The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon opened in 1999 and is the largest sports hall of fame in the U.S. The hall is home to over 3,000 artifacts from moments in Georgia sports history, a small theater where the film “Dare to Be Great” is shown, a small basketball court, a race car simulator and a statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
“That’s a part of it, too, it’s not only to learn facts and to educate those that come in, but also they can come and have fun and make it a real experience for them on that day,” Gwen Arrington, the director of operations, said about the interactive sections of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
The hall is “an integral part of downtown Macon,” John McLendon, the museum’s executive director, said. “And the success, the value of the city, is really determined by how vibrant the downtown corridor is.”
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is open for visitors Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, located on Cherry Street, opens at 10 a.m. on Friday morning. Photo by Drew Robertson
Director of Operations Gwen Arrington (left) and Executive Director Jim McLendon of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame begin setting up the museum’s opening by prepping the television on this exhibit on Friday morning. Photo by Drew Robertson
A statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, stands in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in the Friday morning sun. Photo by Drew Robertson
Arrington (left) and Mclendon demonstrate an interactive portion of the museum where visitors can assume the role of a sports announcer. Photo by Drew Robertson
Arrington poses in front of an exhibit honoring several Georgia athletes on Friday morning. Arrington said this is one of her favorite exhibits. Photo by Drew Robertson
Executive Director Jim McLendon poses in front of the museum’s newest exhibit which highlights the Negro League Baseball Centinenal. “It’s probably the first of its kind, you know, around Georgia,” McLendon said. The museum unveiled the exhibit on Feb. 5. Photo by Drew Robertson
Arrington and McLendon turn on the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame film “Dare to Be Great” on Friday morning before opening. Photo by Drew Robertson
