City Issues RFP To Privatize Coliseum Complex

The City of Greensboro issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on Thursday, August 10, for a private firm to manage the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.

Matt Brown, the Coliseum’s Managing Director who has held that position for many decades, is one of Greensboro’s most highly paid employees.

Mayor Nancy Vaughan said that sending out the RFP was “part of Matt’s succession plan.”

Brown, who has been the Coliseum’s managing director since 1994 (just short of 30 years), has expanded the facility to include the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, located in downtown Greensboro. Along with the arena’s 22,000 seats, the Coliseum Complex also includes the Novant Heath Fieldhouse, Greensboro Aquatic Centers, White Oak Amphitheaters, Odean Theaters, Special Events Centers, ACC Hall of Champions and The Terrace. Listed on the RFP are two facilities that don’t currently exist – a proposed downtown music hall and a proposed Greensboro soccer stadium

The RFP has a tight timeline, with a deadline of August 29 for written proposals and a City Council vote on November 6. The RFP states that the contract will last seven years, starting on July 1, 2024.

Greensboro City Council did not hold a working session or public meeting to discuss the RFP. However, Vaughan stated that the City Council will either have a meeting in which they work on the RFP or will do so at a meeting where the RFP is discussed.

City Councilmember Zack Matheny said about the proposal to have a private company operate the Coliseum Complex: “I know it has worked in other places, but there are a lot of questions that haven’t been answered.”

He added, “It’s rare to have a public entity manage a venue the size of the Coliseum Complex.”

Vaughan said, “I wouldn’t necessarily call this a done deal, but we decided to move forward with the RFP at this point.”