Reserved Seat home
    • City
    • Augusta, GA

    Augusta

    Masters in early April · new downtown arena targeted for 2027

    Augusta's biggest ticket is a Masters badge in April; the rest of the year, the choice is a seat at the Bell Auditorium or a downtown theater.

    By the Reserved Seat editorial teamUpdated How we research
    Downtown Augusta, Georgia as seen across the Savannah River, on the Fifth Street Bridge
    Photo: c_live_lee, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Upcoming events in Augusta

    Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.

    What you are really choosing in Augusta

    For most buyers, the Augusta decision is which day of the Masters to attend: the relaxed, easier-to-get practice rounds early in the week, or the high-demand tournament rounds from Thursday to Sunday. Each April, in the first full week of the month, more than 200,000 visitors descend on a city whose own population is roughly 202,000. Outside that week, your choice is a seat at the renovated Bell Auditorium, one of two historic theaters on Broad Street, or a ballgame across the river.

    The city's arena is in transition. The James Brown Arena shut its doors at the end of May 2024 and has been demolished; a bigger building is rising where it stood, aimed at a 2027 finish. Until then, smaller rooms carry the concert calendar.

    • Golf: The Masters, played at Augusta National Golf Club; no other major is organized by a private club.
    • Concerts and comedy: the renovated Bell, plus the Imperial Theatre and Miller Theater on Broad.
    • Baseball: the GreenJackets, a Single-A Carolina League club whose park is over the state line in South Carolina.
    • Hockey from 2027: the revived Augusta Lynx of the ECHL.

    Masters badges: practice round or tournament day

    First staged in 1934 under the name Augusta National Invitation Tournament, the event still handles tickets unlike any other major. Nothing is sold at the gate. The club distributes practice-round and daily tournament tickets ahead of time through a yearly lottery, while badges good for all four tournament days belong to a patron list that stopped adding names long ago. Unless you win the lottery or know a patron, resale is the realistic route.

    • Monday to Wednesday (practice): usually the easiest days to get and the most relaxed on the grounds. On Wednesday, players also compete in the traditional Par 3 Contest on a separate nine-hole course.
    • Thursday to Sunday (tournament): demand builds through the week and peaks on the weekend, when the leaderboard takes shape and the final pairings tee off. Phones and other devices for calls, texts, email or recording are strictly prohibited on these days; review what the club currently permits for each day on your ticket.
    • Parking: spectator parking off Washington Road is free.

    The Masters page goes deeper into badge types and the best places to watch on the course.

    Bell Auditorium and the Broad Street theaters

    Bell Auditorium

    The Bell, on Telfair Street, received a roughly 20-million-dollar overhaul planned around the old arena's shutdown, and it is now where most touring acts land, from comics to Christian artists. Fall 2026 dates include an October 9 R&B bill headlined by Morris Day and The Time, Jay Leno on October 17 and Martin Lawrence on December 4. For a seated show, a centered seat partway back is usually a better view than a far-side seat up front.

    Imperial Theatre and Miller Theater

    These two older houses on Broad Street present music, stand-up and touring stage shows. Their size works in your favor: the last rows are still near the stage, and choosing between them is more about the show than the seat.

    The arena under construction downtown

    Ground was broken on the James Brown Arena's replacement on June 25, 2024. The money comes from a half-cent sales tax that Richmond County voters passed in November 2023. Planned seating: about 10,500 at concerts, 10,300 at basketball and 8,720 at hockey, compared with an older building that sources put somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000. A covered passage will tie the new building to the Bell.

    By July 2026 the structural steel was complete, and the project team was working toward hosting some 2027 graduation ceremonies before wrapping up construction in early summer (June or July) of that year. No naming-rights partner had been announced in the latest reports, so the final name may differ from "New Augusta Arena." The revived Augusta Lynx, awarded an ECHL franchise in 2025, are scheduled to start play there in 2027.

    GreenJackets nights at SRP Park

    Since its April 2018 debut, SRP Park has given the GreenJackets a riverfront home in North Augusta. Fixed seating totals about 4,782, and standing room pushes the count near 5,000. Around it, the Riverside Village project mixes housing, a hotel and places to eat. In a park this size, every seat is near the action; choose the infield for the best view of the game, or a spot near the walkways if you want room to move with children.

    Augusta's year in events

    • April: Masters week, when hotels across the region sell out far in advance and downtown fills with golf visitors.
    • Spring and summer: baseball at SRP Park.
    • Fall: the Bell's busiest stretch, along with two annual city draws, an Ironman 70.3 triathlon and the Arts in the Heart festival.
    • Winter: holiday concerts and stand-up tours downtown.
    • 2027 and after: big-room concerts and ECHL hockey, once the arena is finished.

    Getting around Augusta and where to stay

    Atlanta is roughly 150 miles to the west and Columbia, South Carolina, 74 miles to the east. The local airport, Augusta Regional, has nonstop service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., but Masters week strains that capacity, and plenty of golf fans land in Atlanta or Columbia and rent a car. You will want a car. The course sits off Washington Road on the west side, a few miles out, whereas the downtown venues (the Bell, the arena site and the two theaters) are all walkable from each other. SRP Park is a quick drive over the river.

    • Downtown: dinner spots, the Riverwalk and a statue of James Brown, who was raised in Augusta, all near the show venues.
    • Washington Road corridor: the nearest lodging to the course, and gridlocked through Masters week.
    • North Augusta: stay at Riverside Village and walk to the game.
    • Masters planning: secure lodging and flights first, since they are often harder to find than a ticket, and agree on meeting spots with your group in advance because phones stay behind on tournament days.

    Reserved Seat backs each order with a 100% guarantee. Current Bell Auditorium listings are at augustaentertainmentcomplex.com.

    Frequently asked questions

    Is it easier to attend a Masters practice round?

    Usually, yes. Practice rounds run Monday through Wednesday and are generally easier to get into and more relaxed than the tournament rounds from Thursday to Sunday.

    Why do most fans buy Masters tickets on resale?

    Augusta National sells no tickets at the gate. Daily tickets go out through an annual lottery and series badges to a long-closed patron list, so resale is the main route for everyone else.

    When will the new Augusta arena open?

    As of July 2026, the plan called for limited use during the 2027 graduation season and a finished building by early summer 2027. It will hold about 10,500 for concerts.

    Where are concerts held in Augusta right now?

    The renovated Bell handles most touring acts until the arena opens, and the two Broad Street theaters take the smaller bookings.

    Is SRP Park in Georgia or South Carolina?

    South Carolina. The GreenJackets' park is in North Augusta, on the far bank of the Savannah, only minutes by car from downtown.

    Sources