STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — One of Georgia's most well-known parks will be closed the day before the Super Bowl due to unspecified "security concerns."
The Stone Mountain Memorial Association announced Friday night that the Stone Mountain Park will be closed on Saturday meaning no vehicles or walking traffic will be allowed into the park.
"Only hotel and campground guests will be allowed entry and exit through the park," the statement read.
The association said that state and local law enforcement are addressing the threat. It now means that the park will be closed on one of the biggest weekends on record for the metro Atlanta area.
While the association makes no mention of what led them to make the call, the city of Stone Mountain's police department elaborates that several groups have vowed to hold unpermitted demonstrations in the park - with incidents that could spill over into the neighboring city of the same name.
"In the interest of informing our community, you should know that the groups are a fragmentary collection of activist organizations motivated by racial politics," the police department's statement read. "This type of event may attract fringe elements seeking attention or with intent to cause trouble."
The post added that these groups "do not represent the Stone Mountain community, and we will not tolerate such folks disturbing the peacefulness of the [Stone Mountain] Village."
The decision comes on the same weekend that a "pro-Confederacy" group had planned to hold a second event at the park called "Rock Stone Mountain."
The memorial association denied their permit for the second event in November, however, citing violence at the first one. Immediately after the move, organizers told 11Alive that they planned to sue citing a "heckler's veto" since the only reported arrests at the event were protesters who weren't affiliated with them. It's unclear if the organizers moved through with the lawsuit or if they were one of the groups planning to hold an event anyway.
Stone Mountain Park, both famed and ridiculed for its massive carving, was established as a memorial to the Confederacy, though the park also includes many amenities common to other open-air parks around the state such as lakefront space, campgrounds and walking paths.