Wake County has a big ole pot of money—$56 million, to be exact. It’s called the interlocal fund and county officials can choose to use it not for housing or for roads, but only for arts, culture, sports or convention related, tourism-promoting projects. In the fall, the county put out a call for information on planned or proposed projects; with timelines ranging from 2019 to 2024, they would ideally cost at least $20 million, and could potentially request use of interlocal funds. Eight organizations responded to the county’s request for information; here, we break down who’s vying for the funds and what for.
City of Raleigh
Raleigh Convention Center
Project: Expansion of Raleigh Convention Center, including adding new headquarters hotel.
Purpose: Accommodate additional, larger events and visitors to the area.
Estimated cost: $225 to $275 million.
North Carolina Football Club
Proposed Downtown Entertainment and Sports Center
Project: Downtown Entertainment and Sports Center – A 22,000-seat entertainment and sports center in downtown Raleigh with office, hotel, retail and multi-family residential space.
Purpose: Secure a bid for a Major League Soccer franchise/provide additional space for sports and entertainment events.
Estimated cost: $150 million, or $11 million per year for 30 years beginning in fiscal year 2022.
Friends of Raleigh Wake
Project: City County Stadium Project – A public stadium in Southeast Raleigh for football, soccer, lacrosse and track to hold 8,000 people.
Purpose: Fill the gap of the ballpark previously located on Peace Street between West Street and Capital Boulevard.
Estimated cost: $249,000.
Town of Cary
Project: Indoor multiuse sports facility to include basketball courts, space for E-sports, arena with 4,000+ seats surrounding a center court, concession and dining areas, storage space for athletes and faculty, meeting/classroom space.
Purpose: Strengthen Wake’s competitive position as a sports tourism destination, and attract more large-scale sports events and tournaments to drive overnight visitation.
Estimated cost: Construction: $88.2 to $100.8 million; soft costs: $26.5 to $30.2 million.
William Peace University
William Peace University
Project: A 12,000 square foot performing arts center including a 600-seat auditorium and black box theater.
Purpose: Accommodate planned university performances and offer more usage to the local theater and performing arts community.
Estimated cost: $30 to $32 million.
North Carolina Museum of Art
North Carolina Museum of Art
Project: East Building renewal project with a new education and conservation center, collaborative work environments, redistributed libraries and a park level connected to the festival lawn, amphitheater and Museum Park, a conservation lab and art resource center.
Purpose: Foster creative work environments, provide connections between art and the science of conservation and support public programs.
Estimated cost: $25 to $30 million.
Centennial Authority
Proposed renovation of PNC Arena
Project: Renovation/expansion of PNC Arena, adding hospitality spaces, a rooftop bar/restaurant, multiple club and concession spaces, office and meeting spaces and an enlarged plaza space.
Purpose: Accommodate more fans/fan revenue, entertainment events and Carolina Hurricanes operations and management; showcase the region’s food and beverage culture.
Estimated cost: $200 to $300 million.
Marbles Kids Museum
Marbles Kids Museum
Project: Renovation and expansion adding about 55 to 60,000 feet of space.
Purpose: Achieve growth and be a key attractor to Wake County.
Estimated cost: $45 million.
According to Wake assistant county manager Denise Foreman, county staff is working through a review of the projects and no date has been set for recommendations that will be presented to stakeholders and then county and city leaders. “The recommendations won’t provide funding commitments to most of the responses,” Foreman said in email. “This was a request for information only and was not a process designed for making decisions on the projects outside of PNC Arena and the Raleigh Convention Center.”
Raleigh’s new Union Station yields the perfect excuse to take an Amtrak day trip to a nearby city, no car required. With stops in Cary, Durham, Greensboro, High Point and Charlotte, there are plenty of opportunities for adventure and new experiences to be had.
Greensboro, just an hour and 38 minutes from Raleigh by train, makes for a culturally invigorating excursion, and, with its J. Douglas Galyon Depot located right in downtown, you can fit in a full day’s worth of activities if you leave in the morning and catch the train back at night.
Within 20 minutes walking distance of the station, you’ll find many of Greensboro’s best restaurants, bars, museums and shops. Squeeze in breakfast, lunch and dinner interspersed with drinks from one of the city’s cocktail bars or breweries or learn a thing or two about Greensboro’s history touring the Civil Rights Museum. Get a taste of the local culture with a visit to a park, gallery or market for handcrafted local goods. But be sure to keep an alarm on your phone for when the final train back home departs because time chugs along when you’re having fun.
