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Moving Crown Event Center is missed opportunity

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Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Written by Jimmy Keefe

We’ve all heard the saying, “If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.” Unfortunately, it appears we have doubled down on the dig.
In 2013, during my tenure as Chairman of the Cumberland County Commissioners, I presented a bold vision: a new Performing Arts Center to anchor and energize our downtown, a vision rooted in the 1996 Marvin Plan for downtown revitalization. Over the past three decades, additional studies by professionals have consistently supported the need for a large entertainment complex in our city center. This project had the potential to be transformational — the largest public investment ever made downtown, yet here we are, once again watching politics derail a project that has broad support and proven economic potential.
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Crown Event Center is how it’s funded. The facility would be financed using restricted revenues from the Food & Beverage Tax and a portion of the Local Occupancy Tax. These funds cannot be used for public safety, infrastructure, or social services. They are strictly designated for arts and entertainment projects and must be administered through the Crown Commission, which currently oversees the Crown Complex. Delays risk forfeiting access to these funds altogether, a long-term loss this community simply cannot afford.
Before the current Board of Commissioners initially paused the project, it was ahead of schedule and under budget. Over $40 million has already been spent — and that figure excludes future costs related to legal action, contractual penalties, repairs, and the damage done to our community’s image. To put this in perspective, the entire downtown baseball stadium project was budgeted at $35 million. Delaying or abandoning the Performing Arts Center now is akin to stopping the stadium mid-construction and surrendering that investment with nothing to show for it
When I was first elected commissioner in 2008, my daughter Emily was not yet a year old. She is now preparing for her senior year of high school. We have lost almost two decades of opportunity for her and other children in our community to grow up with access to a vibrant arts venue. While my family has enjoyed countless nights at the baseball stadium — thanks to the foresight and commitment of city leaders — those same benefits have been denied to families passionate about the arts. Our community has far too few spaces for young people interested in theater, music, and dance. In Wake County, a similar facility supports nearly 20 youth programs. Why can’t Cumberland County do the same?
The decision to build downtown was not made lightly. Over many years, there were countless stakeholder meetings, professional consultations, citizen surveys, and financial analyses. Of the multiple sites evaluated, the top three were all located downtown. The current Crown Theater site on Highway 301 consistently ranked at or near the bottom in every report. The original plan — when the new Crown Coliseum was built in the mid-90s — was to demolish the aging arena and theater, and for good reason. These buildings have long outlived their purpose and are no longer fit for modern, accessible, or revenue-generating events.
This new Crown Event Center is more than a cultural hub — it’s an engine for economic development. Currently, Cumberland is the only county in North Carolina with more than 250,000 residents that doesn’t have a facility like this. The proposed downtown location meets every reasonable criterion: it’s on public land, has planned parking, supports local and surrounding businesses, and allows for future growth. Experts believe the design and location could make the facility self-sustaining. Contrast this with the proposal to renovate the old site on Highway 301 — an area with a 60-year history of economic stagnation. That’s like halting the downtown baseball stadium after millions invested and deciding to renovate J.P. Riddle Stadium instead. Many believe it to be a short-sighted move that ignores everything we’ve learned.
Some commissioners cite concerns about parking downtown, but anyone who’s attended multiple events at the Crown Complex knows that parking logistics are already a challenge at the existing site. In fact, simultaneous events could result in longer walks to your seat than what you’d face downtown — not to mention downtown’s potential for shared-use garages, walkability, and business synergy.
There’s also been talk about a dispute over architectural fees. While I’m aware of the issue, halting a $145 million project over a disagreement representing less than 1% of the total cost does not seem logical. Imagine building a $200,000 home, getting a $2,000 overage bill, and choosing to abandon the house after investing $50,000. No reasonable person would make that decision — yet that seems to be the path we are on.
In conclusion, it appears there is concern from some members of the board on this downtown project that has been thoughtfully planned for over three decades — one that is fully funded, publicly vetted, and widely supported. There seems to be a push to replace it with an underwhelming alternative that lacks a plan, funding, vision, or economic upside. I respect their need to get up to speed, but the delays — now surpassing 60 days — are already generating millions in additional costs and potentially irreversible setbacks. This self-inflicted harm may ultimately be used to justify abandoning the downtown project, which would be a tragic mistake for our community.
Let’s be clear: this Crown Event Center is not just about bricks and mortar — it’s about who we are and who we want to be. A thriving, culturally rich, economically vibrant Cumberland County needs this facility. I can only hope elected leaders will act swiftly to continue with the plan for this downtown entertainment center.

(Photo: The proposed Crown Event Center in downtown Fayetteville is shown here in an artist's rendering from EwingCole.)

