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/1499903
8 UCW MAY 24 - 30, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Minor League Baseball recently announced plans for a fundraising campaign during the 2023 season in support of the Ameri- can Cancer Society. e "Hope At Bat" program will consist of four "Do- nation Days" across the country, where on-field performance by players will generate donations to the ACS. e "Hope At Bat" campaign's donation days will be on Mother's Day (May 14), Father's Day (June 18), the Fourth of July, and September 3. On Mother's Day, every strikeout in a MiLB game was worth $10 to the ACS as part of "Strike Out Breast Can- cer Day" across the 60 MiLB games. On Father's Day (June 18), each home run hit in the 60 MiLB games will be worth $100 to the ACS as part of "Knocking Cancer Out of the Park Day" to fight prostate and colorectal cancer. On the Fourth of July, every double hit in the Minor Leagues will be worth $50 to the ACS as part of "Doubling Down on Sun Safety Day." On September 3, MiLB clubs will join Major League Baseball clubs in support of Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. For every run scored in the Minor Leagues that day, MiLB will donate $15 to the ACS as part of "Give Every Child a Chance to Run Day." Woodpeckers fans can look for- ward to the home game on June 18 to cheer on the team as they play to raise money for the ACS. For more than 100 years, the Ameri- can Cancer Society has been improv- ing the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support. To learn more, visit cancer.org. For more information about the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, please visit www.fayettevillewoodpeckers.com. MLB launches 2023 Campaign with American Cancer Society a STAFF REPORT NEWS FAST to reinstate fares July 1 a STAFF REPORT Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST) will reinstate collection of fares for all fixed route and paratransit services on July 1 after suspending collecting fares in response to the CO- VID-19 pandemic in March 2020. "FAST was among many transit agencies in the nation to suspend fares in order to limit unnecessary in- teractions between riders and opera- tors," said FAST Director Tyffany Neal. Over the past three years, FAST worked tirelessly to keep both employees and passengers safe by implementing new safety measures and procedures such as rear door boarding and sanitizing vehicles and facilities daily. FAST will begin selling passes on June 1. Riders can purchase passes at the Transit Center located at 505 Franklin Street. Some Carlie C's locations will also sell FAST passes, however, options are limited to 5-Day, 5-Day Discount, 30-Day, 30-Day Dis- count, 30-Day Youth and Summer Fun Passes. e four Carlie C's locations are Eutaw, Bordeaux, Reilly Road and Cedar Creek. Riders should have their fares prepared prior to boarding the bus and provide exact change as operators cannot handle cash and make change. City of Fayetteville employees can continue to ride fare free by displaying their City identification badge. FAST is encouraging staff and customers to wear masks in FAST facilities and vehicles, however it is not mandatory. Providing excellent service and maintaining the health and safety of our staff, operators and passengers continue to be our priorities as FAST strives to be a choice mode of trans- portation, Neal said. Visit www.RideFAST.net for more information. Download the free TransLoc Rider app to see buses mov- ing in real-time, see the location and heading of buses in their vicinity and get accurate arrival predictions. Board approves Crown Event Center concept design by BEN SESSOMS, CityView Today e Cumberland County Board of Com- missioners unanimously approved a concept design for the new Crown Event Center on May 15, completing another step toward the $131.7 million multipurpose center that will replace the Crown eater and Arena. e three-story center, which will be in down- town Fayetteville, includes a two-story lobby with a rooftop terrace facing Gillespie Street; an event hall that can accommodate 3,000 people; meeting and events space; and VIP spaces, ac- cording to the newly approved concept design. e $131.7 million price tag is higher than the initial estimate in the early planning stages for the center, but the facility is now projected to be larger than originally planned — 131,500 square feet versus the original 89,000. Inflation has driven up the price as well, according to a news release from the county. "When escalation is taken into account, the cost per square foot between the original and approved budgets is similar," the release said. County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe noted in an interview with CityView that the budget for the new center will not increase taxes for county residents. "is is going to be funded through the local occu- pancy tax dollars and the food and beverage tax dol- lars. So, no bonds, no additional revenue sources, no tax increases that need to come out for all this. e funding model that we've stayed within throughout this entire process allows for food and beverage and local occupancy tax to take care of these projects," Keefe said. e new center will not be like the traditional performing arts center, Keefe said. "It's what we're calling an entertainment center that has a lot of flex space in it," he said. Keefe said the larger space will allow the center to accommodate community events and not just tour- ing acts that are typically seen in other cities across North Carolina, such as Durham Performing Arts Center. "ere's not many events that the community can be involved in. With that facility, it's usually national touring acts that come in. Well, this will truly be a community center. ere'll be op- portunities for lots of folks to be able to use this center," Keefe said. And it's not just the center itself for Keefe. e commissioner called the venue an "economic multiplier" for downtown businesses. "e location should be able to enhance the existing businesses of downtown, but more im- portantly, should also be able to allow for expan- sion of new businesses and property around the center," Keefe said. "Whenever people come and decide to move here and move their family here, we can come in downtown, and we can show where we have a state-of-the-art baseball stadium. And now we're going to have a state-of-the-art, very modern event center that will have a lot of different things going on for families," Keefe continued. "We're really pretty excited about it." Earlier this year, the county approved construc- tion managers for the project, CityView reported. Construction of the center is estimated to begin early next year, and the venue is set to open by No- vember 2025. e Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved a concept design for the new Crown Event Center. (Image courtesy Cumberland County) BEN SESSOMS, CityView Today. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com 910-484-6200.