Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
| Established | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Location | 301 Cherry Street Macon, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 32°50′4.3″N 83°37′28.6″W / 32.834528°N 83.624611°W |
| Type | Sports history |
| Director | Ben Sapp |
| Curator | Benjamin Baughman |
| Website | Georgia Sports Hall of Fame |
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia, USA. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in America at 43,000 square feet (4,000 m2).
The Hall of Fame houses over 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2) of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Inductees, High School, collegiate sports, Olympic, Paralympic, Professional Sports, and Great Moments in Georgia Sports History areas. Interactive exhibits in the museum include NASCAR simulators, basketball and football games, and computer programs.
The Hall of Fame is owned by the state of Georgia and operated by the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Authority. It is governed by an 18-member Authority appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Georgia.
The Hall of Fame portion of the museum was created in 1956 as the Georgia Prep Sports Hall of Fame. In 1963 it was expanded to encompass prep, college, amateur and professional sports. In 1978 the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame was officially created by the Georgia State Legislature. Then, in 1994 the state of Georgia appropriated $6.5 million to construct the Sports Hall of fame museum, and added another $1.8 million in 1996. The total construction of the building and its exhibits cost $8.3 million. The building opened in 1999 and had more than 65,000 visitors during its first year of operations. Yearly operations are partially funded by the State of Georgia and partnerships with local organizations provide in-kind contributions and relationships. Additional fundraising is continued through facility rentals, a 5k walk, and Hall of Fame induction-ceremony table sales.
Meetings for the inductions process for the Georgia State Hall of Fame are now all open to the public. While inductee selection was always public, screening meetings only recently became open and it is considered somewhat controversial. To date, over 300 members have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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