Many acts have played the arena including Elton John, Van Halen, Rush, Heart, Bob Seger, REO Speedwagon, KISS, Bon Jovi, Molly Hatchet, John Cougar, Kansas, Charlie Daniels Band, Alabama, Blackfoot, Mother's Finest, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Marshall Tucker Band, and Loverboy.

In August 2017, the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority voted 4–2 to relocate the James Brown Arena to the former Regency Mall location off on Gordon Highway in South Augusta.

[6] Soon following the Coliseum Authority's vote, local residents launched the "Save The J" campaign which advocated for keeping the James Brown Arena at its current location in Downtown Augusta.

Augusta commissioners voted down the proposed site in a December 2017 before ultimately deciding to put the question of the new JBA location on the Republican and Democratic primary ballots as a non-binding referendum in May 2018.

[11] In the November 2023 elections, Richmond County residents voted in favor of levying a half-cent special-purpose local-option sales tax to cover the cost of the new arena.

After team owner Bob Kerzner, the city of Augusta, and Global Spectrum failed to reach an agreement on how to replace the $1.2 million ice system as well as compensation for the remaining home games lost to the system's failure, Kerzner and the SPHL announced that the RiverHawks would move to Macon and resume play as the Macon Mayhem for the 2015-16 SPHL season.