Greensboro Coliseum Complex thread

[cityboi]

folks, this swim center was on its way to being built. The taxpayers approved a bond to build it and a hotel tax would be put in place to cover the additional money. This should be a non-issue right? looks like new city council members are continuing to stir the pot on this swim center. councilman, Danny Thompson, the new mayor and the other conservatives want a second bond referendum in 2010 to cover the additional 6.8 million dollars. Its clear to me that their goal is to stop the swim center from being built because it doesnt make any sense to have a second referenedum to cover the remaining money. Think about it. If that were to happen and if it passed, city tax payers would have to foot the bill for the additional money. As it stands, city taxpayers would not have to foot the bill because the hotel/motel tax would cover the remaining amount. So what gives? I thought these new conservative city councilmen were trying to look after the tax payers? They are proposing something that adds a burden to the tax payer. Simple. They werent satisfied with the outcome of first vote so they figure if we keep voting for more money, we'll vote this thing down. Fortunatly these troublemakers on the city council dont have enough votes to support their political scheme. People in 2011, please vote these idiots out of office. It scares me to think of the trouble they will cause in future projects for our city, particularly those proposed for downtown.

"Councilman Robbie Perkins argued that using the hotel revenue allows the residents to get a first-class center for the cost — $12 million — of a community pool.

He fears putting the pool on a second ballot would kill the project.

“It is a great strategy for someone who doesn’t believe in the project and wants to kill it,” Perkins said. “If I were trying to kill a project, it would be one of the ways I would do it. It’s pretty slick.”

http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/12/08/article/council_members_consider_second_pool_bond

Edited December 9, 2009 by cityboi

[d_Random]

I dont want to turn this into a liberal vs conservative thread but some good points were brought up. If you look at most of the large and prosperous cities, most are liberal and use more liberal methods in growing the local economy. They are progressive communities. Many of the more conservative towns are typically small, resistant to change. Some have dried up and jobs have moved away. This is why I have a problem with the conservative mentality on city council. My bet is that if city council were 100% conservative, the Swim Center would have died a long time. It wouldn't have even made it to the ballot. Maybe there was an issue with how the swim center was pushed through. But all in all I think most of the community supports this project. We are in tough times and anything that brings economic growth to our community is welcome.

This isn't a liberal vs conservative argument for me. I'm as liberal as they come, but I know a turkey when I see one and this $20 million hole in the ground is it!

And I'm sorry, but this "aquatics center" does not have the major support of the community. Do you think for a minute that if it was voted on again for the missing $8 million it's gonna pass? No way in hell. And Robbie Perkins doesn't think so either.

[cityboi]

regardless of how any of us feel on what kind of impact this swim center will have on the city, the voters passed the bond for it and thats the bottom line. Any attempt to block this project is going against the voters. Now for the additional $6 million in which the voters had no say, the hotel tax would pay for that, not the taxpayers. All those people visiting Greensboro and staying in hotels for the swim competitions would be paying for it and I think thats pretty darn fair.

But I think this issues is much deeper than just a swim center. For decades Greensboro has had leadership that wanted to keep a leash on the city. They didnt want Greensboro to become too big. That combined with a lack of vision are the biggest reasons Greensboro is not as prosperous as our larger neighbors, Charlotte and Raleigh. However over the past several years, the tides began to change. We got a new downtown ballpark with a lot of downtown development in which the city help support. Companies such as FedEx and HondaJet are moving in and now city leaders are starting to make bolder moves for our city like building a state-of-the-art swim center thats larger than the ones in Charlotte and Raleigh. This has raised some eyebrows of those who want to keep Greensboro in its place. So its not surprising to see a fight against it. The issue is much deeper than the swim center. I mean why fight it when the voters approved it? Leaders need to respect how citizens voted and move on. If Danny Thompson and others had their way, we wouldn't even have that beautiful center-city park, and Center Pointe wouldnt exist today because they likely would not have approved the incentives for it.

