Greensboro Coliseum Complex thread

[cityboi]

The Greensboro Coliseum debt is paid off and now city leaders are planning further improvements to the coliseum complex. The seat cushions in the main arena would be replaced along with upgrades to the luxury box seats. More parking will be added but the largest project would be a new performing arts center at the coliseum. This would not be a renovation of War Memorial Auditorium but a new center built on the coliseum complex grounds. The performing arts center would cost $60 million. This of course will kill all hopes for a downtown performing arts center. Most of this would be paid for through the motel/hotel tax and private donations. The renovations and performing arts center would be completed by 2014.

http://triad.news14....es-to-coliseum/

http://www.digtriad....dyssey=obinsite

Edited January 11, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Looks like some are pushing for a downtown performance arts center instead. Mayor Perkins says there is no land or parking for a downtown location but I disagree. The Weaver property (old Duke Power site) was "land banked" for development and is next to the Children's Museum in the cultural district. The Church Street parking deck is also across the street from the site so this would be the perfect location for a performing arts center. I prefer a downtown location. There is enough stuff at the coliseum already. Downtown is better because many people like to dine before or after a show and with all the downtown restaurants within walking distance, its a no brainer. A downtown facility would attract more downtown development. There clearly are two separate factions in Greensboro on this subject. The coliseum boosters and the downtown boosters. Action Greensboro has a downtown performance arts center in its comprehensive plan. I am a Robbie Perkins supporter but I am disappointed in his lack of vision on this particular issue. There is no rush. Do it right and build a downtown performance arts center the whole community can be proud of. I'm sure private donors and a developer using a center like this as a project anchor can come up with the funds. I'd rather wait 8 years to come up with private funds for a downtown facilty than build a facility next year at the coilseum.

http://www.myfox8.co...0,1097762.story

Edited January 13, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Coliseum director pitches $60 million in projects in bonds at the coliseum, half of which would go towards a new performing arts center. This will require voter approval and I will be voting no. The performing arts center belongs downtown and i'm tired of our short sighted city leaders always building venues that belongs downtown elsewhere in the city. It also irks me that a few people seem to be making the decision that this venue should be built at the coliseum. Action Greensboro and Downtown Greensboro Inc. have been talking about a downtown performing arts center for a number of years now and city leaders should be backing that plan. Let the private sector build this facility.

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

Edited January 19, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Looks like the city will vote on a bond in November for a performing arts center. After outcry from the public, city leaders are looking to build it downtown. However the city projects it will cost an additional $20 to $30 million to put it downtown and that additional cost will have to be picked up by the private sector, donations ect. Coliseum manager Matt Brown would still run the center if it is built downtown. If built downtown, the center could cost as much as $72 million.

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

Hopefully Mr. Issac Cain can help build it privately. Such a center is part of the "Greensboro Triumph Center". Such a center would be great for downtown. Imagine attracting broadway shows, famous hollywood personalities and well known music artists to the center-city. These acts currently come to the War Memorial Auditorium at the coliseum but lately new performing arts centers in cities such as Durham have been luring events away from Greensboro.

Performing Arts Center at the Greensboro Triumph Center

http://www.greensbor...ifications.html

Edited January 25, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Coliseum Director Matt Brown can be credited for the ACC Hall of Champions, ACC Banquet hall, the aquatic center and the amphitheater at the coliseum. While he would prefer the performing arts center be constructed at the coliseum, he admits a few downtown sites would be the right fit for a larger 3,600 seat facility. If its built at that size, it would be the largest performing arts center in the Carolinas. Durham's performing arts center only seats 2,712. Charlotte's performing arts center seats 2,100. Having the largest facility in the state would make Greensboro more competitive in attracting many events.

