atlanta's previous hockey teams that eventually relocated due to lackluster support.
Former NHL player Anson Carter is associated with one of the investor groups in Alpharetta, having announced plans to build a hockey arena at the North Point Mall site. In collaboration with New York Life, the owners of the 100-acre mall property, Carter's Alpharetta Sports and Entertainment Group is vying to attract an NHL team. However, a mere six miles north, Vernon Krause of Krause Auto Group has pitched a similar idea named The Gathering at South Forsyth, which could see the construction of a $2 billion mixed-use campus. Forsyth County leaders are open to supporting Krause's project with taxpayer-backed financing should a franchise materialize, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Despite the enthusiasm from local authorities and investors, there's a note of caution from some quarters. Jean-Paul Addie, a Georgia State University associate professor, cautioned against such flashy developments, suggesting instead a focus on “less splashy but more meaningful forms of inclusive development.” Nevertheless, with Alpharetta set on its NHL dreams, momentum continues to build. Lagerbloom reiterated his commitment to the vision of a new arena, expressing the importance of speed in their proposal. "Now we just have to see if we can move fast enough. We have some sense of urgency," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
