There were several key developments on the status of the new arena being constructed—including an update on the use of James Brown in the final naming rights.
The new General Manager for the Augusta Entertainment Complex (AEC) was introduced at this month’s regular meeting of the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority.
Oak View Group (OVG), which has been managing the venue since 2008, brought Todd Mastry to replace Chris Martin, who had held the position since 2022. Mastry comes from Southaven, Miss., where he was Executive Director of the DeSoto County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Prior to that, he was Senior Director of Event Operations for FedExForum and the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis, TN.
“Todd brings a wealth of experience in overseeing and managing new arena projects, and we will rely heavily on his expertise in leading our Augusta team during the construction of the new multipurpose sports and entertainment arena,” said Greg O’Dell, President, Venue Management, OVG in the news release announcing Mastry’s appointment. “He has a proven track record as a top-notch operator, booking and hosting top-quality events — we look forward to the exciting opportunities he and the team will create in Augusta.”
Mastry assumed his role while the AEC wrapped up major renovations at the Bell Auditorium and started construction of a new 10,000-seat arena. Mastry said he is looking at how best to bring performances to the Garden City.
“I do have a booking philosophy that was taught to me a long time ago, and it is that you bring in entertainment that is as diverse as your community. We really try and stay on what’s both the cutting edge of music and a lot of acts that you go back to,” he explained. “You know, there are very different levels, and the diversity isn’t just an age, it’s demographic, and that’s what we’re really trying to do. We want to hit home runs for everyone.”
While the final decision about reviving professional hockey in Augusta remains with the Coliseum Authority, Mastry told ABD he was confident there is a commitment to a new team.
“My guess would be if the expense is going into putting an ice floor in and a chiller plant, then I would imagine that there’s something in the works there,” he said.
Coliseum Authority Chairman Cedric Johnson used the opportunity during the meeting to address the controversy over the name of the new arena.
He said calling it the New Augusta Arena, rather than the James Brown Arena, was just temporary. He said they are in talks with Primary Wave Music, which owns the rights to Brown’s name.
“Sometime last month, around May 25th exactly, I did talk to Primary Wave to find out what the status was. We wanted to give them the first right of refusal if they wanted to put James Brown’s name on the arena and pay the name and right fee,” he said. “They didn’t want to do that. But if we found a sponsor who was willing to put James Brown’s name on, they would be willing to let us do that.”
Johnson added that it comes down to having sufficient revenue to support the area, in addition to ticket sales and rentals.
“We’re going to honor James Brown. We have always planned to honor James Brown from the beginning, that was the thing that we wanted to do. But the reality of it is that we’ve also looked at naming rights as a source of income, and we’ve looked at hockey as another income generator. So, we’re looking at all those things, so we don’t have to go back to the taxpayers to ask them for money,” he explained.
More than two dozen people attended the meeting to show support for continuing to use Brown’s name on the arena, including his daughter Deanna Brown Thomas and 93.6FM Kiss Radio personalities Minnesota Fattz and Cher.