I disagree with Matt Brown in regards to the performing arts center being built at the coliseum but I will say Matt Brown has done a great job attracting new venues at the coliseum. He stated that there is more planned for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. Of course two of the plans is to build a large parking structure attached to the coliseum and add an additional 2,000 seats to the main arena giving the coliseum a seating capacity of 25,500. By comparison, the seating capacity at the RBC Center in Raleigh is 20,150 and Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte is 20,200. But Matt Brown has even bigger visions for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The plans? an on site 4-star hotel at the coliseum, converting the old Canada Dry building on the coliseum property into an entertainment venue, another indoor sports facility, an outdoor sports complex at the coliseum that would include soccer fields and a football stadium where Greensboro could host the state high school championships and other major football games. Currently Kenan Stadium, Carter-Finley Field and BB&T Field host these championship games. I'm not exactly sure how big the football stadium would be. Maybe he is hoping to attract the ACC football championship. Greensboro might have a difficult time competing with Charlotte, Tampa and Jacksonville for the ACC football championship because those stadiums seat between 65,000 and 76,000. I can't imagine a football stadium that large being built at the coliseum. But it would be nice to see Greensboro have a new state-of-the-art football stadium. The largest football stadium in the city is Aggie Stadium at NC A&T. Its not a very good looking stadium. While it has a seating capacity of 23,000, its a bleacher styled stadium and doesn't really have any external architecture. Although they are constructing a exterior new entrance and press box.

Aggie Stadium

Edited March 9, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro gets ready to host the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Duke and Carolina will be playing in Greensboro. Other teams playing in Greensboro are Alabama, Notre Dame, Xavier, Creighton, Lehigh and the winner of the Lamar-Vermont game. A number of events will be going on at the Greensboro Coliseum during the games including a swim meet at the aquatics center.

http://myfox8.com/20...r-ncaa-tourney/

Also the ACC Men's basketball tournament will return to Greensboro for a three year run (2013,2014,2015)

Edited March 13, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

here is s small photo gallery of the ACC Hall of Champions at the Greensboro Coliseum

http://www.digtriad.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=219892

[cityboi]

Coliseum director wants to sell the naming rights to the Greensboro Coliseum. The way Charlotte and Raleigh have done with their arenas. The reason its been difficult is because the coliseum doesn't have a professional team. If naming rights are sold, Matt Brown says the most likely scenario would be a company with local ties or a company associated with the ACC. Big companies with local ties would be Lincoln Financial, FedEx and Honda. Imagine the coliseum being called the Honda Arena, FedEx Center or Lincoln Financial Arena.

http://myfox8.com/20...-naming-rights/

The amphitheatre at the coliseum has naming rights

Edited March 17, 2012 by cityboi

[krazeeboi]

Coliseum director wants to sell the naming rights to the Greensboro Coliseum. The way Charlotte and Raleigh have done with their arenas.

I always get a chuckle with your mentions of other NC cities when it comes to Greensboro developments. And most cities across the country have arenas that have sold naming rights to private corporations. Expand your scope beyond the borders of your state sometimes.

[cityboi]

I always get a chuckle with your mentions of other NC cities when it comes to Greensboro developments. And most cities across the country have arenas that have sold naming rights to private corporations. Expand your scope beyond the borders of your state sometimes.

LOL the Triad always like to compare itself with Charlotte and the Triangle.

BTW here is an interesting fact about the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament. The term "Final Four" itself has its roots in Greensboro. The origin of the term "Final Four" came as sportswriter Ed Chay coined the term in a 1975 article that appeared in the Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. He said Marquette "was one of the final four" in the 1974 tournament. The NCAA then trademarked the term several years later. The 1974 NCAA Championship game was held in Greensboro at the coliseum. The Final Four would return to North Carolina 20 years later in Charlotte. Greensboro then hosted the NCAA East Regional in 1998. The East Regional was the final round before the Final Four. Its doubtful that Greensboro or Charlotte will ever host the final four again because its being held in larger indoor NFL stadiums with much larger seating capacities. (Unless Charlotte builds a domed NFL Stadium for the Panthers at some point in the future) Its all about the dollar for the NCAA. It’s not just money from the extra seats. They can charge more for advertising since more eyes will see it, and they can ask more for TV deals. The NCAA wants an NFL Super Bowl type event and its becoming just that. The days of hosting the Final Four in 20,000 seat arenas ended in 1996. An indoor stadium has to have minimum of 70,000 seats. That means the city must have more hotel accommodations and tourist attractions to keep out of town guests busy when they are not watching the games. The bar has clearly been raised to become a host city for the Final Four. Times have changed since 1974 and even 1994. While hosting the Final Four in football stadiums makes good business sense for the NCAA, its bad for basketball fans. People will tell you they can barely hear the whistle watching the basketball games in a football stadium. You have to look at the big screens to make out whats going on. Its better to have a front row seat at home for free. The best fan experience comes from a more smaller intimate setting. But you can bet if Charlotte ever builds a new stadium for the Carolina Panthers, it will have a retractable roof because the city will have more than football in mind. That time might not be far off because some Charlotte officials are already saying Bank of America Stadium is already becoming obsolete and its barely 16 years old. That's not a problem for Charlotte. They demolished the Charlotte Coliseum 20 years after it was built. In major league professional sports, a 20 year facility is ancient.

