County Commissioners Choose Downtown Fayetteville Performing Arts Center Location

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners has unanimously accepted a recommendation that a new performing arts center be built in the parking lot of the Cumberland County Courthouse in Downtown Fayetteville.

The motion to approve the recommendation for the new "Crown Event Center" came at a special called County Commissioners meeting held Monday afternoon.

The site is currently the primary parking lot facing the front of the courthouse, along Gillespie Street, Otis F. Jones Parkway, Russell Street and Dick Street.

"Over the last seven to eight months, the Crown Events Center Committee has been working diligently on site selection," outgoing County Manager Amy Cannon said. "The site that is being brought forward today is one that meets the guiding principles."

Cannon said that from about 12 sites that were originally considered, the committee narrowed it down to two sites that met the needs of the project.

"We are extremely excited today to be able to share with the community the site that has been selected for this facility," said Commissioners Chairman Glenn Adams. "We believe this will be a transformative project, not only for Downtown Fayetteville but for all of Cumberland County as a local and regional asset that is accessible to all and that enhances and elevates our community as a premier destination for entertainment, events and gatherings."

One of the key factors for the sites was that it be currently city or county owned. Of the 12 original properties considered, roughly half of those were downtown, and the others were at the current site of the Crown Theater, and others at spots along the Fayetteville Outer Loop.

"We were sensitive to the configuration. We wanted to make sure there was easy access, walkability to amenities, the bus line, as well as nearby parking," Cannon said.

The two finalist sites scored highest among the properties, and those two sites then had feasibility studies and Phase 1 environmental studies done, to determine suitability. Cannon said no concerns were found with the recommended site.

The performing arts center is necessary in Fayetteville, as the current Crown Theater and Crown Arena are scheduled for closure in 2025. Adapting those facilities was deemed too expensive, and a new plan for a 2,500-3,000 seat multi-purpose facility to be built somewhere in the county.

"Their evaluation criteria included ownership, environmental issues, vehicular circulation and parking. Displaced parking was a factor that was considered as part of the site selection process," a press release from the County said. "Additionally, parking and accessibility will be an important part of the design process as the project moves forward, as well as looking at programming to maximize opportunities for events that take place at times that will allow for the maximization of available parking in the area."

With "House of the Dragon" getting lots of attention lately, it got us wondering about a possible attack here in North Carolina. Yes, really.

You know when you wake up in the morning and roll over to kiss your sweetheart and they go "Ooooooh! You better get away from me with that dragon breath!"... Yeah, this is not THAT kind of attack.

Dragons are mythical creatures, but just what IF there was a complete dragon takeover?

Our friends over at Shane Co. clearly have been watching the hit HBO show, and they put together some data on the what-ifs of this really happening.

"While dragons are (almost certainly) not real, we decided to play a little “what if…” and map out the regions of the U.S. where they would be most likely to thrive," Shane Co. said in their research. "From habitats to food sources to treasure hotspots, we considered it all."

There's really good news for those of us in North Carolina, it turns out dragons would mostly flock to the western part of the United States.

"When considering the most ideal areas of the U.S. for a dragon to make their home, it’s important to know a few things. Dragons would favor areas of high elevation, places with plenty of parkland and relatively low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a clean environment, and cities that don’t have many aviation facilities clogging up their airspace."

Shane Co. ranked a bunch of U.S. cities on where it would be best - or worst - to be a dragon. And that's where the good news comes for us here.

Let's take a look at some of the key rankings.

These cities all have pretty good protections against dragons, including military bases nearby, lots of fire stations and fewer places to hide out.

Dragon Friendliness Score: 35.80

Dragon Friendliness Score: 38.30

Dragon Friendliness Score: 41.10

Dragon Friendliness Score: 41.20

Dragon Friendliness Score: 41.40

But if you're a dragon looking for somewhere to party, these U.S. cities might be the best spots for you.

Dragon Friendliness Score: 70.60 (Just look at all those hiding spots!)

Dragon Friendliness Score: 70.30 (Would anyone even notice if a dragon was around in Vegas? That would be the least strange thing they saw that day.)

Dragon Friendliness Score: 67.20 (Clean western air, high elevation and low population. What more could a dragon ask for?)

Dragon Friendliness Score: 64.90 (While there are a lot of fire departments in Boise, there's not much else, and there's a lot of cattle. A dragon's dream.)

Dragon Friendliness Score: 64.90 (While the cost of living is high, Honolulu has lots of water nearby, and for some strange reason, a lot of jewelry stores.)