Atlanta Track Club — the second-largest running organization in the U.S. with roughly 30,000 members — plans to build an indoor track facility in the city that would cost $100 million.
The project, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, would be paid for by a mix of corporate philanthropic dollars, new-markets tax credits, and community donations.
Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah reportedly hopes to create a “ground zero” for running and make Atlanta one of the fittest cities in the U.S. over the next 25 years. Georgia is currently one of two states along the Eastern Seaboard without an indoor track facility.
Proposed features include an exercise physiology laboratory, STEM classes for Atlanta public school students, and a space for retail. The entire facility would be around 200,000 square feet, and Atlanta Track Club is still searching for a six-acre site to build on.
Kenah, a former U.S. Olympic middle-distance runner, told the Atlanta Business Chronicle that he envisions the track being built on Atlanta’s westside, close to the city’s downtown, public transportation, and the Atlanta BeltLine rail system.
More than 30 events per year are held by the Atlanta Track Club, including the AJC Peachtree Road Race. Kenah expects the facility to take three-to-four years to build once a site is acquired.
Developer Eyes Atlanta World Cup Facility
Patrick Vierhout, owner of Sportiff USA Sports Apparel and the USL League Two’s East Atlanta Dutch Lions football club, has proposed building a 10,000-seat outdoor soccer stadium in the Atlanta suburb of Coyners, reports the Rockdale Citizen.
Vierhout purchased 286 acres adjacent to the Georgia International Horse Park to build the proposed soccer stadium, which would be home to a women’s professional team and aims to open in time to host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
