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Crown Event Center

For information about parking around the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse, please visit this link.

Latest Project News

County Announces 30-Day Pause on Crown Event Center Project (March 5, 2025)

Courthouse Parking Lot Closing Oct. 23 for Crown Event Center Groundbreaking (Oct 15, 2024)

Crown Event Center Committee Approves Contract to Begin Construction (Sept 12, 2024)

View exterior and interior architect renderings of the Crown Event Center HERE

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has decided to pause the project for 30 days to ensure transparency, accountability, and to conduct a thorough review. This pause will allow the County to engage independent third-party counsel to assess the project's progress, evaluate all aspects of the current work, and address any concerns.

During the pause, the County will engage an independent third-party counsel to review the project's progress and ensure it is moving in the right direction. We will continue to communicate with the community, offering updates through press releases, social media, and our website. At the end of the 30-day review, we will release another update detailing the next steps

The pause should not drastically impact the overall timeline for the project. The goal is to ensure that the project is being executed according to plan and to address any concerns that may arise. We are committed to delivering the Crown Event Center on time and will only proceed once we are confident that the project is on the right track for the benefit of the community.

The pause has been initiated to allow time for a thorough review of the project’s progress. This decision is being made to ensure the project remains on track and that all concerns are addressed appropriately. The Board of Commissioners is committed to transparency and accountability throughout this process.

We are committed to keeping the community informed throughout this process. Residents can submit questions through the form below, and we will continue to provide updates via press releases, social media, and here, on the Crown Event Center webpage. Our goal is to ensure open communication, and we encourage the public to stay engaged, ask questions, and remain patient as we complete this review process.

Please feel free to submit any remarks that you may have here.

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Remarks

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 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 including former Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, Commissioner Glenn Adams and Commissioner Jeannette Council. Cumberland County Civic Center Commission Chairman McBryde Grannis served on the Committee in an ex-officio capacity. A Project Delivery Team (PDT) was also established, which is 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 County 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 project architect also 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 process

On Jan. 23, 2024, the Crown Event Center Committee approved a building program totaling 134,000 square feet and a total project budget of $145 million.

The architect completed the 100% Design Development package in April 2024, and on June 17, 2024, the Crown Event Center Committee authorized the project to move into the Construction Document development phase

On Sept. 16, 2024, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved a contract amendment with TA Loving/Metcon for sitework and demolition to allow the project to move into the construction phase. An additional contract amendment will be brought to the Board for structural steel and concrete, followed by an amendment that includes all remaining bid packages.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Crown Event Center was held on Oct. 25, 2024 at 2 p.m.

Architect rendering of people standing in an event center lobby

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