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Residents, arts leaders urge county to keep Crown performing-arts center downtown
Summary
At the June 16 Cumberland County Board of Commissioners meeting, several residents, downtown business leaders and arts organizers urged the board to reconsider plans that would place the Crown events facility away from downtown and to engage local stakeholders in future planning.
Dozens of residents and arts advocates told the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on June 16 that the county should keep the planned performing-arts venue in downtown Fayetteville or otherwise make downtown the centerpiece of cultural investment.
Speakers said locating the Crown (referred to in public comments as the performing-arts center or Crown Coliseum project) downtown would boost property-tax revenue, support restaurants and hotels and help draw visitors to local businesses. "Performing Arts Center has been planned in Fayetteville for over 10 years, always with a downtown location, always with huge popular support," said Dr. Hank Kerfect, who identified himself as a Fayetteville resident. Elaine Kelly, who said she is a member of the Downtown Alliance, told commissioners, "Downtown is the heartbeat of any city. It is where identity is shaped, culture is shared, and communities come alive."
Molly Arnold, who described decades of patronage of downtown venues, presented a petition she said contains about 400 downtown-area signatures and urged commissioners to "rethink and bring Crown where it belongs downtown." Carmela McKellar, president and CEO of Region 6 Project (a local nonprofit arts organization), said her group is opening a downtown arts space and asked the county to consider local cultural organizations when planning county-supported arts investments.
Speakers repeatedly requested clearer communication from county staff and inclusion of downtown stakeholders in any next steps. Several said prior planning, including a 2016 arts-and-entertainment district report and subsequent downtown planning documents, anticipated a downtown venue and that those plans informed community expectations.
The board took no formal action on the project location during the public-comment period; those remarks were part of the meeting's open public comments. Commissioners did not announce a change in policy or a new location during the meeting. The subject also came up elsewhere on the agenda in relation to a previously discussed hospitality renovation at the Crown Coliseum, which the board later approved as a separate contract item.
For now, speakers asked the commissioners to re-engage the Downtown Alliance, downtown business owners and other stakeholders if the board pursues alternative locations, and to share a timeline for decisions affecting downtown investment.