Publisher's Pen: City Councils' Mario B gets an A on curfew issue

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Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Written by Bill Bowman

The shooting incidents a few weeks ago that disrupted the Dogwood Festival, Downtown Fayetteville’s most anticipated Springtime event, have triggered a plethora of misguided assumptions and solutions to addressing crime in our community. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin’s response to this recent shooting incident was to initiate recommendations for a youth curfew, along with other placebo-style regulations, like banning face masks and backpacks on city property and during city-sponsored events (say goodbye to Fourth Fridays & Fayetteville After Five). Soviet style surveillance cameras, license-plate readers, and sophisticated facial recognition technology, and increasing the Crime Stoppers reward to $5,000 will only encourage criminals to snitch on other criminals. Honestly, Colvin’s quick response to target Fayetteville’s youth as the catalyst of this crime crisis is misguided, and makes his rash recommendations resonate more like the foundation of his campaign re-election speech.
Defying reason and common sense, the City Council in their infinite wisdom voted 8 to 2 for Colvin’s citywide youth curfew, with only councilmen Mario Benavente and Deno Hondros voting against it. Mario B articulated his concerns clearly and questioned the curfews' effectiveness, the complex logistics of curfew enforcement, and, more importantly, the negative impact they would have on young people who would be introduced prematurely to the criminal justice system. He also reminded the council that of all the homicides this year in Fayetteville, only one juvenile was arrested for attempted murder, and that an imposed youth curfew would not have deterred any of them.
Mario B was the voice of reason. In the council’s haste to make it look like they are being responsive to the escalating shooting issues, they have failed to consider Fayetteville’s history of rejecting youth curfews in the city for many reasons, especially the negative impact additional community surveillance would have on restricting civil liberties. Ironically, Colvin wants Fayetteville’s curfew ordinance to be modeled after that of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's curfew ordinance. Really? It makes you wonder who at City Hall vetted that program?
Most likely, it was the same people who hired contractor Muhammad Muhammad to build the Fayetteville City Parks & Rec Tennis Complex, and the sidewalks on Rosehill Rd... or the construction company that built the new Fire Station on Bragg Blvd. I don’t mean to be facetious, but it doesn’t take that much to be diligent and prudent when it comes to making decisions that impact the entire community. To my point, Charlotte’s curfew ordinance was adopted in 2011 and is extremely complex and begs the question of how to implement proper and effective enforcement. Even more importantly, is the fact that after 14 years, Charlotte officials readily admit they have no data or concrete evidence that can support the curfew ordinance had any effect on reducing crime. However, the cost of implementing the program is readily available.
Curfew ordinances cannot take the place of parental responsibilities. Parents and adult guardians are responsible for protecting young people from victimization and exposure to criminal activity. Ordinances should promote the safety and welfare of all citizens without violating or restricting their rights or freedoms. Curfews do not reduce crime, and there is little evidence that curfews are even effective in addressing the root causes of juvenile crime. Using the city of Charlotte as a model may be convenient, but I doubt it is prudent. Data available and collected in 2025 indicated that Charlotte has a higher average rate of both violent and property crimes compared to other cities in North Carolina. (Google it.)
City Councilman Mario B’s insights are logical and well thought out. He brings a much-needed thread of common sense, logic, and caution to the consideration of using youth curfews as a means to curb Fayetteville shootings, crime, and overall gun violence.
I’ll conclude by saying the Fayetteville community would benefit greatly if our elected officials handled serious municipal challenges with less pompous grandstanding and emotional knee jerk reactions, and spent more time listening to more concerned citizens. Youth advocate Tony Brown, Fayetteville resident Justin Herbe, and Bishop McNeil, a respected and active Fayetteville community organizer who understands that reducing crime and addressing public safety in Fayetteville cannot come from restricting a young person’s civil liberties or implementing proven failed measures like youth curfews.
Like Bishop McNeil, we feel Fayetteville’s elected officials should direct their attention, money, and efforts to projects and programs that have the potential to eliminate violence and crime, like treating mental illness, affordable housing and job training, and opportunities. Listen to Mario B. Curfews don’t work!
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly, and while you’re here, take a moment to participate in our 28th Annual Best of Fayetteville survey. Your voice and opinion matter to us.

What they do not know CAN hurt them

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Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Written by Margaret Dickson

Human nature includes the urge to give others advice, often unsolicited, about how to conduct their lives, whether we heed our own advice or not. Much of it passes with the breeze, but some registers and sticks with us. Here are some jewels that have stuck with me and guided me in more than a few tricky situations.
From my mother. No matter how smart and/or educated you may believe yourself to be, every person you will ever meet knows something you do not, so pay attention.
From an older cousin on raising children. If you want to raise children who embrace the world with curiosity instead of fear, always say “yes” unless you must say “no.”
From a crusty old journalist. If you have something positive to say to someone, write it to them so they can enjoy your words and share them with others. If your message is negative, say it and get it behind you.
And, from a gentle and wise mother. When I was trying to keep our sons away from He-Man toys, which I believed--and still do--present a false and ridiculous view of manhood. You cannot protect your children from their culture.
I wish the current crop of book banners in the North Carolina General Assembly and in Congress could hear that truth.
As part of a national effort supported by the Trump administration to shield information from students, a bill wending its way through the state legislature would establish a committee composed of both parents and educators to recommend which books and movies should be approved or banned in public and charter schools. Those recommendations would be available for public comment and ultimately approved by the local school board. It proposes civil penalties for schools that do not comply and will be sued.
Such moves are being made all over the country, all labeled as “parental rights” by book banners and “censorship” by opponents. They are efforts to appease a voting base by people who have outside influence in the current political climate.
However one views these book banning efforts, the truth is that we cannot keep our current culture, however toxic it may seem to some Americans, from our children short of keeping all outside influences—books, social media, contact with their peers and other people—out of reach. Today’s parents already know how impossible that has become in the electronic era. The other painful truth is that while some information may be disturbing or painful for students, ignorance of facts can harm them, often profoundly and for a lifetime.
Take sex, a topic both parents and children find difficult to address and one which can derail lives through STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and other difficulties. Ignorance of the facts of life is not bliss for vulnerable young people. Ditto for drugs and other illegal substances. “Just say no” has never been an effective strategy. Young people see others, both their peers and adults, using alcohol and other substances and realize that they can generate pleasurable experiences as well as harm.
Do as I say, not as I do, is not an effective message. Factual information can be.
This is not an academic or political argument. It goes to whether and how we protect our children. Do we do that by withholding information from them or by providing them with accurate information? Better yet, think about your own youth.
Did just say no work or little information work for you? Did ignorance take you down a painful path?
Do you want that for your children?

