Thanks in great measure to a campaign by Lee Baker of the Gwinnett Sports Council and Touchdown Club of Atlanta, the Stone Mountain Olympic Tennis Stadium may yet be saved.

To help bolster the effort, the Evermore CID is planning to move its base of operations from its current location in Snellville to the stadium’s pro shop located next to the stadium.

The stadium, owned by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association (SMMA) - a Georgia state authority - had entered into an agreement with Gwinnett County in May 2009 for a $1 per year, 50 year lease to operate the 25 acre facility. Part of the agreement included a provision to demolish the stadium structure itself this month, but the SMMA, citing cash flow problems, has been forced to delay the $1.5 million dollar demolishion to 2011. This budget induced delay has created an opportunity for Evermore to facilitate a salvage of the venue.

Evermore CID had previously commissioned a study that concluded that transforming the structure into a multipurpose facility could bring in over $100 million dollars in new revenue over the span of 10 years as well as creating new jobs. A new feasibility study is to be commissioned in order to determine long-term viability.

Optimism of the planned salvage varies with Curtis Branscome, SMMA CEO stating his lack of optimism due to the capital required and with Baker stating that the project is very viable in his opinion.

Dwight Harrison, of Dwight Harrison VW, and vice-chair of the CID states that the interest in the project is greater than the stadium itself as the venue is the gateway to the CID from the west.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Mike Beaudreau has stated that any project would have to be a private venture and that the county is not prepared to “sink a bunch of money into this thing.”