By Eric Curl
Sept. 21, 2025 – The Savannah Civic Center will be unavailable for early voting for the November election due to leaking roof issues that could damage voting machines.
The Chatham County Board of Registrars discussed the issued during their Aug. 27 meeting, when they voted on an alternative early voting plan. The plan included extended 7 a.m.-to-7 p.m. weekday hours at the voter registrars annex on Eisenhower Drive, along with one Sunday of voting, and multiple satellite locations with weekend hours. The Cultural Arts Center was discussed as a possible alternative location, but there were concerns about the limited amount of parking available.
With the Enmarket Arena now in operation, the city of Savannah is preparing to demolish the arena side of the downtown civic center, which includes the room normally used for early voting, so the leaking roof is not expected to be repaired, said Chairman Colin McRae.
“It would be just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic to be fixing stuff that side of the civic center,” McRae said. “So, I wouldn’t expect that that situation would get any better.”
Aside from voting and some other minor useage, the arena was effectively shut down in 2022 after most events migrated to the Enmarket Arena. As part of a plan to redevelop the arena site, the city recently received proposals from six construction companies seeking to lead the effort to demolish the Martin Luther King, Jr. Arena at the Savannah Civic Center while keeping the Johnny Mercer Theatre and lobby operational. The estimated budget for the demolition is $10 million, according to the request for proposals issued over the summer.
On Thursday, the city council will consider a $150,000 contract increase to expand the geographic boundaries of an economic and land use study for the civic center site.
The Chatham County Board of Registrars’ next meeting is on Wednesday. The meeting agenda can be found at Chatham County Board of Registrars – Meeting Information, when it is made available to view. The Savannah City Council’s next meeting is on Thursday. The agenda can be found at Agenda Plus – September 25, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting.
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