Edited December 12, 2009 by cityboi

[cityboi]

the swim center moves forward!!! 5 to 4 vote in favor of using hotel/motel tax to pay for the remaining 6 million dollars

It was a split vote and just to note the democrats on council supported this and the republicans were against it.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/12/15/article/city_council_approves_swim_center

Edited December 16, 2009 by cityboi

[beyonce245]

the swim center moves forward!!! 5 to 4 vote in favor of using hotel/motel tax to pay for the remaining 6 million dollars

It was a split vote and just to note the democrats on council supported this and the republicans were against it.

http://www.news-reco...ves_swim_center

Well to be accurate, Vaughan is an independent and Robbie Perkins is a Republican, both of whom voted for it. But Robbie is on our side the overwhelming majority of the time. It goes to show that all those who were cheering a new, more conservative council might not get what they bargained for over the next two years.

The other proposal for a bond didn't make a damn bit of since anyway, since the council members floating the idea are the ones that always harp about lowering taxes. Maybe they didn't understand where the hotel/motel tax money comes from.

Let the construction begin.

[d_Random]

Well to be accurate, Vaughan is an independent and Robbie Perkins is a Republican, both of whom voted for it. But Robbie is on our side the overwhelming majority of the time. It goes to show that all those who were cheering a new, more conservative council might not get what they bargained for over the next two years.

The other proposal for a bond didn't make a damn bit of since anyway, since the council members floating the idea are the ones that always harp about lowering taxes. Maybe they didn't understand where the hotel/motel tax money comes from.

Let the construction begin.

"But Robbie is on our side...". You must be a developer then beyonce245, because Robbie Perkins is the developer's best friend (Remember that Project Homestead debockle?) on the city council.

[beyonce245]

"But Robbie is on our side...". You must be a developer then beyonce245, because Robbie Perkins is the developer's best friend (Remember that Project Homestead debockle?) on the city council.

Chuckle chuckle. Not quite, d_Random. Without getting too off topic, I was referring to Perkins' general view on a number of issues, including downtown, public transit, and economic development.

Back on topic, I just checked out the Coliseum's new website. It's much improved and looks great!

[d_Random]

Maybe they didn't understand where the hotel/motel tax money comes from.

I wish it was that easy. The hotel-motel tax is not available until 2011. The city will have to borrow the money AND pay interest until that money becomes available. Due to the crappy economy the city has had to cover $250,000 in payments the hotel-motel tax was supposed to cover, and the projection is the hotel-motel tax fund will come up $140,000 short in the future. Get read to open up your pocketbook Greensboro!

Edited December 16, 2009 by d_Random

[cityboi]

Well to be accurate, Vaughan is an independent and Robbie Perkins is a Republican, both of whom voted for it. But Robbie is on our side the overwhelming majority of the time. It goes to show that all those who were cheering a new, more conservative council might not get what they bargained for over the next two years.

The other proposal for a bond didn't make a damn bit of since anyway, since the council members floating the idea are the ones that always harp about lowering taxes. Maybe they didn't understand where the hotel/motel tax money comes from.

Let the construction begin.

ha ha Robbie Perkins could have fooled me. He has one of the most liberal voting records on city council. Anyways i'm glad that he supports a more progressive agenda for Greensboro.

[beyonce245]

The groundbreaking for the aquatic center will be next Monday, May 3rd at 4:30.

Edited April 29, 2010 by beyonce245

[cityboi]

The ACC broke ground on the ACC Hall of Champions today. The 8,000 foot facility will eventually expand to 25,000 square feet in the second phase and the ACC will be the only college conference in the country with a hall of fame. The hall will be open in time for the 2011 ACC Men's basketball tournament. I can't wait til they expand this to 25,000 square feet because 8,000 square feet is pretty small.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=141693&catid=57

More renderings

Edited May 11, 2010 by cityboi

[cityboi]

