“We are actually going to have suites that wrap the bowl of Philips Arena.” “We will bring down the four-stacked (levels of) suites,” Reed said, describing one of the unusual features of Philips Arena where all the luxury suites are on one side of the arena. The Atlanta Hawks and Ressler will be contributing $50 million to the project. The remaining $20 million will come from the city selling off “smaller parcels that are excess municipal inventory,” Reed said. Then the city will allocate $12.5 million from the sale of Turner Field to dramatic renovation of Philips Arena. Most of the city’s contribution will come from the extension of the car rental tax, which Reed estimated will total $110 million. The $192.5 million deal includes $142.5 million from the City of Atlanta, but Reed gave assurances that no new taxes would be going towards the renovation of the arena.
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The lawsuit asks for a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages.Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler and Mayor Kasim Reed announcing deal to renovate Philips Arena (Photo by Maria Saporta) Hayes says he was never told he had to consult with human resources in those situations and had previously fired other subordinates without contacting human resources.Īs a security manager, Hayes needed to be assertive and to decline certain requests, but he was instructed to adopt a subservient demeanor because he’s a large black man and could be perceived as “aggressive,” the lawsuit says. When Hayes was fired on April 28, he was told he had suspended a staffer for insubordination and fired another for sleeping on the job without first consulting with human resources, the lawsuit says.
When he asked why concessions were made for white performers but not black ones and why security was often heightened for black shows he was told “hip hop acts draw a different crowd, and the white acts bring in more money,” the lawsuit says. Hayes complained in October and again in April about what he saw as racially motivated discrepancies in security enforcement, the lawsuit says.
Some were also allowed special parking and entrance privileges that were denied to black entertainers, the lawsuit says.īlack celebrities attending events at Philips Arena - including actor Tyler Perry and rapper Nelly - were also denied special entrance access or security protocol exemptions granted to white celebrities, the lawsuit says. Meanwhile, the lawsuit says, white performers, including comedian Amy Schumer and musical acts Axl Rose, Bon Jovi, Adele, Radiohead and Ariana Grande, were allowed to bypass metal detectors. “We will defend vigorously,” the statement says.Īccording to the lawsuit, black entertainers whose requests to bypass metal detectors were denied include hip-hop artists Drake, Future, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Jeezy, The Dream and Migos, as well as comedians Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hawks Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Nzinga Shaw said in an emailed statement that Hayes was fired for poor performance and that his claims are baseless. It became obvious to Hayes that race, not safety, was the deciding factor for which celebrities were allowed to bypass security measures, the lawsuit says. The Hawks hired Hayes in August to work as manager of security operations at Philips Arena and for the team, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says Hayes was fired because he’s black and because he complained about security measures that he says were selectively enforced based on race. Hayes III filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against Atlanta Hawks LLC, which operates the arena. A former security manager at the arena where the Atlanta Hawks play says white entertainers were consistently allowed to bypass security measures while similar requests by black entertainers were denied.Īlleging racial discrimination, Samuel R.
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