Panthers talking about new stadium

http://www.aolnews.c...ut-new-stadium/

Sorry Greensboro....we won't ever see a 70,000 seat football stadium in the Gate City. Our only hope is that the NCAA will one day return to basketball arenas and Greensboro "Tournament Town" marketing efforts really pay off by then. Not counting domes, Greensboro has one of the largest arenas in the country. Most arenas being built these days have under 20,000 seats and under.

Edited March 19, 2012 by cityboi

[krazeeboi]

LOL the Triad always like to compare itself with Charlotte and the Triangle.

That could be why it's not experiencing the level of growth and prosperity that those other two metros are. The Triad is a different beast than Charlotte and the Triangle and needs to capitalize on its own strengths instead of incessantly comparing itself to them.

[twincity]

I think its Greensboro more so than the Triad.

[cityboi]

That could be why it's not experiencing the level of growth and prosperity that those other two metros are. The Triad is a different beast than Charlotte and the Triangle and needs to capitalize on its own strengths instead of incessantly comparing itself to them.

I agree. I don't think Greensboro is looking to become the next big banking center or the next big biotech center. Greensboro and the Triad does have its own unique strengths but people in Greensboro tend to compare the city with Charlotte and Raleigh in terms of job growth and status. Many in Greensboro want to see the city on an equal level with those two cities but clearly Greensboro needs to take a different path to get there. You stand out by leading, not following. Greensboro is on the right path but I do think the city is still missing opportunities because of lack of drive and strong "progressive" leadership. Greensboro needs to stop thinking its too small to do certain things and just go for it. There is a lot Greensboro can learn from smaller cities like Greenville, SC and Chattanooga, TN which in some ways are ahead of Greensboro. Edited March 22, 2012 by cityboi

[krazeeboi]

I think its Greensboro more so than the Triad.

You have a point.

I agree. I don't think Greensboro is looking to become the next big banking center or the next big biotech center. Greensboro and the Triad does have its own unique strengths but people in Greensboro tend to compare the city with Charlotte and Raleigh in terms of job growth and status. Many in Greensboro want to see the city on an equal level with those two cities but clearly Greensboro needs to take a different path to get there. You stand out by leading, not following. Greensboro is on the right path but I do think the city is still missing opportunities because of lack of drive and strong "progressive" leadership. Greensboro needs to stop thinking its to small to do certain things and just go for it. There is a lot Greensboro can learn from smaller cities like Greenville, SC and Chattanooga, TN which in some ways are ahead of Greensboro.

Greenville is really about the same size as Greensboro (it just has artificially small city limits), but you make good points overall.

[cityboi]

The sale of Joel Coliseum to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem could benefit the Greensboro Coliseum. Technically Joel would be a university arena with Wake Forest being the primary tenant so on the downside it would leave the city without an arena of its own. But who knows, as the city continues to grow the sale may benefit Winston-Salem in the long run. Maybe 15 or 20 years or so down the road there may be a need for a smaller downtown civic arena for minor league sports and concerts. Something around 10,000 seats like the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville. A small downtown arena could help benefit the Benton Convention Center.

"With the future still up in the air, there's no guarantee on what types of events they'll host. That uncertainty alone could open some doors for the Greensboro Coliseum and the city as a whole.

Greensboro City Councilman, Zack Matheny weighed in. "We're able to capitalize potentially on them not being a competitor and thus increasing our revenue, quite frankly from a Triad regional perspective."

http://www.digtriad....fect-Greensboro

Edited March 27, 2012 by cityboi

[krazeeboi]

The sale of Joel Coliseum to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem could benefit the Greensboro Coliseum. Technically Joel would be a university arena with Wake Forest being the primary tenant so on the downside it would leave the city without an arena of its own.

