VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — If you have been on social media over the last week, you have probably seen discussions about the potential construction of an arena in Virginia Beach.
On Monday, News 3 spoke with Coleman Ferguson, the man spearheading what he calls the Virginia Beach Arena Project.
Monday morning, the website for the Virginia Beach Arena Project launched.
The proposal aims to bring a 20,000-seat arena to the city, which will host big-name artists and performances.
The initiative would be completely privately funded through community investment.
“Since this morning, we’ve had almost 5,000 site visits since 9 a.m.,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson, a Virginia Beach business owner, is advocating for this effort to bring an arena to the resort city.
His organization has released several renderings of the proposed arena, although no companies have finalized naming rights or an exact location yet.
Ferguson emphasized that this effort differs from the previous round of arena discussions in 2016.
“I have an idea to potentially let the residents of Virginia Beach have a piece of this arena, with zero taxpayer money paying for it,” he said.
Ferguson explained that he and others are looking to crowdfund the project, allowing residents to purchase shares for as little as $50.
However, the project could cost over $300 million, which Ferguson says has already generated significant interest.
“If you visit our website, you’ll be able to fill out some information and express your support for the project. If we receive a lot of interest in supporting this initiative—which we already have—that will be a big push for us to come together and raise the funds necessary to build this arena,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson mentioned that he has reached out to the NBA about potentially moving a team to Virginia Beach, but he stated that an arena must be built first.
He encouraged residents to keep an eye on the project’s progress by visiting the website.
