Design revealed for Fayetteville's $131.7M Crown Event Center
Officials revealed the design for downtown Fayetteville’s new Crown Event Center at the Monday meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.
The board’s Crown Event Center Committee unanimously approved the design last week, and representatives from EwingCole, the national architectural firm handling the project out of its Raleigh office, presented the design to the board Monday.
A rendering of the proposed outside of the event center showcases a modern wood and glass design. The building will feature a “glass curtainwall facing Gillespie Street” and a rooftop terrace with plants and a canopy, according to a county news release.
According to the release, the committee also approved changes to plans for the event center, which will increase the cost but still remain within budget. Those changes include creating working space on the center’s first floor, enclosing the center’s service yard and adjusting the building's footprint on Gillespie Street “to give more room for pedestrian traffic and queueing before events,” the release states.
A start date for construction of the $131.7 million event center has yet to be announced, but the current Crown Theatre and Arena on Coliseum Drive must close by Oct. 31, 2025, according to the release. The new center will be built on county-owned property in front of the county courthouse on Dick Street.
In May, the Board of Commissioners approved a recommended building plan that would place the center at 131,500 square feet, with a two-story lobby, a main event hall with seating for 3,000 people, and VIP spaces on the center’s second floor, according to a county news release.
Government watchdog reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville event center plans revealed