It would still essentially function as the city's arena, so that wouldn't really be an issue. It's like that in a couple of cities; Columbia's main arena is the Colonial Life Arena which is owned and operated by USC and it attracts every kind of event that city-owned arenas in other cities do.

[cityboi]

Tournament Town Greensboro has high hope for landing even bigger events at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and Coliseum. The aquatic center is North Carolina's premier aquatic center and already has a national reputation. Greensboro has already lured swim events from Raleigh. Major Olympic trials are the next goal. The city hosted the 2012 U.S. Masters Swim Nationals and other major profile events Greensboro has hosted such as the National Figure Skating Championships will be a spring board for even larger events. Greensboro is bidding for the 2016 Olympic Trials and Greensboro has a record of hosting events of this magnitude. The Aquatic Center just opened and there is already talk of upgrades and expansion to be competitive as a world class facility. Whats unique about Greensboro is that there is an aquatic center, two arenas (main 23,500 seat area and 4,500 seat mini arena) , convention/meeting space and entertainment venues such as the amphitheater all in one complex and it stands out from the competition. Its a big reason the National Figure Skating Championships came to Greensboro. The coliseum's future looks bright as it looks to expand the main arena to 25,500 seats, add outdoor sports facilities such as soccer fields and even a football stadium. The coliseum board also wants to convert the old Canada Dry building on the complex into an entertainment complex and build an onsite 4-star hotel that could have as many as 500 rooms. Nearby facilities such as the 1,016 room Sheraton/Koury Convention Center is an added bonus. These future amenities will position Greensboro in competing with cities such as Atlanta, Boston and Dallas for major sporting events. The great thing is that much of the recent upgrades to the coliseum were paid for without local tax dollars. The hotel/motel tax and sponsorship dollars has paid for much of the additions. In the meantime, the Greensboro Aquatic Center has a booked schedule as it prepares to host the AT&T National Diving Championships from August 14-19 this year and that event will be televised nationally. Greensboro's PGA Wyndham Championship will also be held during that week (August 13-19) which also is televised nationally. August 19-25, Winston-Salem will have its own nationally televised sports event, The Winston-Salem Open which is part of the U.S. Open tennis series. A lot of major sports events will be happening in the Triad in August.

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

If Greensboro lands the 2016 swim Olympic Trials, it will have to be held in the main arena like in Omaha, Nebraska. In this case the Greensboro Aquatic Center would be used as a practice facility for the trials. A temporary pool would have to be built in the main arena. The fact that Greensboro successfully hosted the National U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which was televised internationally, is evidence The Gate City can pull off hosting an event like this. Because Greensboro lacks an NBA or NHL team, these are the kind of events coliseum staff should be looking to attract. ACC and NCAA paved the way for Greensboro landing these kind of events and the city can make a name for itself in the sports world nationally without having a major league sports team. When people think of North Carolina, the first thing they think about is Charlotte and Raleigh. I think Greensboro can finally put itself on the map hosting major national sports events.

Edited April 29, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

XFactor Auditions to begin at the Greensboro Coliseum tomorrow. People from all over the country came to town yesterday for registration.

If you'll remember the season after Fantasia won, American Idol Auditions were also held in Greensboro at the coliseum and the downtown Marriott in front of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul.

http://myfox8.com/20...fore-auditions/

Edited April 30, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Thousands of X Factor contestants are now lined up at the Greensboro Coliseum for the first round. The producers will judge the contestants and those who make it past this round will move on to the second round at the coliseum Wednesday and Thursday. Then off to the third round this summer. In addition, the judges will come to Greensboro in June for the third round of auditions which will be televised on FOX. The judges include former American Idol judge Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid and it has been said that Britney Spears is negotiating a contract to become a judge. She would be replacing Paula Abdul who will not return this season. The fourth judge has not been announced yet but there were rumors that Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child could potentially become a judge. Originally Whitney Houston was suppose to be a judge. This will be the third time Greensboro gets national exposure from a singing talent show. In 2004 the American Idol viewing party at a packed Greensboro Coliseum was shown at the finale when Fantasia won and the following season the American Idol auditions were held in Greensboro. The show will begin airing in September but since Greensboro was the fourth stop, it will likely be sometime in mid to late October before the Greensboro auditions are shown on television. More than 8,000 people showed up at the Greensboro Coliseum, more than any other audition city this season. Only 5,000 showed up in Austin, TX. Between 6,000-7,000 showed up at Kansas City and San Francisco.