EAT
Chez Genèse (11 Min Walk)
Start your trip with breakfast at this contemporary French-inspired restaurant. Served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekdays and until 2 p.m. on weekends, offerings include traditional French pastries such as Pain au Chocolat, Jambon Beurre Baguette (ham and butter) and croissants; or try a heartier dish like strawberry crêpes, breakfast pizza and an omelet, egg scramble, crêpe or cocotte with fresh toppings. chezgenese.com
Liberty Oak (5 Min Walk)
A high-end American restaurant in the historic Vernon Building, the oldest building remaining in the Old Greensborough Historic District, Liberty Oak is a fine place to dine. For lunch, choose from a traditional menu of soups, salads and sandwiches, and for dinner, splurge on dishes like Scallop Linguine, Filet Mignon and Pecan Fried Chicken. libertyoakrestaurant.com
Cheesecakes by Alex (5 Min Walk)
When your midday sweet tooth hits, stop by Cheesecakes by Alex for a slice of handmade cheesecake. Choose from 20 year-round flavors, including Chocolate Brownie Turtle, White Chocolate Raz, Sweet Potato Soufflé and Creme Brûlée. The shop also offers layer cakes, assorted pastries and scoops of ice cream from Homeland Creamery. cheesecakesbyalex.com
1618 Downtown (5 Min Walk)
Just a couple of blocks from the train station, 1618 boasts a menu of diverse offerings for “Happenin’ Hour,” a collection of light snacks and late lunch options, plus dinner. The dinner menu consists of both “little” and “big” dishes, allowing guests to split and share, including Korean BBQ wings, grilled chicken pizza and seared duck breast, as well as a Southern-style “meat and three” option with offerings of pork schnitzel, charred broccoli, parsnip coleslaw and more. 1618downtown.com
DRINK
The Green Bean (6 Min Walk)
A downtown staple for over a decade, the Bean offers coffee from nearby roasters Joe Van Gogh, plus scratch made breakfast and lunch items. Talented, friendly baristas craft specialty coffees and teas and the shop’s bright mural, retro decor and location on the ground floor of a historic building make it a pleasant place to spend a morning. gsobean.coffee
M’Coul’s Public House (7 Min Walk)
For a good ‘ole pint of beer stop by M’Coul’s, an authentic Irish pub complete with a hefty drink menu including Guinness, craft brews, signature cocktails and more. The Celtic-themed space consists of an upstairs and downstairs bar, plenty of tables and a gorgeous outdoor patio to enjoy drinks on a warm spring day, plus a full Irish-American pub menu.mcoulspub.com
Horigan’s House of Taps (10 Min Walk)
Greensboro’s only self serve bar lets guests taste and pour their own from a selection of 48 rotating taps of craft beer, cider and wine. You’ll find both national and local brews including lagers, IPAs, porters, saisons and more. Perks of taking the train: you can drink as much as you want without worrying about driving back home. horiganstaps.com
Dram & Draught (16 Min Walk)
We all know and love the Dram & Draught in Raleigh, so make a stop at the Greensboro location for a whole different lineup of craft cocktails. The bar retains the same casual sophistication with a vibrant liquor selection stacked high on the back wall, leather bar stools and a spacious outdoor patio. dramanddraught.com/greensboro
DO
Boxcar Arcade (11 Min Walk)
Your favorite bar arcade also has a Greenboro location with more than 100 old-school arcade games, pinball machines, interactive games like air hockey and skeeball, and game consoles. Along with fresh popcorn, Greensboro’s Boxcar has an outdoor pizza kitchen which serves up 12-inch wood-fired pies. The full bar has 24 rotating craft brews on draft and drink specials every day. theboxcarbar.com/greensboro
International Civil Rights Center and Museum (6 Min Walk)
The International Civil Rights Museum celebrates the nonviolent protests of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement with permanent and seasonal exhibitions. “The Battlegrounds,” the museum’s permanent exhibit, takes visitors back in time through pictures, artifacts, video reenactments and interactive activities.sitinmovement.org
Elsewhere (10 Min Walk)
Elsewhere is a fascinating creative space set in a former thrift store that’s “part residency, school, playground, meeting ground, theater, project space, and laboratory for creative ideas,” with opportunities for living museum tours, workshops and volunteering. Explore eclectic installations within the main exhibit space, then venture outside to The Yard, a green space designed and planted by the Greensboro Permaculture Guild. goelsewhere.org
LaBauer Park (9 Min Walk)
Catch a breath of fresh air at LaBauer Park on the 17,000-square foot grass lawn. The park also features a playground, dog park, ping pong and foosball tables, a sculptural sensory wall, interactive fountains and the Janet Echelman aerial sculpture “Where We Met.” Three cafés—Ghassan’s, Café Europa and PorterHouse Burger Company—offer breakfast and lunch. facebook.com/LeBauerPark
The company Volta Atelier, which means “to give back” in Portuguese, sells beautiful, hand-stitched leather handbags using 100-percent upcycled, discarded scrap leather sourced from accessories factories, meaning no two bags are exactly alike. Talented women refugees from Haiti, who now live in southern Brazil, craft each unique design, named for different places around the world, for the brand. Designs feature a variety of colors and styles that are “not always classic, not always flashy, but every single time unique,” according to the company. At Raleigh’s Main & Taylor, you’ll receive a tag signed by the artisan who made the bag with each one you purchase. In supporting Volta Atelier’s commitment to minimizing waste and giving back to communities in need, snagging one of its pretty purses, bags or clutches ensures that you’re contributing to a good cause while rocking a piece that’s stylish and totally unique. mainandtaylorshoes.com
Basses dropped. Fans screamed. Mud sploshed. Microphones blared with the music of 19 incredible artists. These were the sounds I experienced throughout the first-ever Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 6.
