Dunwoody officials told Channel 2 Action News they are making a pitch to host the Georgia Music Hall of Fame if the facility relocates from its current Macon location.

Dunwoody Make Pitch For Music Hall Of Fame

The hall of fame opened in 1996 but has floundered financially, even though it's home to music legends like Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, Gladys Knight and Usher.

The facility has lost money for the last five years, and is subsidized by the state and taxpayers. Records show fewer than 23,000 people visit the hall of fame each year.

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Now Dunwoody leaders tell Channel 2’s Diana Davis they want to build a new hall of fame on five acres of vacant land off Ashford Dunwoody Road, near Perimeter Mall.

Dunwoody city councilman Danny Ross told Davis that moving the hall of fame to the metro's north side near MARTA, shopping and hotels can make it succeed where Macon failed.

“Unfortunately Macon isn’t in a metropolitan area. It’s kind of a pass-through in terms of the expressways. Dunwoody is kind of at the center of everything,” said Ross.

Fulton County commissioner Robb Pitts wanted the hall of fame to move to downtown Atlanta, possibly near the Georgia Aquarium, but the county missed the filing deadline.

Now six Georgia cities, including Macon and Dunwoody, are making bids. That includes Albany, Athens, Woodstock and Dahlonega.

“This is not anything we expect the city of Dunwoody to make any contribution to at all. It’s going to require a tremendous amount of private enterprise support and I think the corporations around here will embrace it,” said Ross.

Dunwoody and the other cities in competition have to finalize their proposals by Dec. 10. A bid will be awarded by April 15, if a bid is extended at all.