George Jones Aids Branson-Style Campaign

George Jones photo courtesy of Bandit Records.

Jan. 8, 2009 — George Jones, Travis Tritt and Jake Owen are among the celebrities set to appear at a free event Saturday in Dothan, Ala., where developer Ronnie Gilley is fighting to keep a proposed Branson-like plan on track.

George and Jamie Foxx have committed to appear, while Travis and Jake are both expected to perform at Rip Hewes Stadium to show support for Country Crossing, a resort and entertainment facility that Ronnie Gilley Enterprises hopes will attract as many country fans in the South as Branson has in the Midwest.

Groundbreaking on the 375-acre parcel was held in October, with George and Jamie both in attendance, along with Tracy Lawrence, Lorrie Morgan and John Anderson.

The development has since become a political hot potato. One of the central pieces of Country Crossing’s economic model is a charitable bingo hall that will operate 1,500 electronic slot machines, according to The Dothan Eagle. The Governor of Alabama has assigned a task force to gauge the legality of the plan. In the meantime, a casino operation has shown interest in bringing the development to Gulfport, Miss., which already has legal gambling.

The Dothan rally on Saturday is intended to show support from the community.

The Gilley organization also presents the BamaJam, a music festival established last year with such acts as Ricky Skaggs, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. More than 30 acts have already signed on to perform at this year’s BamaJam June 4-6, including Kid Rock, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Gary Allan, Blake Shelton, Pat Green, Luke Bryan, Aaron Tippin and Jamey Johnson.