First of all, how amazing is it that J. Cole chose Raleigh, our home, as the location for this festival, bringing fans from out of the state, and even out of the country, to the City of Oaks?
If you had told me when I first moved here four years ago that J. Cole and 18 other famous rappers and hip-hop artists would perform live just 15 minutes away from my house, I would’ve said you were crazy.
After all, though, it was a crazygood experience. Walking through the entryway emblazoned with the festival’s signature logo and pink clouds on a blue backdrop, I felt as if I walked into another world, one made up of cheerful, untroubled, diverse fans who all came together to enjoy the same artists in one place.
J. Cole assembled an impressive lineup of well-known names, and some I’d never heard of before, to take the two stages—Rise and Shine—throughout the afternoon and into the night. Artists included Omen, Earthgang, Nelly, SZA, 21 Savage and Big Sean, to name just a few, with the final performance from J. Cole himself.
Each artist brought a renewed energy to the festival, delivering hits that longtime fans screamed the lyrics to, and new, never-before-heard songs that generated even more enthusiasm. Even while standing in the long concessions lines, fans danced along to the music pumping through speakers throughout the grounds.
By the time J. Cole appeared on stage around 11 p.m., it seemed as if all 40,000 people who bought tickets to the festival were crowded into one area in front of the Shine stage. It didn’t feel annoyingly packed in but more like I was part of an experience I could share only with this select group of people.
Before J. Cole began his set, he asked for the spotlights to be dimmed so he could take in the diverse crowd of people that had gathered together to watch him perform. He seemed in awe of the number of fans who came out to see him, reminiscing about his days before fame.
J. Cole’s set mixed popular hits and classics, while the crowd sang, swayed, jumped and raised arms in unison. At that point, I think it was the fans who were in awe.
The next day, with J. Cole’s setlist still playing on repeat in my head, I talked to Omen, a Chicago-based rapper, about what he thought of Dreamville Festival, which, he says, to put it frankly, “was a lot.”
“It was definitely amazing, but it felt like a culmination of a lot of emotions. Just because it’s nice that we’re getting attention and recognition now, it took a lot of years in the making to even get to this point where we’re on someone’s radar.”
Omen, who’s known J. Cole since he was 17 and J. Cole was 15, remembers when J. Cole first came up with the idea of the festival, a dream that took years to turn into a reality.
“It’s a good example for all of us in the label that if you really believe in yourself, you really believe in your vision and you put the work in, these things are possible,” says Omen.
That same dreamer mentality was clearly bestowed on all the fans who attended, especially us Raleighites who may have never expected Omen, J. Cole or any of the other performers to play in a music festival on this scale in our home city.
Says Omen, “It means a lot for, not only us, but the city and just the culture of hip-hop to know even a market that people may look at as maybe smaller has something to offer.”
The Carolina Mudcats are brewing up something exciting for the team’s 2019 baseball season, a change that will include spiffy new uniforms inscribed with a different name and colors—but for four night games only.
The Zebulon-based Minor League team will pay tribute to its Major League affiliate, the Milwaukee Brewers, by rebranding as the “Carolina Micro Brews” for select games, the first promotion of this type in the team’s history. In accordance with the branding, the team received fresh blue and yellow threads—inspired by the Brewers’ color scheme—adorned with the Mudcats logo and Micro Brews moniker, which features a hop flower dotting the “i” in the word Micro.
Patrick Ennis, the team’s director of promotions and fan experience, maintains that the new look not only spotlights the Mudcats’ parent organization, but links to the team’s home state as well. “It ties in locally with North Carolina being home to so many microbreweries and a great hub for the craft beer culture,” says Ennis. Additionally, an interlocking “M” and “B” will adorn new caps and the left sleeves of the players’ jerseys.
While the Mudcats’ first official game of the season takes place April 4 at Grainger Stadium against the Down East Wood Ducks, the Carolina Micro Brews will debut the new uniforms on April 13, on the home field at Five County Stadium, where the first 1,200 fans will receive a souvenir replica jersey. Micro Brews nights include May 9, June 6 and August 1; for the May game, the team will give away souvenir plastic beer steins, and, in August, beer bottle openers.
This exciting temporary team revamp comes as the Mudcats enter their 29th season of baseball. First established in 1991, the two-time Southern League Champions are the Carolina League, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. “We’re so excited to introduce this new Brewers-inspired look for the Mudcats this season,” says Ennis. “We, too, think it’s going to be a home run.”
To purchase tickets for the 2019 season and shop the new Micro Brews merchandise, visit carolinamudcats.com
