Anderson County officials announced Monday that they have received $650,000 in federal money for improvements at Green Pond Landing and Event Center, which will host the Bassmaster Classic next year.
The Sports Fish Restoration Act funding from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service will cover the bulk of the $866,000 cost for expanding courtesy docks at the Lake Hartwell venue. The rest of the money for the dock expansion will come from accommodations tax revenues, according to a statement issued by the county Monday.
At its meeting Tuesday night, the Anderson County Council is expected to approve a bid for the project submitted by The Belk Company LLC of Anderson.
Plans call for relocating an existing 8-foot wide courtesy dock to make room for a new 10-foot wide courtesy dock. Two extended docks that are 100 feet long and 10 feet wide also will be installed.
The expanded docks will accommodate more than 50 boats, far more than the 10 or so boats that can now tie up to the existing courtesy dock at Green Pond Landing, said Glenn Brill, the county’s director of parks, recreation and tourism.
Brill said the expanded docks should be in place before the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’s Sporting Goods takes place in March. The anglers competing in the so-called Super Bowl of bass fishing will depart from and return to Green Pond Landing.
One of the parking lots at Green Pond Landing also was paved earlier this fall. Brill said he hopes Bassmaster Classic organizers will be impressed by the improvements that have been made at Green Pond Landing since the tournament was last held there in 2015.