FanPlex, Fulton County’s failed video arcade and mini-golf experiment, finally finds a purpose? (Update)

Longtime political observers and residents of the neighborhoods near Turner Field are surely familiar with FanPlex, the former children’s entertainment complex owned by the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreational Authority that, by all accounts, was a colossal failure.

Built for $2.5 million in 2002, the facility was supposed to attract Atlanta Braves fans who, after forking over $42 for a bag of peanuts and warm beer, wanted to play miniature golf and video games with the kiddos. But Fanplex never found any, well, fans. The 11,000-square-foot facility on Hank Aaron Drive burned through cash and, after less than two years of business, shut its doors. It’s sat vacant or been used as a gameday parking lot ever since.

The county’s loss might be the city’s gain. According to legislation currently before the Atlanta City Council, Fanplex would become one of Atlanta’s “Centers of Hope,” which are basically reopened or repurposed recreation centers that provide cultural and educational after-school programming to children and teenagers.

The city’s partnered with Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and National Center for Arts and Technology, two nonprofits operated by the Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Manchester Bidwell Corporation, to provide educational services and activities for young people at the facility. The groups says FanPlex is the best fit for their programs, which the city says includes “training in the culinary arts, technology and workforce development.”

Renting FanPlex wouldn’t cost the city a dime, the legislation says, so long as it maintains the space. We’re waiting for word as to how much it’d cost to maintain the facility. The City Council’s Finance and Executive Committee is scheduled to hear the proposal today.

UPDATE, 4:33 p.m.: According to a Atlanta City Council spokesman, the legislation was held today at the request of Mayor Kasim Reed’s office.