Centennial Olympic Park closes 'to the public indefinitely'
Park-goers are seen inside Centennial Olympic Park on May 02, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. The shelter-in-place order for all Georgia residents to help slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was lifted at midnight on April 30, 2020. (Pho
ATLANTA - The Georgia World Congress Center Authority said Monday that Centennial Olympic Park will remain closed to the public indefinitely. The authority cited the on-going financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The authority said the park relies on funds from events at the Georgia World Congress Center and the park itself to sustain its continued operation, but due to the pandemic, those events have not been happening.
“The financial ramifications stemming from this global pandemic have hit the hospitality industry, including Georgia World Congress Center Authority, especially hard,” Frank Poe, GWCCA’s executive director was quoted as saying in a release sent to FOX 5 News. “The Park relies on operating support from GWCC and without event activities on our campus, the costs associated with maintaining public access to the Park is not feasible. We will focus our resources on preserving the green space and landscape in anticipation of daily use sometime in the future.”
In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, the recent protests have impacted the park, causing damage and cleanup efforts. No word on how much those cleanup and repair efforts cost or how much revenue has been lost by the authority due to the coronavirus.