Thousands of questions still need to be addressed, but those who spoke about plans to replace the Crown Theatre and Arena appeared to have answered a big one -- when the pair of old- and out-of-date facilities close in 2025, something bigger and more visionary needs to fill the void.
Dating to the late 1960s, the Crown Arena often was home to rock and roll royalty, with its crowning achievement an August 1976 three-night stand by the King himself, Elvis Presley.
In the days before larger venues were built in Charlotte, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, Fayetteville’s Crown Arena, conveniently located near I-95 and with thousands of young servicemembers to help fill seats - was a regular stop for many top national acts.
But just as the once-fresh-faced music stars have added a touch of gray, so did the theater and arena. In 1997, a bigger act came to town when a 10,000-seat coliseum replaced the old arena as the main space for sports events at a then five-venue Crown Complex. The arena still served Fayetteville well as a niche location for events ranging from exhibitions and banquets, to rodeos, circuses, basketball and wrestling. And the 2,500-seat theater has stayed busy with smaller concerts, Broadway touring productions and family entertainment.
But now nearly 60 years later, both facilities are coming to the end of long runs. Officials say the buildings have outlived their expected lifespans, require more and more maintenance, are not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and, perhaps most important for economic viability, do not have the modern amenities needed to draw the top acts that, in turn, draw the big crowds.
So when the curtain falls at those two venerable venues, should they be replaced? And if so, by what? And then there’s the $1 million question -- where?
On Wednesday night, the general public got a sneak-preview of where this show may be headed. Spectra Venue Management, which manages the Crown Complex for the county, presented a wide-ranging market and financial feasibility study conducted recently by  Conventions, Sports and Leisure International (CSL). The firm provides focused research and expertise in the sports, entertainment, hospitality and leisure industries.
Although the 200-page report was meant to provide a high-level look, all signs pointed to a new single multi-use facility that not only would complement the three remaining Crown facilities.
"The coliseum, expo center and ballroom are expected to continue normal operations once the arena and theatre close,” according to Sally Shutt, assistant county manager for strategic management and governmental affairs.
"The recommendation is to build a flexible-use facility with multi-functional floor space that can be configured to accommodate a variety of events," Shutt told the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal on Friday. Such a facility would host events like theater productions and sporting showcases.
"Roller Derby, basketball and the circus are events that a multi-purpose event center would be unable to accommodate,” Shutt said. ”Those types of events could shift to the coliseum."
The proposal also ensures the facility would be unique among the nearby competition, such as Durham’s DPAC and Raleigh’s Duke Energy Center.
As one of the audience members at the presentation noted, the Crown Theatre has been a great venue but “It's antiquated. It doesn't have an elevator. It’s old and it’s on life support.”
The speaker said when the 2,700-seat Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) opened in 2008 as the largest performing arts center in the Carolinas, it immediately began drawing world-class acts … and drawing audience members from the Fayetteville area.
“If you bring something similar to DPAC here, to downtown, this could stimulate something,” the speaker said.
And speaking of downtown, the location of a new facility quickly shot to the top of audience questions. Officials with both Spectra Venue Management and CSL consulting said looking for an exact location was not part of the study’s goals, only general areas that would be practical and also support the best utilization.
The study honed in on three areas: the current Crown Complex and downtown lead the way, and then there was less enthusiasm for the Outer Loop/I-295 area. The study also found that the existing Food and Beverage tax represents the most viable means of funding the cost of a new replacement multi-purpose venue.  
The study’s current recommendation is to build an 89,000-square-foot multi-purpose venue with a maximum capacity of 2,500 people. The estimated cost, in 2021 dollars, would be $75-$80 million and does not include the purchase of land.
The issue will next be taken up by the county commissioners.
The 200-page full report is available at www.tinyurl.com/cmpmbv63 and a 28-page summary can be found at tinyurl.com/d2cr5edu