Greensboro Coliseum Complex thread

[cityboi]

 

More good news for the aquatic center! Greensboro is a finalist and is one of six cities vying to host U.S. Olympic swim trials in 2016. The other finalists are:

 

Jacksonville, Fla.

St. Louis

San Antonio

Omaha

Indianapolis

 

The winner will be announced in late April. The Aquatic Center itself would likely be used for practice while two temporary pools would be set up in the main coliseum arena for the actual trials. The trials will be broadcast nationally on NBC. If Greensboro wins, it would be the first big official Olympic event in NC

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2013/01/14/greensboro-submits-bid-for-2016.html

 

http://www.news-record.com/home/582093-63/greensboro-is-one-of-six

 

http://myfox8.com/2013/01/14/greensboro-submits-bid-to-host-2016-olympic-swimming-trials/

 

The Greensboro Aquatic Center, which is the largest in the Carolinas, also was featured on a FOX reality show last week “Stars In Danger: The High Dive"

 

The Greensboro Aquatic Center has already been selected to host the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships this year along with the 2013 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships. The center has hosted a number of other national swim championships, one of which was on national tv. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex has recently become a magnet for high profile national events. The coliseum hosted the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and will host it again in 2015. The coliseum was also the site for American Idol and X Factor auditions.

 

 

Edited January 15, 2013 by cityboi

[tozmervo]

I'm not sure what you count as a big olympic event, but the USNWC has been hosting Olympic whitewater trials for a few years now.

[eastsider]

Charlotte was also the site for the trials of the mens marathon prior to the 1996 Olympics.

[cityboi]

thanks for the correction . Who knows, maybe having these kind of events in our state could lead to bigger things in NC in the future

[cityboi]

Greensboro Coliseum Complex renovations

Rendering of the arena after renovations (below). The hard green outdoor plastic seats will be replaced with wider "Duke" blue cushioned seats. The arena also sports a new score board and will include more luxury suites.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:

- widening the upper concourse of the coliseum by 15 feet.

- convert outdated concession stands into new and increased capacity restrooms

- add four large new food courts

- install a sports lighting shutter system and purchase an updated arena half house curtain and lighting grid system.

- construct an upper south concourse lounge adjoining a plaza balcony overlook and an arena view platform. Also a Natty Greene's bar/lounge

- renovate the coliseum exterior facade cladding, install exterior ID signage and lighting

- renovate 26 luxury suites and replace metal railings in the coliseum with glass railings.

- construct two new auditorium meeting rooms

- install a new facade on the SW exterior of Special Events Center

- install a connecting walkway canopy from the Special Events Center to the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

- replace coliseum roof

- install a secondary diving video scoreboard and complete the installation of decorative tile/stone finishes on the Greensboro Aquatic Center diving platform wall.

- install a permanent roof canopy over the stage area and reserved seating section of the 7,700-seat White Oak Amphitheatre

- purchase adjoining property for additional parking.

- renovate Canada Dry Building for a Coliseum Live Entertainment Venue and offices for the Greensboro Sports Commission, visitor's center and convention and visitors bureau.


OTHER AMENITIES THE COLISEUM CURRENTLY HAS.

- The Terrace (12,900 square foot banquet facility)

- 2,400 seat War Memorial Auditorium (will be torn down and replaced with parking if a downtown performing arts center is built.

- 300-seat Odeon Theatre

- 67,000-square foot Special Events Center that includes three exhibition halls, a 4,500-seat mini-arena and eight meeting rooms

- 30,000 square foot Pavilion, located adjacent to the Special Events Center.

- 8,100 square feet ACC Hall of Champions and Museum

- 2,500 seat Greensboro Aquatic Center

- 7,700 seat White Oak Amphitheatre

LONG TERM WISH LIST

- parking deck

- 4 star 500 room onsite hotel attached to the coliseum.

- outdoor sports fields (soccer, tennis ect.)

- football stadium for local, regional and state tournaments

- triple the sized of the ACC Hall of Champions & Museum.


