NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said this week that expansion is not in the league’s plans, but backers of a mixed-use project and proposed professional hockey arena north of Atlanta have gained additional political support and are laying out next steps.
The Forsyth County Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to amend its memorandum of understanding with the development team behind The Gathering at South Forsyth, a $2 billion project anchored by an 18,500-seat arena. The amendment tweaks how much ticket revenue the county will receive from events at the proposed arena and reflects feedback given by the county’s school board, which also unanimously endorsed the project.
Located along Ga. 400, 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta, the ambitious project has gained national attention as a potential landing spot for an expansion team.
Forsyth leaders agreed to provide $225 million in taxpayer-backed bond financing to the arena in The Gathering if it lands a franchise.
But the NHL has yet to announce plans to grow beyond its existing 32 franchises. Bettman told the Toronto Star on Monday that expansion “is not on the horizon” for the league, dismissing reports that NHL leaders are considering adding new franchises in the Atlanta and Houston markets.
The Gathering project is unprecedented for Forsyth, one of the metro area’s fastest-growing counties, and it has prompted some heartburn over its number of apartments, potential public subsidies and promise of bringing big-city events to the wealthy and conservative suburban enclave.
In a 4-1 vote in March, the County Commission adopted the memorandum of understanding. But last-minute changes by county leaders “extremely disappointed” The Gathering team’s leader, car dealership owner Vernon Krause, and placed the project’s future into question.
Despite those gripes, The Gathering project spokeswoman Sharon Goldmacher recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “the project is moving forward.”
Krause’s group is one of two in metro Atlanta that have proposed arena and entertainment district plans anchored by an expansion NHL franchise. In Alpharetta, a group led by former NHL player Anson Carter has proposed a similar project at North Point Mall.
In the months since March, Forsyth’s development authority and school board adopted their own agreements to back The Gathering project with some tweaks to the county’s original agreement. County Manager David McKee said Tuesday’s vote to amend the county’s memorandum of understanding was like “putting belt suspenders” on the various agreements, bundling them into one package.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Forward Forsyth, the county’s development authority, in June voted to increase the amount of money the county will receive per ticket sold at the proposed arena to $2.50 — a $1 increase per ticket. The school board last month passed a resolution of support for the project, which Goldmacher said “was encouraging.”
The school board decided to change the formula used to calculate how many students will likely live in housing at The Gathering — the multiphase plan includes 1,800 apartments and 150 single-family homes. The county’s initial estimate didn’t differentiate between housing types. McKee said the new analysis estimated ”significantly less students” living at The Gathering.
In addition, the school board agreed to accept a $3 million payment from The Gathering team to build a Career Technical and Agricultural Education building at the 84-acre project site along Union Hill Road near Ga. 400. The education facility will replace a planned practice facility, which will instead be built at the county’s Denmark Drone Field park alongside cricket pitches, pickleball courts and other sports facilities.
The Gathering team still has other hurdles to clear to deliver its vision, including one that is in the hands of voters. Forsyth residents will consider a referendum in November to create a Tax Allocation District, which would allow the developers to tap into newly created property taxes generated by the development to help fund the project.
