Get ready to see progress happening at the Macon Mall. County leaders and community partners held a ceremonial groundbreaking to kick off the design and construction of  the new 10,000-person capacity amphitheater. 

It was hard to not get excited at the event as local musicians Kelley Dixson and McKinley Starks sang and played covers of Otis Redding, The Allman Brothers Band, and other Macon artists. The crowd really got going when a tour bus pulled up, and out came Mayor Lester Miller in his Allman Brothers Band t-shirt and hat, jeans, and a fake tattoo sleeve. 

“What’s up Macon, Georgia?” he yelled as he walked off the bus, with both arms raised in the air. Speakers for the event included District 9 Commissioner Al Tillman, Eisenhower Business Improvement District (EBID) Executive Director Jaime Arnold, Visit Macon President and CEO Gary Wheat, Urban Development Authority (UDA) Executive Director Alex Morrison, and Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) Dr. Ivan Allen, all dressed up in their own concert wear.

“I hope that today Macon-Bibb County can move forward together and can get behind this project that I think is going to re-energize our community,” said Mayor Miller. “We wanted this moment to be special, because it is.”   

Earlier this month, Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority – acting on behalf of Macon-Bibb County – approved the selection of TVS, Piedmont Construction Group, Stage Front, and HGOR as the Design/Build Team for the new outdoor amphitheater.   

“We want the Macon-Bibb amphitheater to be a performer’s dream and an audience’s premier experience,” said TVS Principal Emery Leonard. “We want everyone to come early and be the last to leave, to set the stage for redevelopment of a surrounding restaurant and retail district.”  

The new amphitheater is set attract musicians, concertgoers, and people from all places, but most importantly, people who already live in this community, as Urban Development Authority Executive Director Alex Morrison said. 

“People who I want to choose Macon because of this project, are people who are already here,” said Morrison. “I want everybody here to choose Macon again because of this project, because of this team, because of the work we’re all going to do.” 

This project will revitalize the entire community for the better, with help from the entire community. This is an ongoing project that will involve everyone. 

“We all have great memories of the Macon Mall from its heyday,” said Mayor Miller. “With your help, with the offices we bring here, with the new retail we are talking about, and, most importantly for today, with this amphitheater, we will transform this entire area.”