City council just voted to approve using non city taxpayer money to fund construction for an ACC VIP lounge that would also be used for other conferences, events and trade shows space throughout the year. The facililty will connect the auditorium with the main arena. In a surprising twist, council woman Nancy Vaughn made a motion to use advanced non-city tax dollars generated from future events to fund construction for an amphitheater at the coliseum complex. Several months ago Nancy was the deciding vote to stop construction on the amphitheater because at the time funds were coming from the taxpayers. Nancy's motion is a shock to those on council who voted to stop the construction because it just came out of left field. since she was the deciding vote agaist the amphiheater last time, it appears council has the votes to pass it this time. One of the opponents of the the amphitheater is absent so this motion will likely create some controversy. But I think once these facilities are complete, (by next year) the Greensboro Coliseum complex will become one of the greatest multi-purpose arena venues in the nation. Its already the largest and most active non-major league sports arena complex in the United States. If this complex were built from ground up today it would cost upwards to 700 million dollars, or more to build. So the coliseum complex is one of the city's jewels. Four major projects at the Greensboro Coliseum will be under way at the same time. (ACC Hall of Champions, aquatic center, ACC VIP Lounge and the amphitheater) Construction has already begun on the first phase ACC Hall of Champions and aquatic center but everything should be complete be next year pending the outcome of Nancy's motion tonight.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/07/21/article/council_approves_2_coliseum_projects

Edited July 21, 2010 by krazeeboi

[Urbanity]

Its already the largest and most active non-major league sports arena complex in the United States.

Actually that is not true. That title probably belongs to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and complex. Also when you consider Exposition Park where it is located which contains the arena, coliseum, three museums and gardens you get an idea of just how much larger and more active their facilities are.

I hope no one thinks I'm trying to minimize the Greensboro complex, but I've seen you state that a few times and I just wanted to correct.

Greensboro should be proud of their complex and I think it is going to aid it in becoming a very strong regional tourist attraction and that is something to be very proud of - not just for Greensboro, but the whole state!

Edited August 8, 2010 by Urbanity

[cityboi]

Actually that is not true. That title probably belongs to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and complex. Also when you consider Exposition Park where it is located which contains the arena, coliseum, three museums and gardens you get an idea of just how much larger and more active their facilities are.

I hope no one thinks I'm trying to minimize the Greensboro complex, but I've seen you state that a few times and I just wanted to correct.

Greensboro should be proud of their complex and I think it is going to aid it in becoming a very strong regional tourist attraction and that is something to be very proud of - not just for Greensboro, but the whole state!

Thanks for the clarification. I know Greensboro Coliseum officials have been touting that the coliseum is the largest and most active arena in the country without a major league sports team.

Greensboro is marketeding itself as "Tournament Town". Its actually becoming one of the city's nicknames. I'd like to see Greensboro expand upon that and maybe one day build a tennis stadium and host major U.S. tennis matches. Ther is room for suc a stadium on the Greensboro Coliseum Complex grounds or maybe a downtown location could be considered. Greensboro has an opportunity here to really become nationally recognized as a major sports tournament city. Since Greensboro can't support a major league sports team like te NBA or Major League Baseball, this would be the second best thing. Greensboro is already home to the PGA Wyndham Championship and hosts the ACC Men's and Women's basketball tourney on a regular basis. In addition Greensboro hosted NCAA soccer championship games, first, secnd and regional NCAA Men's basketball tournaments, track and field tournaments, and the city will host the 2011 U.S. figure skating championship. I suspect we will see ACC and NCAA tournament games at the Swim Center as well.

It would be great to see something like this built at the coliseum.

Edited August 8, 2010 by cityboi

[cityboi]

the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championship in January is expected to bring millions of dollars to the city. Greensboro Coliseum officials have said this will be the largest event the coliseum has hosted in more than 35 years and will attract people from all around the country and the world. Over 9,200 hotel rooms have already been booked and its just now September. The Sheraton Four Seasons, which has over 1,000 rooms is completely sold out for that week. In terms of attendance numbers during the 8 day event, It could rival or exceed the attendance numbers at the International Home Furnishings market in High Point. 158,100 attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships when it was held in Spokane, WA. In comparison, about 80,000 people from around the country and world attend the furniture market. This is a HUGE deal for Greensboro and the event will be televised nationally and internationally. Because of the potential attendance numbers, hotel rooms may be booked as far a way as Raleigh and Charlotte. So the economic impact will extend far beyond the boundaries of Greensboro. That last time the coliseum hosted a big national event was back in 1974 when Greensboro hosted the Men's college basketball Final Four championship. (btw The Final Four has been held in NC twice, the second time being in Charlotte in 1994) But attendance numbers will likely exceed that and this event could open doors for the city to host other major national sports events. The "Tournament Town" marketing strategy appears to be successful.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=147643&catid=57

in other news, the exterior of the ACC Hall of Champions at the coliseum should be complete by December.