Big Apple report: NYC is bigger than ever

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Tuesday, 06 May 2025

Written by Pitt Dickey

We recently went on a fact-finding trip to New York City. There are millions of stories in the Big Apple. This is one of them. Seeming like a good idea at the time, we took coach seats on the midnight train to New York.
If you live in Fayetteville, you have probably heard the whistle of the 12:59 a.m. Silver Meteor. It delivers you to Penn Station around lunchtime where a swarm of gypsy taxi drivers each strive to take you on a ride and relieve you of a chunk of money.
Groggy from the red-eye train, we let a fast-talking hustler, who claimed to be an Uber driver, grab our luggage and put us in his vehicle. Poor decision. Pro tip: always use the Uber app. If a stranger comes up to you claiming to be an Uber driver, he is not. Sixty dollars later for a $20 trip, I realized my error. Life goes on.
Our hotel was only a block from Times Square. The desk clerk was a gentleman wearing purple-framed glasses with a long beard festooned with purple flowers and silver stars. Quite impressive. Back in the dark ages of the late 60’s, Times Square was a squalid cesspool of dirt, hookers, thieves, girly shows, porno theaters, and greasy spoons. It was pretty cool. Not so in 2025.
Now it is the Disney version of the Las Vegas strip. It is surprisingly clean, packed with gawking tourists, more giant digital signs than you can shake a cataract at, and stores that would fit in any upscale mall in regular America.
There are few homeless folks visible in Times Square, maybe they are staying in tax-paid hotels. The homeless we did see sported homemade cardboard signs showing sparks of humor. One gentleman had a sign that said “Screw you. Pay me.” (Verb modified as this is a family paper). Another had a sign stating, “Need Money for Weed & Women.”
A third had a sign with the humble brag “Need money for penis reduction surgery.” But mostly it was non-English-speaking tourists craning their necks at the adrenaline-inducing flashing signs.
We traveled with our son Will and two friends from Newton Grove. Arising early, I took the subway to Greenwich Village to Caffe Reggio for a cappuccino and a muffin. The Reggio features the first espresso machine to come to America. Massively impressive, the silver machine is the equivalent of the Blue Origin rocket of its time without the benefit of Katy Perry or Gayle King. A visit to Reggio is highly recommended. We visited the Met Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and the Frick Museum.
The Met has world class stuff from Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh. The Modern Art Museum demonstrates Andy Warhol’s quote that “Art is what I can get away with.” My favorite item in the MOMA was a large triangle of hairy Swiss cheese. Hair plugs in a dairy product equals high art. A display of different-sized paper bags was equally entrancing.
Seeking even more culture, we went to three plays: Cabaret, Hades Town, and Oh, Mary! Hades Town, based on a story from Greek Mythology, set somewhere between New Orleans and Hell, was the best.
No trip to New York is complete without a visit to McSorely’s Old Ale House, where Abraham Lincoln used to hang out when he was in town. Your choice is either dark or light ale. The mugs are small, but you get two with each order. The subways are much cleaner than I remembered them being a few years ago. No one tried to push us onto the tracks, which I counted as a plus.
We went on the Mafia Walking tour led by Tony, a retired disabled NYC Police narcotics detective who had grown up in Little Italy. Tony had led a colorful life before entering the police department: running numbers as a child for the Gambino family, doing collection work for bookies as an adult, and having only one felony arrest but no conviction before joining the force. He was very open about his past misdeeds, including holding a debtor by his ankles over the edge of a tall building to convince said debtor to pay up. He paid. Tony was a charming sociopath, which is what most sociopaths usually are.
He was a highly entertaining guide, pointing out various locations where the Mafia had killed or maimed people, had their headquarters, and their favorite restaurants. He discussed what it was like to pretend to be a drug dealer buying wholesale amounts of heroin from seriously bad guys. In a word: Dangerous.
Unfortunately, we had to leave the tour before it ended, thus missing out on a free Cannoli.
The Big Apple is bigger than ever, even without King Kong climbing the Empire State Building.
I give it 5 stars. Go see it.

(Illustration by Pitt Dickey)