'It's awesome': Fayetteville's Crown Event Center moving forward with new design

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved new designs for the Crown Event Center this week, allowing the project to move forward with its construction phase.

The vote Tuesday came a day after the board's Crown Event Center Committee was given a presentation on the new facility’s exterior and interior floor plans, as well as updated artist renderings for the center. The center will be located on the southwest corner of Gillespie and Russell streets.

The center will feature a rooftop terrace, VIP spaces, a three-story main event hall and a multipurpose and adjacent pre-function area, as well as pictures of the lobby with concession stands, according to a news release.

The $144.4 million project is slated to break ground in September with a completion date of April 2027, according to the Crown Event Center project presentation. Previously selected main contractors are Metcon Buildings & Infrastructure and T.A. Loving, said Glenn Adams, chairman of the Board of Commissioners.

“Now that they've seen the design phase, they will tell us what it is going to cost and we've got a timeline … in the contract, so Metcon and T.A. Loving have already been selected,” Adams said Wednesday.

The Board of Commissioners also unanimously approved the proposed prequalification process for all Tier 1 subcontractors for the new facility, which will facilitate the assessment of potential bidders for the project to ensure that they have the experience and capacity necessary to participate in the construction of the Crown Event Center, according to the release.

Initial designs for this facility were over budget, leading the board of commissioners to request that the Project Delivery Team recreate a design that fits within the budget, according to Adams.

Next steps include a design development cost model approval slated for the week of June 3, according to the Crown Event Center project presentation. Architects have created these designs and now contractors will need to provide specific costs for the project, Adams said.

With the Crown Theatre and Crown Arena still expected to close in November 2025, the county will be left with only the Crown Coliseum and Crown Expo Center as its entertainment properties, the Observer reported in January.

Previously reported: Fayetteville event center expected to remain ‘first-class’ despite design cutbacks. Good.

“We’re hoping to work on keeping some continuity in terms of continuing to do shows out at the Crown or at the complex somewhere out there,” Adams said. “I think there’s going to be a way to be able to continue to do shows.”

During the presentation, a question was asked about the size and capacity of the new facility. Adams said that it will likely have more capacity than other similar establishments in the southeast region, adding that it is "basically comparable to other venues in the Triangle."

“I think it’s awesome,” Adams said. “I think it’s going to be great for this community.”

Over 10 years in the making

Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, who chairs the committee, has been working on this project since 2013 and said that at the time, Cumberland County was the largest county in the state without a performing arts center or an event center of this size.

"We started on this journey a long time ago," Keefe said Wednesday. "I've always had the premise that it's not just an entertainment and arts center — it is an economic development center, and what a facility like this will do will enhance all the businesses that are around there ... It is a quality-of-life facility for people to spend more time in Fayetteville and Cumberland County."

Keefe said the 130,000-square-foot facility will be accessible year-round, compared to the four to five months of the year that Segra Stadium is in operation aside from special events, adding that this venue will support local and national events.

He said that when the event is set up for a play, it will be able to seat more people than the Durham Performing Arts Center — which can seat approximately 2,700 people — and will be a destination entertainment venue.

"Certainly, from Fayetteville all the way down into the South Carolina area too, it will be the largest facility that we can use," Keefe said.

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What's the latest on the Crown Event Center in Fayetteville?