Edited September 10, 2010 by cityboi

[cityboi]

The Greensboro Aquatic Center, now under construction at the coliseum complex has landed a major national swim meet. An announcement will be made Monday at a press conference. GO TOURNAMENT TOWN!! Great announcement on the heels of the Greensboro Coliseum landing the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championship.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/09/17/article/aquatic_center_to_announce_national_meet

Edited September 18, 2010 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Well I beat the press conference announcement for the Aquatic Center.....Greensboro will host the 2012 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships. The Greensboro Aquatic Center will truly be one of the most state-of-the art facilities in the nation. It will even seat more people than the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta which hosted swim meets for the 1996 Olympics That facility has a seating capacity of 1,900. The Greensboro Aquatic Center will be able to seat 2,500.

http://www.usms.org/news/newsitem.php?n=67

The four-day competition will take place in the brand new Greensboro Aquatic Center. The swimming will begin on April 26 and conclude on April 29, 2012. More than 2,000 swimmers are expected to participate, including many Olympians.

“While North Carolina has a long tradition of supporting Masters swimming, Greensboro is a new destination for our Nationals,” says U.S. Masters Swimming Executive Director Rob Butcher. “The renderings for the new Greensboro Aquatic Center are spectacular. We know that Masters swimmers will enjoy racing in the new venue.”

update:

just announced. Greensboro beat out Indianapolis for the 2012 nationals

http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/09/20/article/first_major_swim_meet_announced_for_greensboro_aquatic_center

Edited September 20, 2010 by cityboi

[krazeeboi]

That's a pretty serious coup for Greensboro. Great job.

[cityboi]

I think the great thing about hosting this event along with the U.S. Figure Skating nationals is that its going to lead to other national championships coming to Greensboro when other organizations see how successful these tournamnets are here. Since Greensboro can't support major league sports franchises, this is the direction the city needs to take. The "Tournament Town" marketing strategy has proven to be extremly effective thanks to the ACC. The goal should be to make Greensboro well known all around the country as Tournament Town. Its just another way of putting Greensboro on the national map as Greensboro struggles with its identity. Greensboro already has the foundation with NCAA, ACC tournaments and the PGA. But for the first time the coliseum seems to be consistantly attracting major national sports events. Clearly its a valuable asset and one of Greensboro's crown jewels and I look forward to seeing bigger things come to the city.

Edited September 21, 2010 by cityboi

[Lee street bully]

I think the great thing about hosting this event along with the U.S. Figure Skating nationals is that its going to lead to other national championships coming to Greensboro when other organizations see how successful these tournamnets are here. Since Greensboro can't support major league sports franchises, this is the direction the city needs to take. The "Tournament Town" marketing strategy has proven to be extremly effective thanks to the ACC. The goal should be to make Greensboro well known all around the country as Tournament Town. Its just another way of putting Greensboro on the national map as Greensboro struggles with its identity. Greensboro already has the foundation with NCAA, ACC tournaments and the PGA. But for the first time the coliseum seems to be consistantly attracting major national sports events. Clearly its a valuable asset and one of Greensboro's crown jewels and I look forward to seeing bigger things come to the city.

Promoting Greensboro as "Tournament town" would help us alot. But I'm just wondering why we can't support ONE major league franchise. The triad area has 1.5 million people. Their are smaller markets with one or two major league teams. Does it have anything to do with the enthusiasm of the city?

