The GHSA has announced that its boys and girls basketball state championships will relocate to the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The move affects both classifications' finals weekends and shifts the event out of Macon, its longtime home, for at least two years.
Reporting suggests the move is tied to construction underway on a new arena in Macon, where the championships have traditionally been held. One report indicates Macon-Bibb County broke ground on a $350 million arena project going up beside the current Coliseum. That new venue is projected to open in 2028. The older building is expected to come down afterward, which leaves no equivalent venue in Macon during the construction window. That gap is the practical reason the GHSA needed an interim site for these two seasons rather than a permanent replacement.
The Georgia State Convocation Center has hosted GHSA basketball semifinal games in recent years. Organizers have pointed to that working relationship as a factor in choosing the site for the finals during the transition. Familiarity with the building's layout, seating capacity and event operations likely reduced the coordination burden of moving a marquee event on short notice. Schools, bands and ticketing operations that already travel to the Convocation Center for semifinals will now make the same trip for championship weekend itself.
For now, the state championship address changes for two seasons before any decision on a longer-term home once Macon's new facility is complete. Whether the championships return to Macon permanently, stay in Atlanta, or move again once the new arena opens remains an open question. Schools, families and fans planning travel around the 2027 and 2028 tournaments should treat the Convocation Center as the confirmed site for those two years only, and watch for a separate GHSA announcement covering seasons beyond 2028.