Augusta, GA

Augusta sees $740K economic impact from events in February

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

Augusta sees 0K economic impact from events in February

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – March is just around the corner, but the city of Augusta is taking time to celebrate hundreds of thousands of dollars brought in through February through events like the Augusta half marathon, conferences, and more.

February was a busy month for Augusta, from conferences to sporting events more than 4000 people visited the CSRA, bringing an economic impact of over $740,000 to the city.

Local businesses also felt the love from visitors and sales and hope it continues into spring; hoping this early rush becomes their new normal.

“We definitely saw an uptick. I mean, there’s all the events that have been happening downtown, new bars that have been opening downtown, restaurants all coming together. I think people starting to realize that downtown’s place to be so February was great. If you compare it to last year. It’s tremendous. Yeah, big difference between last year and this year,” said Manny Hatzis, owner of Manny’s Sports off Broad.

Manny’s Sports off Broad has seen more people walk in their doors, especially from out of town.

“Comparing numbers, we don’t really see a big tick until like maybe March and then you get this of course we get our masters uptick. But really this early is kind of unique. So it’s nice to see that,” he said.

They are hoping to stay busy, helping not only their business but also Augusta grow.

“I also think that all the events that we’ve had, and all those little shows that we’ve had really helped a lot. And I look forward to more of those with the new James Brown Arena in the future,” said Hatzis.

And when events come to town, they’re ready. Some events, like the Augusta Half Marathon do what they can to support local businesses.

“We’ve been really conscientious about using more local businesses in our race. So for example, the metal design and the t shirt design, it’s from a local artist, Jason Craig. And we’ve gotten the year from a local, you know, local business here, and we’ve done the screen printing from a local business,” said Michelle Pippin, Augusta Sports Council CEO.

Allowing more money to go right back into the city, bringing more people back to the CSRA.

“These new restaurants that have opened up and all these other clubs that have opened up, people can now make it a destination. Downtown can be a destination and that’s a great thing. That’s what it was in the old days. I think it’ll start doing that again,” Hatzis said.

With Masters coming up, local businesses hope this wave continues into March and April.

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Augusta, GA

One dead following a shooting in Richmond County

Published

4 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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One dead following a shooting in Richmond County

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Coroner’s Office said a person has died after a shooting on Division Street Saturday afternoon.

Officials say the shooting happened at the 2100 block around 4 p.m.

The victim was shot at least one time and taken to Wellstar MCG, where he later died, the coroner’s office says.

The sheriff’s office also went to Division Street at approximately 4 p.m. in reference to the incident, deputies say.

An autopsy has been scheduled.

No further information is available at this time.

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Augusta, GA

Sandusky Ohio News | Sandusky Register

Published

16 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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Augusta, GA

Augusta’s Turpin neighborhood to get affordable homes with $1.85M federal grant

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

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Augusta’s Turpin neighborhood to get affordable homes with .85M federal grant

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The historic Turpin neighborhood will soon welcome more affordable homes after Augusta Habitat for Humanity was awarded $1.85 million in federal funding this week.

The grant will fund the construction of at least 12 homes in the area.

“Habitat for Humanity applied for federal funding, and they were awarded the funding,” said District 2 Commissioner Stacy Pulliam.

Reviving a historic community

The Turpin neighborhood was once home to professionals, including educators, doctors, and lawyers.

“These big professionals that lived mostly over this way,” one resident said of the neighborhood’s history.

Pulliam described the area’s former prominence as “its grand days of glory, when it was the place.”

The project brings together city organizers and community partners through the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing, or GICH.

“We have so many partners. We have the Housing Authority on board. We have a representative from the Hub on board,” Pulliam said. “There’s so many great partners at the table that’s helping pull all of this together.”

Federal support and future plans

The project received backing from Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

Habitat for Humanity, with support from GICH, focused its application on Turpin Hill intentionally, as officials say the community had been needing to be addressed for years.

With Habitat for Humanity continuing to advocate for more funds, Pulliam said their motivation could lead to additional housing development in the future.

“We keep going and going and going,” she said. “Now we can do 20. Now we can do multifamily. So it’s fueling our fire to get more housing, but not just housing, to clean up the area.”

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