The former Savannah Civic Center’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Arena today underwent a significant step in its redevelopment transformation, recognizing an honored past and embracing vibrant future, during a pre-demolition ceremony held in downtown Savannah.

The event, “Honoring the Legacy, Building the Future,” was the ceremonial, community-wide kickoff for the $10.9 million removal of the former arena. 

Mayor Van R. Johnson, II, and Council, City Manager Jay Melder, stakeholders, dignitaries, community members, and honored guests gathered in the venue’s parking lot on W. Oglethorpe Ave., to hear remarks, learn about the history of the Civic Center, and observe a ceremonial presentation. A brick from the arena wall was retrieved by Mayor Johnson and City Manager Melder and presented to the City of Savannah Office of Municipal Archives & History. It will be preserved for a future exhibit displaying the Civic Center’s history upon completion of the construction project. 

For more than five decades, the 7-acre site has been home to concerts, conventions, reunions, workshops, even emergency housing, a place of refuge, and represented a vibrant mixture of music, arts, culture, and civic engagement. 

“We love what we had, but we move toward greater, and we look forward to greater, and we move toward different, and we move toward progress, and move toward equity, and we do it together as a city,” said Mayor Johnson. “We have four acres that will come available and aspirational, creating 200-300 housing units, 40-60 row homes, 45,000 square-feet of local retail space, and some public space for us to be able to use again.”

“I think we can appreciate that progress is part of the work we do here,” said City Manager Melder. “We can look back to some of Dr. King’s words, also, to highlight this celebration where he said, ‘Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. He also told us in that same speech that we’ve got to use time creatively,’ and I think it’s apropos to think about this building and the use of time creatively. It’s our responsibility to make sure inevitably is not what happens to the future of this site.”

Thursday’s hour-long observance highlighted memories, milestones, and majestic moments, including the opportunity for attendees to retrieve a brick as a personal keepsake, along with a certificate of authenticity. The original structure, built in 1972, has never undergone extensive redevelopment or construction prior to this project.

“From slam dunks to hockey pucks, rodeos to wrestling, Black Heritage to Asian festivals, health fairs to job fairs, the Arena has hosted it all,” said Luciana Spracher, Municipal Archives & History Officer. “Those cherished memories will never be demolished. Rather, today while we remove a brick from the arena’s wall, we place another brick in Savannah’s history, building our community stronger and taller for the next generation.”

City Manager Melder also quoted long-time retired City employee Joe Shearouse, Sr., who managed the facility for many decades as saying, “She [Civic Center] gave us decades of concerts, graduations, and moments that stitched our community together. Age caught up with her. The bones were tired, the systems outdated, and she told us in her own way, it was time - do not resuscitate - let this land move on to its next stage of life. We honor what she gave us by moving forward together - not clinging to the bricks and beams that can't serve the next generation.”

Completion of the Civic Center deconstruction and removal is slated for Spring 2027.

Historical Context of Civic Center Site:

• Land was originally home to the Creek Nation before colonization by the English in the 1730s 
• Originally designated as part of the Town Common, it was laid out as Elbert and Jackson wards in the early 1800s. On the Trust Lots facing Orleans Square, the Bulloch House, designed by renowned British architect William Jay, was built in 1819. Scholarship of the Bulloch House has focused on its architectural grandeur, presumably using enslaved labor outdoors and indoors 
• A century later, the house was demolished to make way for the Municipal Auditorium. Fronting the square, the Auditorium hosted plays, concerts, sporting events, recitals, and a wide variety of community events. Local and national leaders, like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke to Savannahians from the Auditorium’s stage 
• Savannah’s needs outgrew the Auditorium, and it was demolished in 1971; the then-newly constructed Savannah Civic Center was completed in early 1972, featuring a modern arena, theatre, and ballroom. During the Civic Center’s grand opening week in February 1972, the Arena hosted a variety of events, including a Boy Scouts potluck supper, a Holiday on Ice spectacular, a Georgia Day celebration featuring a children’s costume parade, dance performances by the Academy of Black Culture, and ice hockey featuring the Florida Allstars against the St. Petersburg Suns. 
• In July 1984, at the request of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Savannah City Council named the Arena in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recognizing his national contributions, as well as his local significance, and fittingly connected to where he addressed Savannahians at the Auditorium 20 years earlier. 
• Following the opening of Savannah’s EnMarket Arena, City Council approved the removal of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Arena, while retaining the name and legacy of Dr. King on the civic center site. On December 11, 2025, the Mayor and Council approved a resolution renaming the entire Civic Center in King’s honor.