AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – As progress continues on the replacement of the old James Brown Arena, Brown’s family has been fighting to keep his name above the door.
This comes as the
Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority says it’s looking to sell the rights to the name.
The agency claimed it has always intended to, despite early drawings of the new building that featured the name of the Godfather of Soul as well as a URL on an authority’s website referring to it as the new James Brown Arena.
This has left a bad taste in many people’s mouths, including Augusta’s commissioners, who say a “new James Brown Arena” was part of the promise when voters approved a special sales tax.
Earlier this month, Augusta commissioners voted to ask the city attorney to draft
a letter of solidarity for the commissioners to sign
, supporting keeping the name.
On Tuesday, the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority held its monthly meeting, and the family wanted to make their voices heard.
“For my dad, what he saw was the fact that young black boys and girls would be able to look up there and see a name to a person that looks like them, and could one day be them,” said Deanna Brown Thomas, James Brown’s daughter.
The naming rights would produce revenue the authority says it needs for future operations at the Augusta Entertainment Complex.
A company called Primary Wave owns the rights to James Brown’s name, image and music, so the authority says it didn’t have the rights to call it the James Brown Arena.
“We are trying to make sure that there’s a revenue stream to make sure that we can continue to pay the maintenance, the light bill, the water bill and to take all those things that need to be taken care of,” said Cedric Johnson, chairman.
That doesn’t mean, however, that his name can’t be used. The authority says Primary Wave is willing to let a sponsor use the James Brown name, but it’s up to that sponsor.
“We’re going to honor James Brown,” said Johnson. “We have always planned to honor 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.”
James Brown’s family just wants his legacy to live on, hoping that means his name will be included
“I look at the website and it says the arena, and under it is William Bell Auditorium, and I drive by the street and people send me pictures and my dad’s name is completely gone,” said Deanna Brown.
Having James Brown’s name on the new arena is still an option, according to the authority, and agency officials say they plan to honor him in the new arena, even if his name isn’t on it.
The new arena is set to tower
10 stories tall, hosting about 100 events a year
from musical and family productions to hockey games.
It will offer a variety of premium options, including suites, box seating and party facilities.
