Atlanta Barely Notes The Passing Of The Omni Arena Enters Its Final Days During Nba Playoffs

The demolition of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium began a couple of weeks ago. Now, the city that never spends too much time dwelling on its past is about to tear down another sports landmark.

The Omni, a gleaming innovation in architecture when it opened downtown in 1972, will be razed after the NBA playoffs to make room for a new arena with all the required elements for sports in the ‘90s: club seats, luxury boxes and plenty of elegance.

Certainly, the rusty-looking Omni, which resembles a waffle iron or an upside-down egg carton, is starting to show its age after a quarter-century of events, from Atlanta Hawks basketball to Elvis Presley.

“I have no particular feeling about it being taken down,” said developer Tom Cousins, who built the Omni. “It has served its purpose and served it well.”

Not any more.

The roof leaks. Pigeons have found a home inside. The narrow concourses are downright claustrophobic when big crowds pack the building. The Hawks complain about their tiny locker room.

But Rachel Styles will miss the place. She has worked at the Omni since it opened and has served as house manager for 20 years, a job that gave her contact with nearly all of the famous and not-so-famous who visited the 16,000-seat arena.

“I’ve probably seen more basketball games than anyone does in a lifetime. I’ve definitely seen more circuses than anyone will ever see. Then there are the things I thought I would never enjoy, the tractor pulls and things like that,” said Styles, whose office wall is covered with pictures that chronicle the Omni’s history. “It’s like somebody is taking my house away.”

Other than people like Styles, the Omni’s waning days are going largely unnoticed, evoking none of the pangs of emotion that marked the finale last year at Fulton County Stadium, the Atlanta Braves’ home for 31 years.

Many people seem unaware that the arena that served the city so well is about to be demolished.

The Hawks marked the occasion with a ceremony at their final regular-season game last weekend. But maybe it’s hard to get attached to a building where the most memorable game was perhaps a loss by the home team.

In 1988, Atlanta was on the verge of upsetting Larry Bird and the powerful Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In Game 6, with a chance to wrap up the series before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks lost 102-100 and went on to lose Game 7 at Boston Garden.

Besides Elvis, the Omni played host to the Democratic National Convention in 1988, basketball Final Fours for men and women, the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in 1980 and a Davis Cup semifinal match between the United States and Argentina in 1984.