[cityboi]

Promoting Greensboro as "Tournament town" would help us alot. But I'm just wondering why we can't support ONE major league franchise. The triad area has 1.5 million people. Their are smaller markets with one or two major league teams. Does it have anything to do with the enthusiasm of the city?

The only thing Greensboro could support is major league soccer and even then there would have to be regional support. The stadium would have to be built in the middle of the Triad on the county line so Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Guilford and Forsyth Counties would all help fund the construction. Baseball is out of the question since both Greensboro and Winston-Salem have their new downtown ballparks. NC already has basketball, football and hockey so soccer is the only thing left. I would like to see minor league hockey return to Greensboro. It was doing well here until we sacrificed our team to temporarily become the home of the Carolina Hurricanes while the RBC Center in Raleigh was under construction. BIG MISTAKE. Before that Greensboro had an AHL Team (Carolina Monarchs). The was the highest level of minor league hockey, one notch under the NHL just like AAA is to baseball. Charlotte now has an AHL team I think. Greensboro was moving up the leagues quickly as far as hockey was concerned and if Raleigh had not persued the NHL we could have had the NHL in Greensboro. Some would say it would not have worked here because of the dismal attendance numbers when the NHL was here for two years. But attendance was only poor because every one knew the team was not permanent here. Even though they were playing in Greensboro, it was still Raleigh's team. Greensboro was once home base for a major league sports team back in the 1970. The ABA (American Basketball Association) Carolina Cougars was here in the 1970s. Back then the ABA was on the same level as the NBA and while home games were played in multiple cities in NC, Greensboro was home base. Unfortunately the team folded before the ABA and NBA merged. ABA teams that survived included the Indiana Pacers. If the Cougars hadn't folded, Greensboro could very well have an NBA team today. Greensboro could have followed the Green Bay Packers (NFL) model for an NBA team here. Also Bank of America could have been headquartered in Greensboro today if NCNB had not chosen Charotte over Greensboro. At one time NCNB had a dual headquarters (Charlotte and Greensboro) When the bank wanted one headquarters, Charlotte won that battle. Its very possible that Greensboro could be a very different city today if we had the "NBA Carolina Cougars" and Bank of America. NCNB was a big reason Charlotte is a major banking city today.

I noticed that google earth has been updated and you can see the construction of the aquatic center and the amphitheater at the coliseum. I didn't realize how big that ampitheater was going to be. I thought it was going to be pretty small but its a nice size amphtheater.

Edited September 27, 2010 by cityboi

[Lee street bully]

The only thing Greensboro could support is major league soccer and even then there would have to be regional support. The stadium would have to be built in the middle of the Triad on the county line so Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Guilford and Forsyth Counties would all help fund the construction. Baseball is out of the question since both Greensboro and Winston-Salem have their new downtown ballparks. NC already has basketball, football and hockey so soccer is the only thing left. I would like to see minor league hockey return to Greensboro. It was doing well here until we sacrificed our team to temporarily become the home of the Carolina Hurricanes while the RBC Center in Raleigh was under construction. BIG MISTAKE. Before that Greensboro had an AHL Team (Carolina Monarchs). The was the highest level of minor league hockey, one notch under the NHL just like AAA is to baseball. Charlotte now has an AHL team I think. Greensboro was moving up the leagues quickly as far as hockey was concerned and if Raleigh had not persued the NHL we could have had the NHL in Greensboro. Some would say it would not have worked here because of the dismal attendance numbers when the NHL was here for two years. But attendance was only poor because every one knew the team was not permanent here. Even though they were playing in Greensboro, it was still Raleigh's team. Greensboro was once home base for a major league sports team back in the 1970. The ABA (American Basketball Association) Carolina Cougars was here in the 1970s. Back then the ABA was on the same level as the NBA and while home games were played in multiple cities in NC, Greensboro was home base. Unfortunately the team folded before the ABA and NBA merged. ABA teams that survived included the Indiana Pacers. If the Cougars hadn't folded, Greensboro could very well have an NBA team today. Greensboro could have followed the Green Bay Packers (NFL) model for an NBA team here. Also Bank of America could have been headquartered in Greensboro today if NCNB had not chosen Charotte over Greensboro. At one time NCNB had a dual headquarters (Charlotte and Greensboro) When the bank wanted one headquarters, Charlotte won that battle. Its very possible that Greensboro could be a very different city today if we had the "NBA Carolina Cougars" and Bank of America. NCNB was a big reason Charlotte is a major banking city today.

