Love Shack in Athens

BRIDGING THE GAP: Akins Ford Arena, shown here on opening night, should route well for concert tours playing midsize arenas in the southeast. (Don Muret/Staff)

Hiccups aside, locals love the Lobsters

ATHENS, Georgia — Akins Ford Arena turned into a love shack for all things B-52s last week, tied to the homegrown party band’s concert and the Athens Rock Lobsters, named after their signature tune.

The new arena, capacity 8,500, kicked off with the Dec. 13 home debut of the Rock Lobsters, sporting one of the finest logos in minor league hockey.

The team mark, showcasing an angry lobster grasping a guitar that morphs into a hockey stick, generated $41,000 in gross sales of jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies and knit hats, producing a strong merchandise per cap of $13.66 from the estimated 3,000 in attendance.

Typically, minor league merch per caps run $3 to $5, depending on the market and event, said consultant Chris Bigelow.

In Athens, the numbers might have been higher if not for the cramped, makeshift retail setup inside the front doors that made it difficult for fans to get a good look at the items. A permanent team store opens in the coming weeks at a retail space inside a parking garage next door after JE Dunn, the arena construction firm, moves out, said Paul Cramer, president and CEO of the Classic Center complex, which covers the convention center, theater and the new arena.

The relatively low attendance figure was affected by the Rock Lobsters having to reschedule three home games, including the opener, which was reported to be a sellout, after the $151 million arena did not pass its initial fire safety inspection.

Some glitches arose as a result of the rescheduled events.

On the revised opening night, there was an issue over ticket scanning technology due to combining tickets from the originally scheduled hockey game and those for the rescheduled date, Cramer said. The result was dozens of people lined up at the ticket office outside the arena to obtain new tickets to get into the building.

In addition, there was no public Wi-Fi available; Cramer said the system will be installed this week and tested prior to the holiday break.

Despite those hiccups, the hockey crowd was raucous in an intimate building that seats about 6,000 for hockey, roaring their approval at one point when three fights broke out on the ice at the same time during the game.

Taking a look at the bottleneck surrounding the pop-up retail location, it’s hard to believe the Rock Lobsters brand almost got beat out by the Classic City Panic name.

Athens is known as the Classic City because it was named after Athens, Greece in the early 1800s, which was considered the center of learning in the classical world. The Panic team name honored Widespread Panic, the jam band that got its start in Athens in 1986, a decade after the B-52s formed in town.

The two prospective team brands fought it out in a new twist on “battle of the bands” across social media, before the Athens Rock Lobsters made a late push to win the “Name the Team” contest.

“We were within 48 hours of calling the team the Classic City Panic, but then the B-52s got behind it and we got 10,000 votes in their favor,” said Scott Hull, executive vice president of the Federal Prospects league team. “It was incredible. The marketing guy hated me that day after I told him we have to put a whole new (promotional) deck together. But we had to and I’m glad we did. It was the right move with all the activations you can do.”

The push to brand the team Rock Lobsters extended to fans designing their own merchandise as part of the social media campaign, according to Katie Williams, vice president of sales, marketing and tourism for the Classic Center, which covers the convention center, theater and the new arena.

“They became so passionate about the team before it was even a team,” Williams said. “Looking back, I can’t imagine it being called anything else.”

For concessions, the average spend was $30 for the hockey game, arena officials said. Levy runs the food.

The next night, Dec. 14, the B-52s christened the music side of the building in a city that also spawned R.E.M and the Drive-By Truckers. For the B-52s, some ticket holders showed their affinity for the band with hairstyles spanning the color spectrum, wearing shiny dresses and sport coats to match the festive mood.

At one point in the show, B-52s frontman Fred Schneider donned a Rock Lobsters jersey and congratulated the team on its 3-2 win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves. “Rock Lobster,” which was released in 1978, was the encore, complete with a costumed red lobster parading the sage.

The concert crowd of 5,194 produced a food and drink per cap of $22, falling short of the night before, in part because it started later, Cramer said.

Looking ahead, Akins Ford Arena has a half-dozen concerts on the books through early April, starting with Parker McCollum’s tour opener (Jan. 23); followed by Tom Segura (Jan. 30); Brantley Gilbert (March 21); Megan Moroney (April 4-5); and Riley Green (May 1).

For Moroney, it’s a homecoming. She went to school at the University of Georgia in town and served as an intern at Classic Center, said Danny Bryant, the arena’s general manager.

AEW, the Harlem Globetrotters and Disney on Ice are among the family shows set for the arena in 2025.

Widespread Panic, a strong touring band with a rabid fan base, is expected to perform at Akins Ford Arena in the future, Bryant said. Classic Center has a close relationship with the band after booking Panic for multiple shows in the past at the complex’s 2,000-seat theater.

“We’re attached to them,” he said. “They are a huge priority for us and they’re excited to play in their hometown again and sleep in their own bed at night. There’s not many venues where they can do that.”

Madison Duryea, the third generation of her family to work in sports and entertainment, books the arena for Oak View Group. She expects the venue to compete with Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia, which can fit about 13,000 for concerts, situated in the north Atlanta suburbs, 55 miles east of Athens.

On its own, Akins Ford Arena should work well within routing of midsize venues in the southeast, including Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte and Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Duryea said.

Some residents of Athens have told arena staffers that they welcome the new arena because they prefer not to drive to Atlanta for shows, which can take up to two hours depending on traffic.

Conversely, some folks that live in the southern outskirts of Atlanta are willing to drive to Athens for live entertainment; one group that lives in the area booked a party suite for Megan Moroney, they said.

“Our focus is on selling Athens as a music town and it’s not a sales pitch,” Duryea said. “It’s about conveying to the agents and promoters that we’re supporting your artists from day one, whether they’re playing the historic clubs in Athens and our theater — then come play our arena.”

The Rock Lobsters will play a 28-game home schedule at Akins Ford Arena.

Hull, who previously worked for the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Rapid City Rush, said the team has sold about 1,000 season tickets, priced as low was $550 a person, which equates to under $20 a game with fees.

Season-ticket holders receive early access to the games, merchandise discounts, buddy passes and the “Never Wasted” ticket program, where they can exchange tickets for a game they can’t attend toward a future game.

The Federal Prospects Hockey League, a 14-team league marking its 15th season, is at the single-A level in pro hockey. Hull recognizes the golden opportunity to market the Rock Lobsters in a new arena.

“It’s the best in our league; you sit right on top of the ice and it will get loud,” he said.