Here is a link to other renovations at the coliseum. The City of Greensboro is making these renovations to compete with newer arenas like Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte and other new arenas around the country. http://www.digtriad.com/news/pdf/coliseum-wish-list.pdf

 

Edited January 18, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

The cities in contention are:
* Greensboro, N.C.
* Indianapolis, Ind.
* Jacksonville, Fla.
* Omaha, Neb.
* St. Louis, Mo.
* San Antonio, Texas

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/USA/33135.asp

Greensboro's advantage for hosting the 2016 Olympic Swim Trials trumps it's other five competitors (Omaha, San Antonio, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Jacksonville, Fla) in a number of ways. The biggest advantage is that everything would be under one roof. The swim trials would be held in the main arena. A temporary pool would have to be set up. Practice pools would be set up in part of the special events center and the Aquatic Center itself would be used for practice and fan activities. The Special Events Center exhibition space could also be used for aquatic vendors. The Koury Convention Center is less than a mile down the road so if Greensboro really wanted to make this a huge event, that space could be used as well for associated events but that would mean everything wouldn't be under one roof. As Greensboro continues to attract tier 1 events to the coliseum like national swim competitions and U.S. Figure Skating Championships, future coliseum plans may have to be put on the fast track. Those plans include outdoor sports fields, an onsite 4-star 500 room hotel and conversion of the Canada Dry building on the properties into a nightlife entertainment venue. Greensboro is unique. It has one of the largest arenas in the United States, the largest in the south not counting domed stadiums. It's even more unusual for a city to have an active arena this large without a major league sports franchise. But the Greensboro Coliseum has found its niche. While most cities are building single downtown arenas, the Greensboro Coliseum has a host of venues in one complex. This is something difficult to do in a downtown setting. The great thing is that the Greensboro Coliseum complex isn't that far away from downtown. Its only about a mile and a half west of downtown. Landing the swim trials would mean live prime time national exposure for Greensboro on NBC. Greensboro's advantage is a big reason the U.S. Figure Skating Championships will return to Greensboro in 2015 after a successful run in 2011. That event is also broadcast live nationally. The Greensboro Aquatic Center was also featured on a FOX reality show called Stars in Danger: The High Dive.

http://www.news-record.com/home/768067-63/aquatic-center-wild-card-of

the official 2015 U.S. figure Skating Championships website.
http://www.northcarolina2015.com/

pros and cons for each swim trials bid city according to Jeff Commings. I disagree with cons he listed for Greensboro which are flight connections and east coast location. Greensboro successfully hosting the U.S Figure Skating Championships proved those are not big issues. The only real con I can think of is not having an adequate number of hotel rooms in close proximity to the coliseum. Greensboro doesn't have dozens of 500 plus room hotels concentrated in one area like larger cities. Greensboro does have a 1,023 room hotel along with dozens of small 100 room plus hotel less than a mile away. But apparently hotel rooms wasn't an issue during the 2011 the U.S Figure Skating Championships. But of the five other cities, Omaha and St Louis are Greensboro's biggest competition in my opinion. Even if Greensboro is not selected, I think it says a lot that the city made it as a finalist and there is chance for a future olympic year. But the man instrumental in attracting the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to Greensboro twice as well as the 2012 Olympic Table Tennis Trials in Cary is behind attracting the swim trials to Greensboro. His name is Hill Carrow.

 

Greensboro, N.C.
Pros: The city plans to host the event in an arena adjacent to the Greensboro Aquatic Center, which would potentially give athletes two long course pools for warm-up and training purposes. One could be built in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex for athletes swimming that day, and the aquatic center for those just needing a place to keep loose on their off-days. This would alleviate any potential overcrowding that was experienced at the 2012 meet. For better or worse, the aquatic center hosted the reality competition show "Stars in Danger: The High Dive," and the presentation was superb.

Cons: Putting the meet on the East Coast limits the number of spectators who might attend. It would be expensive for West Coast relatives to fly all the way to the other side of the country. You can fly directly to Greensboro, but not on every major airline, and likely for a hefty fee. An alternative is Charlotte, about 100 miles away.

Indianapolis, Indiana
Pros: The city knows swimming, having hosted five Olympic Trials meets and more NCAA championships than can be counted on fingers and toes. This familiarity with the sport would make the city more agreeable to having hundreds of chlorinated swimmers roaming the city. And, Indianapolis is a major airline destination. Flights should be easy to arrange.