I noticed that google earth has been updated and you can see the construction of the aquatic center and the amphitheater at the coliseum. I didn't realize how big that ampitheater was going to be. I thought it was going to be pretty small but its a nice size amphtheater.

We did spend a grip of money on the stadiums already. The New Bridge Bank Park seats under 8,000 while most MLB Stadiums seat 35-50,000+ people. So we would have to build a new stadium to support something like that. That could cost at least $300 million today.

[cityboi]

We did spend a grip of money on the stadiums already. The New Bridge Bank Park seats under 8,000 while most MLB Stadiums seat 35-50,000+ people. So we would have to build a new stadium to support something like that. That could cost at least $300 million today.

Yes a stadium that expensive would require signifcant public financing. Thats why any major league team we get has to be a regional Triad team. With exception to the coliseum, Greensboro is very hostile toward public financing for sports venues. Thats why NewBridge Bank Park had to be built privately. Otherwise we wouldn't have a downtown ballpark today and we likely wouldnt even have a baseball team because of the aging War Memorial Stadium. The bond for the Swim Center wouldn't have passed if it was a seperate bond. But because it was included in the Parks and Rec bond, it passed. There have been allegations that voters were tricked into voting for the Swim Center.

Edited September 28, 2010 by cityboi

[Lee street bully]

Yes a stadium that expensive would require signifcant public financing. Thats why any major league team we get has to be a regional Triad team. With exception to the coliseum, Greensboro is very hostile toward public financing for sports venues. Thats why NewBridge Bank Park had to be built privately. Otherwise we wouldn't have a downtown ballpark today and we likely wouldnt even have a baseball team because of the aging War Memorial Stadium. The bond for the Swim Center wouldn't have passed if it was a seperate bond. But because it was included in the Parks and Rec bond, it passed. There have been allegations that voters were tricked into voting for the Swim Center.

Indeed. But on the brightside, Greensboro is becoming more and more liberal. We dont have MLB/MLS right now, but in the future it will be a definite possibility. Greensboro is a very wealthy city and with the right mind frame we will be able to land something eventually. The main reason why we don't have those things is because our government is very strict. But I pretty much understand why we probably wont get MLB because by the time we get in a position to even have a chance, it will more than likely go to Charlotte. The population of that city is still growing at a astounding rate so even if its market is over-saturated right now, it wont be when Greensboro becomes mostly liberal(at this rate anyway).

[cityboi]

Indeed. But on the brightside, Greensboro is becoming more and more liberal. We dont have MLB/MLS right now, but in the future it will be a definite possibility. Greensboro is a very wealthy city and with the right mind frame we will be able to land something eventually. The main reason why we don't have those things is because our government is very strict. But I pretty much understand why we probably wont get MLB because by the time we get in a position to even have a chance, it will more than likely go to Charlotte. The population of that city is still growing at a astounding rate so even if its market is over-saturated right now, it wont be when Greensboro becomes mostly liberal(at this rate anyway).

Charlotte's city goverment is much bolder in its decision making. Voters reject funding a downtown arena yet the city built it with tax dollars any way. That just won't fly in Greensboro. Many will say thats just wrong because government went against the voters wishes but it just goes to show how Charlotte gets things done one way or another. If Charlotte wants it, Charlotte gets it. Thats the mentality we need to have. Greensboro is starting to get like that and the city isnt as conservative as it was 20 years ago but we still have a long way to go. I still think Charlotte will ultimtely get Major League Baseball if and when they expand in North Carolina. Charlotte is one of the fastest growing markets in the Southeast. But I do believe Major League Soccer is a very real possibilty for the Triad.

Edited September 29, 2010 by cityboi