By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
First phase of renovation to start at Lake Lanier Olympic Venue
Groundbreaking held as group aims to revamp venue
1113VENUE 0001
Key supporters participate in the groundbreaking event at the Lake Lanier Olympic Venue at Clarks Bridge Park in Gainesville on Thursday. Various elected officials and the Gainesville-Hall '96 board of directors spoke at the event about renovations set to begin at the venue. - photo by Erin O. Smith
Nearly 20 years after the world watched the Olympic Games in Gainesville, the Lake Lanier Olympic Venue is on the verge of a makeover. A $1.6 million renovation is poised to get underway, the first step in an eventual $7.5 million to $10 million plan to redo the venue — on both sides of Clarks Bridge Road/Ga. 284 — and turn it into more than just a sporting complex. “I see a lonely (clock) tower getting a lot of friends,” U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, said during a Thursday ceremony at the venue kicking off the first round of work.