Cons: Unlike Greensboro, Indianapolis is hurt by the fact that the Lucas Oil Stadium, the likely site for Trials, is three miles away from the IUPUI Natatorium, which was the last non-arena style location for Trials and could be a great training site. You might think that's a short trip to shuttle swimmers back and forth, but only if teams bring enough drivers to handle the transporting.

Jacksonville, Florida
Pros: The city is small, which makes it easy to get around.

Cons: Unfortunately, Jacksonville's airport is not a major hub, and that could affect flight prices. Jacksonville has an adequate training facility at the Bolles School, but that's 8 miles from the proposed meet site, the Veterans Memorial Arena. And, like Greensboro, the city is on the East Coast, and that could alienate the West Coasters anxious to come to the meet.

Omaha, Nebraska
Pros: They've done it twice before. And the bid organizers have a major player on their side: Mutual of Omaha, which is a major sponsor of USA Swimming and a very likely reason Trials moved to Omaha in the first place.

Cons: Not many. Being smack-dab in the center of the country helps its chances greatly. The only setback is the College World Series. Scheduling the meet in a different week from the big baseball tournament would ease congestion around the CenturyLink Center, which is across the street from the stadium hosting the College World Series.

St. Louis, Missouri
Pros: It's my hometown, so I'm a bit partial here. Like Omaha, the city is in a great place geographically, and would be easier to get to than Omaha in terms of airline flights. The Edward Jones Dome seems like the best place to host Trials, and the downtown area has blossomed recently, with plenty of hotels in walking distance.

Cons: Baseball. The Edward Jones Dome seems like the best place to host Trials, and it's a few blocks from Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals will be in the thick of baseball season. Having mild-mannered swimmers mingling with raucous baseball fans could get ugly.

San Antonio:
Pros: Texans love sporting events, and citizens of the second-most populous state in the Union could do their duty and fill the seats. Though located in southern Texas, the location is still prime in terms of getting fans from every corner of the country to attend.

Cons: None to speak of. But bid organizers will have to put a lot of razzle dazzle into their presentations to make it stand out. They will likely have one of the most-loved Olympians in their corner: hometown hero and 1996 gold medalist Josh Davis. Not to mention that another hometown hero could be a part of the 2016 team: Jimmy Feigen.

Edited February 19, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

btw officials from the Olympic swim stopped at the Greensboro Coliseum today.

 

 

Mike Unger, USA Swimming’s assistant executive director, said they liked what they saw.

“The city lays out very nicely. It would be a good place for our athletes and coaches to come to,

 

http://www.news-record.com/home/774162-63/story

 

In addition, phase one of the High Point Rd streetscaping project between the Koury Convention Center and the coliseum should be finished by 2016. High Point Rd will be more of a welcoming gateway to the coliseum in time for a potential Olympic Swim Trials event. Utility lines will be buried under ground. Landscaped medians, decorative traffic lights and street signs will be added along with wider sidewalks and brick painted crosswalks.

Edited February 20, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

some photos of some of the coliseum upgrades

 

new high definition score board

 

 

new blue and wider cushioned seats have replaced the green plastic stadium seats.

 

 

Natty Greene's restaurant in the coliseum

 

Edited March 15, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro is getting closer and closer to possibly hosting the 2016 US Olympic Swim Trials. Indianapolis is now out of the running and the only cities left are Greensboro, Omaha, San Antonio and St Louis. Greensboro already has an advantage over San Antonio and St Louis. The swim committee crossed Indianapolis out because the facility (domed stadium) was too big and didn't provide an intimate setting. The facilities in St Louis and San Antonio are also big domed stadiums. That being said Greensboro's only real competition is Omaha. But even then Greensboro has a big advantage over Omaha being able to host every thing under one roof with more flexibility of the new swim center. That advantage is why Greensboro is being selected for the second time to host the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. Omaha hosted the last two trials so if they are looking for a different city, Greensboro is the likely choice. Last time, all eight days were televised in prime time on NBC and posted the highest ratings in their time slots.

 

http://www.news-record.com/home/949683-63/greensboro-in-final-four-for

Edited March 23, 2013 by cityboi

[crowe1856]

Looks like GSO didn't make the final three in contention for the 2016 Swim Trials.

