Mobile, Ala. (Wala) – The demolition of the mobile Civic Center last year was bitter sweet to Mary Williams, whose husband was in the tree team who built it in the 1960s.
“I cried a bit,” she said.
Nevertheless, Williams said that she likes what she has seen in new drawings that the city published on Wednesday as part of a groundbreaking ceremony on the city center, where a new state -of -the -art arena will rise in its place.
“I think it's nice and I think we need it too, yes,” she said to Fox10 News. “So we can still give ours – I remember the old one with the old one that we all had our parties and everything there. So I'm great.”
The new facility, which is referred to as the “mobile arena” until the city sells the right to name – will sit around 10,000 people and be able to organize a variety of events that range from concerts to sporting events. The OAK View Group, which will be responsible for the booking file and the administration of the arena, announced on Wednesday that Coca-Cola Bottling Co. will be the official drink partner and the first “founding partner” of the arena.
City officials hope to open the building in time for Mardi Gras in 2027.
“It will be a completely different experience than entertainment,” said Mayor Sandy Stimpson.
The construction costs of 237.5 million US dollars are part of a total of 300 million US dollars -the most expensive city project in the history of Mobile.
In order to remind the milestone, the city released new renderings about what the 300,000 square meter building will look like. In addition to the concerts, city officials hope that the building has been organizing ice hockey for the first time since the mobile Mysticks in 2002.
Johnita Reese agreed that the design is “beautiful” based on the drawings, although she recognized that her concerted days are mainly behind her.
“At a young age, as in my teenagers, I went out in the early 20s,” she said. “But now I'm in my 60s, not so much. So it's nice. We need that. Mobile needs it.”
But Wayne Dean, the boss Slacabamarinico portrays during the carnival season, said that he was still not convinced that the new facility will be suitable for carnival balls – despite the administration's assurance.
“When you look at the new drawings, it still looks like a hockey track,” he said. “And hey, I am everything for hockey. I loved the mysticks. … But in these drawings there is nothing that represents Carnival grass how it would be set up.”
Copyright 2025 Wala. All rights reserved.