An acre of land in front of State Mutual Stadium that at one time was going to be the new site of a Hooters restaurant was sold for $325,000 at auction today on the Floyd County courthouse steps.

The purchaser is CRM Central Properties LLC, a division of Suntrust Bank, which will try to sell the property. CRM was the only bidder in a short process.

Ballpark Holdings LLC fell into default on a loan from Suntrust secured by the property, which went into foreclosure. Ballpark Holdings has no relationship to the stadium or other planned developments around it.

Plans for the would-be Hooters site fell apart in 2008. While it was under construction, in hopes of catching as much of the Rome Braves’ season as possible, the franchise owners were evicted in May from the previous Hooters restaurant at Etowah Crossing shopping center for being in default on financial obligations.

Shortly afterward, the Hooters signs were removed from the stadium site – at the request of Hooters’ corporate office, according to builder Johnny Hopkins.

The one acre site is bordered on two sides by approximately 27 acres owned by Northwest Georgia LLC, which has an expansive, three-phase, mixed-use development called The Boulevard on the drawing board. Construction has not begun on the project.

Hooters’ corporate office has said it is looking for a franchise owner to run a restaurant in Rome at an undetermined site.

Romenewswire