Major Money Needed for Garrett Coliseum Renovations
It was last January that Montgomery city officials announced that Garrett Coliseum would undergo a complete renovation starting in 2015.Â
But now the project may be put on hold, as officials scramble to find the money to do it.
Last year, Montgomery city officials and representatives from the Kiwanis Club and the Alabama National Fair unveiled blueprints of what they envisioned the Garrett Coliseum to look like…after a major facelift. The renovations were set to start next year but now Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan says the project may not start on time.
“With the financial condition of the state, we might as well be honest that it’s going to be hard to get something going over there.”
A lack of funds, nearly 30 million dollars, has city officials going back to the drawing board. Because both the state and the city make money from the Coliseum, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange is involved with the facility. He says officials are now trying to hire a consultant to deal with private investors.
“We’re excited about getting someone on board that really can help us and frankly, tell us whether the direction we’re going in really can be done and if it cannot be done, then we’ll go back to square one.”
Garrett Coliseum has undergone minor renovations like re-paving the parking lot, painting the exterior, and installing a digital marquee. But big projects, like heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical work still need to be done.
“The state situation, the way it is money wise and budget wise, it’s hard to get money from the state to do things,” says Garrett Coliseum General Manager Randy Stephenson. “Even though this is a public-private entity, it still has some state ties to it.”
In an effort to get the renovation project back on track, McMillan says a push for money will be made this quarter.
“If I was going to sum up the status, it would be that we plan to put out a request for proposals that is very broad and just says, if anybody has got anything or ideas or finances you want to talk to us about, come see us.”
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