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Crown Event Center

The Crown Complex, located at 1960 Coliseum Drive, Fayetteville 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.

The original Crown Theatre and Arena must close by November 2025, and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has approved the construction of a new state-of-the-art multipurpose event center (the Crown Event Center) to replace these facilities. The Crown Event Center will be located in Downtown Fayetteville at the intersection of Gillespie Street and Ottis F. Jones Parkway on the block between the County’s Historic Courthouse and the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse.

In early 2022, the Board of Commissioners hired MBP Carolinas as the owner’s representative for the project and established a three-member Crown Event Center Committee, which includes Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, who chairs the committee, Board of Commissioners Chairman Glenn Adams and Commissioner Jeannette Council. Cumberland County Civic Center Commission Chairman McBryde Grannis serves on the Committee in an ex-officio capacity. A Project Delivery Team (PDT) was also established, comprised of key County staff and representation from MBP Carolinas, current Crown Complex Manager Oak View Group (OVG), project architect EwingCole and Construction Manager-at-Risk (CMaR) TA Loving/Metcon.

The Crown Event Center Committee held a kick-off meeting for the new Crown Event Center project on April 20, 2022. On Sept. 6, 2022, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved guiding principles for the project following an engagement process that included members of a Community Engagement Committee comprised of representation from current users of the Crown Complex, community members, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations, the business community, and municipal and civic leaders.

The guiding principles are a set of value statements intended to establish a common direction for the project and inform decision-making throughout the project.

graphic outlining guiding principles for crown event center

The County hired EwingCole as the project architect in November 2022. Once on board, EwingCole engaged the Community Engagement Committee and other stakeholders to provide feedback on what they believe needs to be included in the new Crown Event Center to make it successful. This information was incorporated into the Conceptual Design process, which resulted in the Board of Commissioners approving a building program of 131,500 square feet and an updated project budget of $131,703,300 on May 15, 2023. The Board approved a Schematic Design on Aug. 15, 2023.

TA Loving/Metcon was brought on as CmaR in September 2023, and the PDT began working with the CMaR to reconcile project cost and schedule. On Jan. 16, 2024, the PDT provided an update to the Crown Event Center Committee that the cost of building the new Crown Event Center had increased due to a larger building program and unprecedented escalation in certain trade areas. The Crown Event Center Committee directed the PDT to redesign the facility to fit within a total project budget of $145 million. On Jan. 23, 2024, the PDT presented a redesigned facility with a building program totaling 134,000 square feet and the Committee authorized the PDT to continue moving forward with the redesigned facility. The PDT estimates breaking ground on the new facility in September 2024 with construction completed in early 2027, however the team will continue working to shorten the timeline to complete the facility as early as possible.

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

Feasibility Study Presentation

Crown Complex

Feasibility Study

Committee Agendas & Minutes

Crown Event Center Committee Discusses Project Timeline

Sep 21, 2022, 08:55 AM by User Not Found

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:
Contact:	Brian Haney, Assistant County Manager

Contact Us


Phone:	910-678-7724
Email:
Contact:	Brian Haney, Assistant County Manager
Address:	117 Dick Street Fayetteville, NC, NC 28301