The Georgia General Assembly essentially pushed the “pause” button on plans for the Tennis Center of Georgia proposed for Rome.

Berry College, the city of Rome, Floyd County and the Coosa Valley Tennis Association partnered with the United States Tennis Association to develop plans for a 74-court tennis complex on 30 acres being donated by Berry College just to the north of the Mount Berry Square mall.

The partners asked the General Assembly to consider allocating $7.5 million in economic development bonds to assist in the financing of the project. The budget passed Thursday by the legislature did not include funding for the project.

State Rep. Katie Demp­sey, R-Rome, said the project did not lose out to some other project, but fell prey to terrible economic conditions. The only project to receive bond funding that was funneled through the Department of Economic Development was a $10 million appropriation for a college football hall of fame in Atlanta.

A couple of weeks ago, when it became apparent the bond money would not be appropriated, Rome City Manager John Bennett said the group did not have a Plan B.

Danny Price, a tennis player and legal counsel for Berry College said Friday that the group involved in putting together the project will have to sit down in the near future and talk about what happens next. “I don’t think anybody is in a real particular rush,” Price said.

“We’re disappointed,” Price continued. “We got lots of consideration, but until the group sits down and chats I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

State bonds were being sought for close to half of the projected cost of developing the Tennis Center because the project was promoted from the outset as an economic development opportunity for not only Rome but also the entire state.

Dr. Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia reported that in simplest terms, “the collective or rolled-up annual economic impact of the proposed 74-court tennis center on the Rome MSA will range from $16.1 million to $28.1 million.”

Scott Bentley, the past president of the Coosa Valley Tennis Association said the organizers are going to meet next week to talk about plans for the future of the project. “It’s definitely not going away. It’s not going to die,” said Bentley.