Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin on Monday urged the City Council to let staff gather information for a feasibility study on a downtown convention center—a project he argues is long overdue and essential to the city’s economic future.
Colvin pitched the idea during a council work session, saying Fayetteville has reached a “moment” created by years of city‑led downtown investment and what he called years of county decisions that “systematically bypassed” the city’s core.
“We have made significant investments in our tourism sector to attract people and events to our city,” Colvin told CityView after the meeting. “We believe the addition of a downtown meeting destination would be a major step in this direction.”
The council voted 8-0 to explore a downtown convention center by directing staff to gather and refine feasibility information—including potential costs, locations, and use of prior county studies—and bring those findings back for further consideration. Councilmembers Stephon Ferguson and D.J. Haire were absent for the vote.
A Push to Reclaim Downtown’s Economic Future
During the work session, Colvin asked the council to authorize staff to gather information on what a feasibility study would cost and what it should include.
In a brief prepared for council, his office underscored the stakes: Fayetteville is the only major North Carolina city without a convention center, despite being the sixth‑largest city in the state and home to one of the world’s largest military installations.
“Every peer city has one,” the document noted, arguing that the absence costs Fayetteville convention business, hotel revenue, and regional competitiveness every year.
Colvin told councilmembers the city can no longer rely on county decisions to shape the future of downtown.
“Our downtown and our city’s entertainment and economic prosperity can’t be in the hands of the other local government,” he said during the meeting. He referenced Cumberland County’s June 2025 cancellation of the $145 million downtown Crown Event Center after $36 million in taxpayer funds had already been spent. Ending the project left a massive dirt lot in front of the county courthouse and sheriff’s office.
“That’s a missed opportunity,” Colvin said.
According to the brief, the county’s pattern is unmistakable: major public investments—from the Health Department to Social Services to the county’s performing‑arts facilities—have been placed away from the city center, while “the only major county facility located downtown is the jail.”
The Cumberland County Public Health Center and Department of Social Services are located at 1235 and 1225 Ramsey Street, respectively, well outside of downtown Fayetteville.
On Monday, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners selected firms T.A. Loving of Goldsboro and Metcon of Pembroke to jointly renovate the Crown Arena event space and Crown Theatre performance auditorium. The two venues are on U.S. 301, also known as Gillespie Street and Interstate 95 Business, in southeast Fayetteville, approximately three miles from downtown.
Colvin also said the county’s proposed aquatic center is likely to be located on U.S. 301, or “the halfway point between Hope Mills and Fayetteville.”
Council Questions: Cost, Location, Public Trust
Councilmember Lynne Greene pressed for details on the approximate cost of a feasibility study, whether a location was already in mind, and how much land a convention center would require. Colvin said those answers should come from the study itself and that staff would return with cost estimates before any commitments are made.
Councilmember Shaun McMillan warned that the city must be careful with public perception.
“A lot of the public has a negative outlook on big construction projects,” adding that residents “say stuff like, ‘follow the money’” and “‘something ain’t right.’”
“We need to tread, tread lightly on this and make sure that the public is engaged early,” he said.
He also raised concerns about financing, long‑term operating costs, and potential impacts on the city’s bond rating, noting that convention centers and ballparks can “end up costing the public a lot more in the long run.”
Mayor Pro Tem Derrick Thompson pushed for a “one-stop” approach so they’re not doing piecemeal studies, asking whether other downtown proposals should be folded into a single, comprehensive study.
Councilmember Antonio Jones asked whether the study could also evaluate the proposed Black Voices Museum and its event space as part of a broader downtown event ecosystem.
Colvin agreed that a holistic approach made sense. “A study or the feasibility information would come back with all proposed projects,” he said.
A Convention Center Tied to Segra Stadium
Colvin’s brief argued that a convention center and hotel near Segra Stadium would convert a seasonal sports asset into a year‑round economic engine. The brief notes that the stadium “anchored a more than $100 million downtown revitalization package,” including new apartments, parking garage, office space, and the renovated Prince Charles building.
The document cited early impacts: 254,200 fans in the stadium’s inaugural season and a Hay Street business reporting a 170% revenue jump in year two. “A convention center and hotel completes the vision,” it stated. “Turning what the City started with a $40 million ballpark into the full mixed-use entertainment and business destination that downtown Fayetteville has always deserved.”
The brief went further, emphasizing the structural limits of relying on a ballpark alone. Segra Stadium hosts roughly 70 home games per year, leaving “nearly 300 days when its gravitational pull on downtown foot traffic is dormant.”
A convention center and hotel, it argued, “solves this problem—converting a seasonal sports venue into the centerpiece of a year‑round economic district.”
It also spelled out the economic logic behind the proposal: convention centers generate substantially more impact than stadiums because they attract out‑of‑region visitors who bring new spending into the community—spending that would not otherwise arrive.
“Every major convention or conference booked in Fayetteville represents hotel nights, restaurant meals, retail purchases, and tax revenue that would otherwise flow to another city,” the brief stated.
Government reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader can be reached at rheimann@cityviewnc.com or 910-988-8045.
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