 

http://www.news-record.com/home/1036691-63/greensboro-out-of-running-to

 

Convenience for swimmers was the reason cited. In Omaha's case, Century Link Center has an attached convention center which, like Greensboro, allows everything to be under one roof, but also has an attached Hilton and is downtown close to numerous restaurants and other hotels. Being a stone's throw from the airport probably doesn't hurt either. Having grown up in Nebraska, I'm a little biased, but it will be interesting to see if they go with one of the domes or play it safe. Having Michael Phelps certainly didn't hurt attendance the last two go-rounds, so one wonders how much they can grow the event by moving to a bigger space. Either way, I look forward to Greensboro learning from the effort and making an even more serious run for 2020.

Edited April 10, 2013 by crowe1856

[cityboi]

Coliseum officials said they will try again for 2020. Its interesting that you pointed out the attached hotel. Part of the Greensboro Coliseum's long range plan includes a 500 room 4 star hotel attached to the coliseum. This probably should be a bigger focus for the near future. As far as downtown, the coliseum is less than 2 miles from downtown but yes in a downtown setting you can walk to restaurants and attractions. However there has been chatter about a trolley, eventually streetcar connecting the Koury Convention Center with the coliseum and downtown. In any case a future olympic swim trials event in Greensboro is not out of reach considering the the coliseum has already hosted similar high caliber olympic like events such as the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The coliseum will host it again in a few years.

Edited April 11, 2013 by cityboi

[Urbanity]

From what I read of the articles - the Committee was impressed with Greensboro and I definitely think a 2020 bid is being encouraged.

 

I think the article has the right of it saying it depends on who gets this round.  If it goes to Omaha you guys certainly have a clear shot at 2020. if it goes to San Antoni/St. Louis - you may not be able to compete as it signals they want bigger venues (of course if it is a failure in the bigger venue then you are back in play).

 

A streetcar connection to the coliseum complex certainly seems worth exploring as it would be a selling point to trade shows, events and the like for choosing Greensboro (sort of a self contained event village with a direct/easy connection to the larger city)

[cityboi]

The Greensboro Coliseum will host another major event, this time international.  Greensboro will host the 2013 Intercontinental Futsal Cup competition. 

 

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article/282944/327/International-Futsal-To-Take-Center-Stage-In-Greensboro

Edited May 2, 2013 by cityboi

[nowensone]

I feel a bit embarrassed, am quite familiar with soccer, but have NEVER heard of this sport.  Sounds parallel to the brand of basketball one plays (one half of the court only) when there aren't 10 (or even 8) people for a full court game.

[Urbanity]

I'm surprised cityboi missed this, but Greensboro will host an international gymnastics meet in 2014 at the Coliseum.

 

While not Olympics trials level, the AT&T Cup International is at the top of the gymnastic competitions and includes about 16 different countries.

 

I really do applaud Greensboro on their Coliseum complex and it's marketers for attracting such competitions. 

Edited May 31, 2013 by Urbanity

[cityboi]

thanks for the heads up. I have had a lot going on the past few week so I did miss it LOL. Its amazing Greensboro is landing an event like this which is typically held in cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Ft Worth and Orlando. You have to give credit to coliseum manager Matt Brown and his team for landing these big events at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Edited June 6, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro may have lost out on the 2016 Olympic Swim Trials but the Gate City is once again a finalist for olympic trials, this time for the 2016 Olympic Diving Trials.

 

The six finalist cities are:

 

Greensboro

Atlanta

Indianapolis

Minneapolis

Riverside, Calif.

Tucson.

 

http://www.news-record.com/sports/article_a2e29a2a-214b-11e3-8a8a-001a4bcf6878.html

Edited September 20, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Greensboro Aquatic Center to host 2014 AT&T Winter Nationals

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2013/11/06/greensboro-aquatic-center-to-host-us.html

[cityboi]

Greensboro will host the 2015 NCAA Women's Swimming Championships. In addition Greensboro is booked with other tournaments in 2015 including the NCAA Women's Basketball Regional, the women's ACC basketball Tournament and the Men's ACC Basketball Tournament.

 

http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_df5fec56-6290-11e3-a8bc-0019bb30f31a.html

 

http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_dcf458f6-62b5-11e3-87e1-0019bb30f31a.html

Edited December 12, 2013 by cityboi

[cityboi]

The AT&T American Cup Gymnastics takes place March 1st at the Greensboro Coliseum. It will be broadcast live on national tv on NBC.

