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Crown Event Center Committee

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The Crown Complex is comprised of five venues, including a 2,440-seat Theatre and 4,500-seat Arena that opened in 1967, and a 10,880-seat Coliseum, 60,000-square-foot Expo Center and 9,200-square-foot Ballroom that opened in 1997.

Over the past two decades, the Complex has remained an important asset to the local community and the region, however the Theatre and Arena have undergone minimal capital improvements over the last half century, and the condition of the venues has deteriorated. A number of studies have been done including the 2015 Crown Theatre Modernization Study, which determined that significant upgrades were needed to meet current ADA standards and modernize the venue, and that the cost of those upgrades would approach the cost of building a brand new facility.

In 2018, the Cumberland County Civic Center Commission recommended to the Board of Commissioners that the Theatre be replaced with a new state-of-the-art venue and a feasibility study be conducted on how best to proceed.

The Board of Commissioners announced in early 2020 that the Crown Theatre and Arena will close by November 2025. The Board also engaged Convention, Sports & Leisure International (CSL), Steinberg Hart, and Public Participation Partners (P3) to conduct a Market & Financial Feasibility Study. The study, which was completed in September 2021, recommended constructing a new multi-purpose event center with a maximum capacity of 2,500 that can accommodate a variety of uses.

The Board of Commissioners hired MBP as the owner’s representative for the project and established a three-member Crown Event Center Committee, which includes Commissioner Jeannette Council, the committee chair; Commissioners Chairman Glenn Adams; and Commissioner Jimmy Keefe. Civic Center Commission Chairman Joe Quigg serves on the Committee in an ex-officio capacity. County government staff and representatives from Spectra, which manages the facility, also provide support.

The Crown Event Center Committee held a kick-off meeting for the new Crown Event Center project on April 20, 2022.

Information related to the project and the Crown Event Center Committee will be posted on this page throughout the duration of the project.



Crown Event Center Committee Discusses Project Timeline

Sep 21, 2022, 08:55 AM by Loren Bymer

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Crown Event Center Committee met Tuesday afternoon to receive a status update on the project to construct a new multipurpose event center to replace the existing Crown Theatre and Arena.

The purpose of the meeting was for the Committee to review the process and schedule identified by County staff and MBP Carolinas, the owner’s representative for the project, for the selection of an architect, and to set dates for their next two meetings in order to keep the project on schedule. The current theatre and arena will close in November 2025, which is the deadline for the Crown Event Center to open.

Matt Desilver, senior project manager with MBP, said the request for qualifications (RFQ) for an architect was issued on September 12. The deadline for RFQ responses is October 11 at 3 p.m. Desilver said a committee made up of County staff will review and evaluate the responses, and will conduct in-person interviews with shortlisted firms on November 8. The staff committee will present a ranking of firms to the Crown Event Center Committee on November 16, and the Committee will make a final recommendation to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners for consideration at their November 21 meeting.

As part of the schedule discussion, the Committee agreed to hold meetings on November 1 and November 16 at 1 p.m.

Desilver also provided an update on the informational session MBP held on September 8 for local architects, engineers and contractors to encourage local participation and connect them with regional and national firms that are interested in the project. He said more than 70 individuals registered for the event, which included national, regional and local representation, as well as a representative from the North Carolina Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB). The RSVP list has also been posted to the Crown Event Center Committee page on the County website to facilitate additional connections with interested firms.

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Crown Event Center Committee is comprised of Commissioners Jeannette Council (who serves as chair), Jimmy Keefe, and Board Chairman Glenn Adams. For more information on the Crown Event Center project, go to https://www.cumberlandcountync.gov/departments/commissioners-group/commissioners/crown-event-center-committee.

  • Contact Us

    Phone: 910-678-7724
    Address:

    117 Dick Street
    Fayetteville, NC, NC 28301

    Email:
    email_envelope
    Contact: Brian Haney, Assistant County Manager

    Contact Us

    Phone: 910-678-7724
    Email:
    email_envelope
    Contact: Brian Haney, Assistant County Manager
    Address:

    117 Dick Street
    Fayetteville, NC, NC 28301