Sports / Entertainment

The more than month-long Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at the James Brown Arena (JBA) and the eighth annual Augusta Blues Festival at the Bell Auditorium were just two of the events that helped those venues record their most successful year ever. The JBA and Bell, collectively known as the Augusta Entertainment Complex (AEC), are managed by a company called OVG360, which operates under the direction of the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority. The company’s Regional Marketing Director, Tyler Gambrell, said more than 161,000 people attended shows, concerts, and other events, which

What started as 38 acres of overgrown shrubs and gnarly pine trees covering an abandoned sand and chalk mine is now a nine-hole golf course. It doesn’t feature the beauty shots of Augusta National or the Aiken Golf Club, although the team that renovated the latter, Three Amigos Golf, was responsible for bringing life to Chalk Mine 9. It’s a private golf facility for the exclusive use of USC Aiken Men’s Golf and First Tee-Aiken, but as of Tuesday, September 27, the course can now be played by community and

Fans showed the Augusta GreenJackets plenty of love during the 2022 season, so much so that they topped all of Single A in attendance, plus set a franchise attendance record. The GreenJackets drew 262,172 fans to SRP Park during the season, the best among the 30 Single A Minor League Baseball affiliates. They also averaged 4,096 fans per game, besting their previous record of 4,050 set in 2019. SRP Park has 4,200 seats but with standing room only admissions can host 6,000-plus. “We’re very fortunate that the community supports GreenJackets

Dayon Walker wants to provide a day of fun and education for the local community, which is why he’s hosting the second annual Cooler Fest on Sunday. Walker, the owner of Reserve and Ride Watersports, which offers guided jet ski tours of the Savannah River, said the all-day, family-friendly event will also include food, music, horse rides, as well as water slides. It will be held at 105 Riverfront Drive in Augusta near the Boathouse Community Center. He’s offering free entry for anyone donating book bags or fall/winter clothing, which

Augusta’s annual Arts in the Heart festival will be back in full swing in a few weeks and there is optimism that the first post-pandemic event will draw a big crowd. This year’s Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival will be held Sept. 16-18 in the Augusta Common, as well as the 600-900 blocks of Broad Street. The annual festival, which is hosted by the Greater Augusta Arts Council, is now in its 40th year. This year’s sponsors include Durty Gurl Cocktail Mixers, TranterGrey, and SRP Federal Credit Union.

When the Augusta University men’s basketball team made it to the 2022 NCAA Division II championship tournament and finished the season with a 33-4 record, some assumed they had an easy season, according to head Coach, Dip Metress. He spoke to a group of local home professionals at this month’s CSRA Home Connections meeting. At the meeting on Wednesday, Metress discussed the 2021-2022 season, which he said wasn’t easy for him or his players. “Everybody wants to see the end product,” said Metress, who has led the team for 18

The Augusta GreenJackets have a new owner, but it will mostly be a case of the new boss being the same as the old boss. Last December, the GreenJackets had come under the management of Diamond Baseball Holdings, an organization formed by Endeavor Group Holdings. Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) owns and manages nine other minor league clubs as well. Earlier this week, Endeavor sold DBH to Silver Lake, a technology investment company. The sale is expected to close later this year. “We are excited to partner with Pat, Peter, and

Eleven professional golfers taking part in the LIV Golf Tournament have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. Included in the suit are allegations the PGA colluded with Augusta National to dissuade the players from joining the LIV tour. Plaintiffs in the case are Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Matt Jones, Bryson DeChambeau, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Ian Poulter, Pat Perez, Jason Kokrak, and Peter Uihlein. In an earlier ABD story, Rick Franza, Dean of Hull College of Business at Augusta University, had predicted this could happen. “Nothing

This year’s annual Border Bash will be more interactive than ever before. The 29th Annual Border Bash will be held on Sept. 16 at SRP Park in North Augusta, and this year will include a FanFest where fans can test their skills in various events. More bands have been added this year as well. Headlining the party is Coach, with performances from the Greg Hester Band, Black Dawg, and Rattlesnake Cobra Awesome, with special guest appearances by Joe Stevenson, Ryan Abel, and Jaycie Ward. Also performing during the evening will