The Forum Civic Center is a 16 million dollar complex in Georgia, United States that was built with some inspiration from the original Forum in Rome, Italy. The Forum is located at 301 Tribune St. on the bank of the Oostanaula River closest to Broad Street beside the new Floyd County courthouse. The Forum has a 34,300-square-foot (3,190 m2) meeting area that can be used for anything from conferences and concerts to sporting events. The Forum also plays a large part in Rome’s economy due to its location in the heart of down town Rome. Since the Forum is behind Broad Street, it is easy for visitors and locals to walk from the Forum to get something to eat at the many restaurants or to do some shopping at the large variety of stores that make up Rome’s down town area.
The Forum also served as the home for Rome’s professional sports team, The Rome Renegades. In late 2004 Rome gained a National Indoor Football League team called the Renegades. Although the team had winning seasons, the team still stopped its operations in late 2006 after being in Rome for only two years. The local MMA gyms have also chosen the Forum as their venue to host the Battle of Rome fights that began in early 2007 and have continued up until the present day. Concerts from all genres are also held in the Forum on a regular basis. There are additional annual events that take place at the Forum such as the gun shows, college fair, and job fair. The Forum is not used exclusively for entertainment and sports purposes. It is also host to many educational events such as classes and conferences like the continuing education courses for Certified Public Accountants. All of the local high school graduation ceremonies are held each year at the Forum and some college graduations are held there as well.