Commissioners have put out a nine-question survey to get public input on what to do with the empty site.
If you live in Fayetteville or Cumberland County, click here to fill out the survey.
Commissioners voted 5 to 2 on June 4, 2025, to stop all construction. That vote came three months after plans were paused for review by a law firm.
After it stopped work on construction, the board said it will pursue a full renovation and modernization of the existing Crown Complex. The county manager was then directed to develop a plan and framework for the redevelopment of the Crown Arena and Theater.
Crown Center Timeline
November 2022 - Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approves the Dick Street parking lot as the new site for the Crown Event Center. The board has also voted to deem EwingCole as the architect for the project.
May 2023 - The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approves a new concept design for the Crown Event Center in Fayetteville. The complex will be made of five venues and will include a two-story lobby, a rooftop terrace facing Gillespie Street, a main event hall that will be able to hold 3,000 attendees, meeting and event spaces on the first floor, and new VIP spaces.
January 2024 - Cumberland County commissioners just settled on the final designs for the facility. The community has mixed reactions after the unveiling.
March 2025 - The Board of Commissioners in Cumberland County confirmed they are pausing work on the Crown Event Center for 30 days to conduct a third-party review.
April 2025 - As the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners considers a new Crown Event Center in downtown Fayetteville, some businesses hope commissioners stick to the plan after a brief halt in construction in March added uncertainty about its future.
June 2025 - Entire project scrapped dashing hopes and dreams for downtown business owners.
SEE ALSO | Downtown Fayetteville business owners weigh in on the new Crown Event Center getting canceled.
June 2025 - Cumberland County officials say they're charting the next steps to revitalize the Crown Complex--but they also have to decide what to do with the parking lot in downtown Fayetteville that they originally razed for the project.
July 2025 - Cumberland County says $36 million in taxpayer money has already been spent on the scrapped Crown Event Center project. They're trying to figure out how much of that money can be recouped. The vacant lot in downtown Fayetteville, next to the county courthouse, was set to become the site of the new event center.
SEE ALSO | 'State of the Community' offers snapshot of progress and opportunity in Cumberland County