Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1029086
8 SEPTEMBER 19-25, 2018 Best of Fayetteville Best Local Community Project • Best Use of Local Tax Dollars (tied) • Worst Use of Local Tax Dollars Fayetteville Baseball Stadium & Entertainment Venue The new Fayetteville Astros baseball stadium and splash pads tied this year as best used of your tax dollars. (Read about the splash pads on page 17.) We agree. No doubt about it! In addition, the baseball stadium also won Best Local Community Project. Again, we concur. However, the voting results also indi- cated a healthy skepticism among readers, as the stadium was also voted Worst Use of Local Tax dollars. This clearly indicates that many residents have mixed feelings about the project. Out of curiosity and to give us better insight into how people felt about the sta- dium, Up & Coming Weekly made it a point to interview dozens of local residents to ask how they felt about it. Good news! Most everyone we talked to responded positively to the fact that we are getting a new stadium and our own Advanced Class-A Carolina League Fayetteville team. Locals were also well aware of the potential impact the overall project would have on the local economy. Two prevailing concerns were prominent during most of the conversations. First, does Fayetteville/Cumberland County have the leadership talent to successfully manage a project of this magnitude? Residents seem to be skepti- cal of downtown leadership, especially after the Tyrone Williams incident. Second, after it is built and the newness has worn off, the haunting question is: Can the community actually financially support the $37.8 million stadium and its 4,786 seats? This basically referred to the social and economic demo- graphics of the Fayetteville and Cumberland County area. Either way, it's happening. It's been a little over a year since the city of Fayetteville and the Houston Astros hosted a groundbreaking ceremony last August. The stadium construction is set to be complete for Opening Day in April 2019. And, it will have a $60 million plus impact on our local economy. That will be huge! It's fitting that the stadium was voted Best Local Community Project, as it will create many new opportunities for local area individuals and businesses. Renovations that are in the works in conjunction with the stadium include a parking deck, an office building and bringing the old Prince Charles Hotel back to life. CITY LIFE CITY LIFE know in the stay www.upandcomingweekly.com We can help you learn what is happening in and around Fayetteville! In print and online! 208 Rowan St. 910.484.6200