The City of High Point has received approval from the North Carolina Local Government Commission to fund construction of a multi-use stadium downtown.
The city already paid $15 million for the land, located at the corner of Church and Pine streets. It needs another $36 million for the stadium, which will be sourced from property tax revenue from development surrounding the facility.
Officials broke ground on the stadium’s site Dec. 1. They were joined by more than a hundred local residents as workers demolished the existing structure that formerly served as a doctor’s office.
“It’s an exciting time. It’s a turning point for our city,” said city councilman Jason Ewing. “Finally, after a lot of talk about revitalization, we are going to see some heavy machinery start tearing down buildings and watch what is going to be built here over the next year and a half.”
The multi-use stadium will include 3,800 fixed seats and another 1,200. Its major tenant will be an Atlantic League baseball team, which will play more than 70 home games annually. However, the facility also has the capacity to host concerts, banquets and other sports such as soccer, football and lacrosse. It is slated for completion by the spring of 2019.
A number of new buildings are also expected to rise around the stadium. More than 200 new residential units, a new hotel and 120,000 sq. ft. of restaurants and retail will be constructed. The stadium’s master developer Dr. Nido Qubein will collaborate with developers of such projects to facilitate growth in the area.