 

http://attamericancup.com/

 

BTW here is the website for the U.S Figure Skating Championships that will be held at the coliseum next year

 

http://www.northcarolina2015.com/

 

Thanks to Matt Brown and his staff for attracting such world class events to Greensboro. The city does not have a major league sports team but consistently landing these sporting events helps put the city on the national map.

Edited February 9, 2014 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Bigger events on the way? Greensboro seems to be exceeding expectations boasting higher attendance numbers than Madison Square Garden in New York for at least one event. Greensboro hosting the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2011 was really the tipping point for Greensboro hosting world class events.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2014/03/10/coming-off-successful-american-cup-greensboro.html

Edited March 11, 2014 by cityboi

[cityboi]

Here is a small article about when the "Big Dance" NCAA Final Four came to Greensboro in 1974. Greensboro was chosen for several reasons. the size of its coliseum, its track record of hosting the ACC Tournament and the city proved it could play in the big leagues when North Carolina's first major league sports team was based in Greensboro (the ABA Carolina Cougars). The ABA finally merged with the NBA and some ABA teams such as the Indiana Pacers moved with the NBA. The Carolina Cougars folded and moved on to another city before that merge.

 

In 1974, NC State beat UCLA in the championship game and that loss ended UCLA's tournament winning streak. It was one of two times the Final Four was held in North Carolina. The second time was in Charlotte 20 years later in 1994. Unfortunately because of big money, the Final Four will never be held in 20,000 seat arenas again. The seating capacity has to be a minimum of 40,000 seats. So unless Charlotte builds a new stadium with a retractable roof for the Carolina Panthers, the Final Four will never return to North Carolina. In 1974, the Greensboro Coliseum had 15,500 seats. Today thats considered small compared to the coliseum's seating capacity of 23,500. But in 1974, The Greensboro Coliseum was the second largest arena on the east coast after Madison Square Garden in New York. Greensboro has always had an arena big for a city its size. Even today its one of the largest arenas in the country and is the largest arena without a major league sports tenant. 

 

The closest Greensboro has ever gotten to getting back the Final Four was when it hosted the 1998 NCAA East Coast Regional. It was on national tv with video images of Greensboro's skyline broadcast to tv sets all across the country. The largest event the Greensboro Coliseum has hosted since the 1974 Final Four was the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2011 which will return to Greensboro again next year.

 

http://www.news-record.com/sports/acctournament/article_813a2d60-a99b-11e3-9d93-001a4bcf6878.html

Edited March 12, 2014 by cityboi

[zalo]

From today's news reports:

Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel reports that the Atlantic Coast Conference is finalizing details for a multi-year deal to play the ACC tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The most immediately available tournament would be the 2017 ACC tournament. The 2016 ACC tournament is at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. If the tournament is played in New York in 2017, it will be the first time the ACC tournament has been played outside the state of North Carolina in consecutive years.


The looming issue with playing at the Barclays Center in 2017 is the Atlantic 10 Tournament, as 2017 is the final installment of the A-10's five-year agreement with the Barclays Center. The details of how the ACC and A-10 will navigate that have not been finalized and are expected to be discussed in the Atlantic 10's presidents and athletic directors meetings on Friday morning. The ACC's move to New York has been viewed within the conference as inevitable, as it's expected that the league will rotate through New York and North Carolina locations after 2017. (Maryland's departure to the Big Ten makes Washington DC a less natural place to hold the tournament.)


That left the ACC with the Barclays Center as its top option to give the league a presence in New York with its conference tournament. (The Barclays Center has also been in conversations with the Big Ten). While The Garden has more history and a Manhattan location, multiple ACC administrators stressed that they will not have an inferior venue. "It wasn't Madison Square Garden or else," said an official at an ACC school. "People are enthralled with the Barclays Center. If The Garden is locked up, so be it. I don't think it's a warm up act. It's a hell of a facility."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20140314/acc-tournament-barclays-center-2017/

Edited March 14, 2014 by zalo

[DanRNC]

Thought this would happen. I am glad its moving to a bigger stage. There really was nothing historic or nostalgic being held in Greensboro. It was just becoming stale. Time to move on from NC. 

[cityboi]

the ACC is not leaving Greensboro permanently. New York is just being added to the rotation. the biggest mistake would be the ACC becoming a mini NCAA. that was the mistake the Big East made