Augusta, GA

Augusta leaders want to keep James Brown name on arena

Published

10 months ago

June 18, 2025

Augusta leaders want to keep James Brown name on arena

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta Commission members on Tuesday signed a letter of support for keeping the James Brown name on the new arena when it’s built.

The old James Brown Arena was torn down, and a new arena is being built with sales tax revenues.

All along, people made the assumption that the new building would be a new James Brown Arena.

And no one stepped forward to say otherwise.

That is, until the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority recently dropped the bombshell that the plan is to sell off the naming rights.

That led to an uproar on the Augusta Commission and elsewhere.

We’ve also heard from the estate of James Brown, with family members saying the Godfather of Soul gifted the rights to his name to Augusta.

In a letter addressed to the head of the Coliseum Authority, commissioners express dismay at learning they and voters have been misled about the arena’s name.

The letter questions whether the naming rights for the arena need to be sold to cover costs – or for another, unknown reason.

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At the end, commissioners request that representatives from the authority speak in front of commission explaining their reasoning and plans to honor James Brown.

The authority claimed it has always intended to sell off the naming rights – despite early drawings of the new building that featured the name of the Godfather of Soul as well as a URL on an authority’s website referring to it as the new James Brown Arena.

Authority officials said the rights to James Brown’s name had been sold by the family to an outside company, so the authority couldn’t use that name if it wanted to, officials said.

That company quickly came back and said Brown had gifted his name to the arena free of charge, and the company intended to honor that. The company went so far as to say it was “appalled” the authority would give up the honor just to make some money by selling off the naming rights.

The name on the renderings subtly changed to “Augusta Entertainment Complex” sometime between a failed 2021 vote on a tax plan to fund the arena and a second vote that passed in 2024.

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Augusta, GA

Augusta Fire to showcase progress on new Fire Station #3 construction

Published

4 hours ago

March 30, 2026

Press Room

Augusta Fire to showcase progress on new Fire Station #3 construction

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta Fire is showcasing progress on its new Fire Station #3 construction site Monday with a public tour of the facility.

The tour is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon at the construction site at 2075 Powell Road.

The approximately 12,500-square-foot facility will feature three apparatus bays, modern living quarters, administrative space and support areas designed to enhance firefighter readiness and emergency response.

“The progress we’ve made on this fire station reflects our commitment to public safety and community resilience,” said Fire Chief Antonio Burden. “We’re proud of what this station represents for our community: enhanced protection, improved readiness and continued investment in the future.”

Johnson Laschober Associates designed the station. Spratlin Construction is building it in coordination with the Augusta government and the Augusta Fire Department leadership.

Representatives from Spratlin Construction will also be on-site to provide project updates.

The only entrance to the site is on Powell Road. Parking is not permitted on the construction site. Visitors should park along Powell Road and follow all posted safety guidance.

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Augusta, GA

Local group holds 4th annual walk against autism

Published

16 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Local group holds 4th annual walk against autism

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – April is Autism Awareness Month, and one local group raised awareness with a walk in Augusta on Sunday.

The fourth annual autism walk was hosted by Moving Over Mountains Against autism at Lake Olmstead Park.

All proceeds from the walk support autism awareness initiatives.

We spoke with the CEO and founder of the group, Deidre Roberson, who said this year they are dedicating the walk to their photographer, who died recently.

Roberson told us what she looks forward to the most.

“I look most forward to seeing the different people every year. We always meet different people, new people, and they come from all over the CSRA, so Washington, Wilkes, Carolina,” she said.

There were also several vendors providing resources to families.

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Augusta, GA

From Augusta roots to Nighthawks leader: Nolan Belcher comes home

Published

1 day ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

From Augusta roots to Nighthawks leader: Nolan Belcher comes home

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- Augusta University baseball is in a three-game series matchup against the University of North Georgia.

AU is currently down in the series 0-2 after a close loss Friday and a loss Saturday.

But we aren’t focusing on the Jags, we’re going to take a look at North Georgia’s head coach, Nolan Belcher.

He is an Augusta native who began his career at Greenbrier and Augusta Christian.

He won three state championships, which then led him to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

There he won back-to-back national championships and finished runner up in 2012.

His coaching career began after that where he eventually joined the Peach belt Confrence, coaching at USCA and GCSU.

Now in his first season as head coach for the Nighthawks, he is happy to come home and coach in front of his friends and family.

“I’m very fortunate that I got family that, one is still around and they can come watch me do what I love. And, they’ve shown me, nothing but support throughout my whole coaching career and even back on my playing dates are very thankful and appreciative for everything they’ve done for me.”

AU and UNG will have their final series match on Sunday.

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