http://myfox8.com/20...ctor-auditions/

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

Edited May 1, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

More on Greensboro's bid for the 2016 Olympic swimming trials. Greensboro is competing with 15 other cities. The highly prestigious event would mean more than 160,000 ticket sales plus eight nights of prime-time television coverage by NBC. This event will determine who competes in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It would be the largest event ever held at the aquatic center. Greensboro has a good chance because of it brand new state-of-the-art venue that could be used for practice while a temporary pool in the big arena for the main event is set up. Plus the city has hosted a series of high profile events over the past year including the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. Hill Carrow's leadership helped bring the figure skating championships to Greensboro as well as other past events to North Carolina like the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival. Hill Carrow will be actively involved with Greensboro's bid for the 2016 Olympic swimming trials. Other events held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center were the synchronized swimming trials for this year's Olympic Games, and the center hosted the YMCA national swimming championship last month. Greensboro's advantage is an arena complex where many things can happen under one roof. Not many cities have that advantage.

"Greensboro is coming off a successful four-day run hosting the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals — the largest swim meet ever held in North Carolina — at the new Greensboro Aquatic Center." The AT&T National Diving Championships will be held in Greensboro this August which will be televised on NBC.

http://myfox8.com/20...wimming-trials/

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

http://www.bizjourna...16-olympic.html

In addition $24 million will be used for further upgrade to the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The upgrades are needed to stay competitive with new arena complexes built in much larger cities. The money would likely come from the hotel/motel tax. Some upgrades include a new roof for the coliseum, wider upper arena concourse, upgrading concession stands and restrooms,

a

new score board and upholstered seats which would replace the hard plastic seats in the main arena. There are more than 20 renovation projects

http://www.digtriad....on-For-Upgrades

Edited May 3, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Tournament Town could score another big event

Organizers of the U.S. Figure Skating championships said they liked Greensboro so much in 2011 they are considering returning to Greensboro for the event in 2014. It will mark the 100 anniversary of the event and will serve as the Olympic trials. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is also currently working to secure itself as host for the next Olympic Swim Trials in 2016. Both events would be a huge deal and put Greensboro in the international spotlight in 2014 and 2016. Looks like Greensboro could very well become a regular stop for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Landing the figure skating championships twice would help increase Greensboro's chances for the swim Olympic Trials particularly since the 2014 skating championships would be figure skating Olympic trials that year. This is the next best thing to hosting the actual Olympic Games.

http://myfox8.com/20...-to-greensboro/

Edited May 11, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

X Factor is coming back to Greensboro for the next round

free tickets are available for live studio audience X Factor audition tapings in July at the Greensboro Coliseum. Judges Simon Cowell, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, and L.A. Reid will be in Greensboro for the next round which will air on the show this fall. Live auditions will be taped at the Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday, July 8, and Monday, July 9. There will be two separate tapings each day at 1 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.

http://myfox8.com/20...-in-greensboro/

Edited May 19, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro is a finalist to host the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Its down to Boston, St Paul,MN and Greensboro.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2012/05/24/article/greensboro_contending_to_host_2014_us_figure_skating_championships

[cityboi]

The city approved $24 million in renovations at the coliseum

Edited May 27, 2012 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro is a finalist to host the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Its down to Boston, St Paul,MN and Greensboro.

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

U.S. Figure Skating representatives came to tour the Greensboro Coliseum today. Greensboro has a couple of big advantage over St Paul and Boston. Greensboro has the largest arena of the three and the "campus" like setting at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex allows for multiple functions. With 2014 being the 100th anniversary of the figure skating championships, and with that year's event being the skating olympic trials. An arena with a larger seating capacity and space for multiple functions are very important.

http://myfox8.com/20...boro-colliseum/

IF Greensboro lands this event it could be a springboard for the city to land the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials which would be held in the main arena while the Aquatic Center serves as the practice facility.

Edited May 30, 2012 by cityboi