Augusta, GA
Neighbors vexed over city leasing out Eisenhower Park
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Construction crews have been hard at work at Eisenhower Park, which the Augusta National Golf Club has leased for parking during the Masters Tournament.
There’s now lots of circular tracks in the dirt, moving concrete blocks, and digging up the old foundation.
Where older field towers used to stand, now lies an open field that will soon house patrons months from now.
“Well, they can get plenty of cars in here, not surprised,” said nearby neighbor, Matthew Mayes. “It doesn’t bother me. At least they’ll be using it for something. I love coming down here.”
Mayes says he walks around this track most every day. He says the front side of the park is in constant use, but the lower fields will only see the occasional dog walker and pick-up game.
“A lot of people come and walk their dogs on it,” he said. “A lot of kids down here when baseball season gets going on, weather warms up you’ll see a lot more kids at this playground over here.”
But not all the neighbors are happy about it.
Parents and neighbors across “Nextdoor” are frustrated to find out their park next door isn’t just getting a renovation.
Among the comments:
- “I take my son there, he’s 2 and loves it.”
- “Greed at work, kids don’t have a place to go now.”
- “There are no benefits for the regular people of Augusta.”
However, Commissioner Sean Frantom reassures park-goers.
“They’re taking a few fields that were not even in use anyway, and eventually it’s just going to put more greenspace in the park,” he said.
The city approved a three-year lease with Augusta National for about $10,000 a year to use the space for extra parking during Masters.
Through an open-records request, News 12 obtained mapped plans that show the parking lot to expand into three baseball diamonds at the park.
We’re working to find out more about the plans.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Olu Brown visited Augusta on Friday evening, stopping near the Sand Hills Community Center as early voting continues.
Brown is one of six candidates in the Democratic primary.
Campaign priorities
Brown said his vision as governor would focus on three main areas.
“One, it’s affordability around health care and making sure we expand Medicaid and expand Peach Care and make sure we continue to make our rural health care systems healthy and vital,” Brown said. “Number two, we’ve got to address education in all of Georgia, making sure every kid in Georgia gets an excellent education, and we’re paying our teachers more. And number 3, we’re protecting the rights of all women. Folks in the Gold Dome shouldn’t be making decisions about their bodies or the choices that they make.”
Brown is running against Amanda Duffy, Derrick Jackson, Geoff Duncan, Jason Esteves, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mike Thurmond.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – An Augusta Prep student was arrested on a charge of terroristic threats over a picture of a LEGO gun he posted on social media.
It happened Wednesday, according to an incident report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Eric Hedinger, the principal of Augusta Preparatory Day School, told deputies a student had uploaded a picture to Snapchat of a “pistol” with the caption “shooting up the school so I don`t have to take the stats exam tomorrow. Don`t come yall!”
The principal said he spoke to the student and his father about the photo.
The principal also provided deputies with the student’s address in Grovetown.
A deputy went there and was told by the student that the “pistol” was a LEGO set that he had built.
He also said the comment he made was supposed to be a joke because he was not looking forward to taking his Advanced Placement statistics test this week.
The student showed the deputy the box that the LEGO set came in, and how the set was already disassembled.
The deputy also looked in the boy’s room to make sure he was not in possession of any weapons.
The mother advised that there was one firearm in the residence but it was locked up.
The deputy contacted Judge Leslie Morgan and she issued a warrant for terroristic threats.
The student, age 18, was taken into custody and transported to the Columbia County Detention Center.
News 12 is not reporting his name or publishing his photo since the LEGO gun could not have actually harmed anyone.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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