VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Tuesday night, a town hall meeting was held to go over one Virginia Beach business owner's hope to build an arena in the Resort City.
"If my son is sleeping or if my wife is sleeping, I'm looking up information about arenas," said Coleman Ferguson, who announced his goal of building an arena in Virginia Beach back in July.
Since then, Ferguson’s group has filed with the state, received a business license, and is nearing the finish line in starting a regulated crowdfunding venture that caps at $5 million.
Ferguson said he aims to raise the funds needed to get the project off the ground without relying on city financing.
"If we do that plan, we will raise $5 million, and with that $5 million, we would use it to acquire land and fund architects to hit the ground running," he explained.
As of Tuesday, Ferguson has not accepted any donations for the project yet.
He clarified that as crowdfunding begins, they plan to move through tiers over time until reaching approximately $700 million.
"We’ve already talked to potential investors and hedge funds, and potential people that want to be involved in this project," Ferguson said. "If you raise this $5 million, we will have an open checkbook to move forward."
While several renderings have been shown, Ferguson envisions placing the arena next to the Virginia Beach Convention Center on 19th Street.
He said the arena would need about 8 acres, and he's hoping to lease the land from the city.
"We're finishing our proposal that we're submitting to the City of Virginia Beach before October 20, and that's going to be our final proposal to build this arena down on 19th Street," Ferguson said.
To be clear, this idea has not received approval or funding from the city.
Ferguson mentioned that he has met with Mayor Bobby Dyer, and at Tuesday's town hall, District Seven Councilman Cash Green shared his thoughts about the arena proposal.
"I'm very excited that this is going to be presented to the City Council," Green said. "First and foremost, we’ve got to think about how we can keep our tax rate low. I always think if we're thinking ahead five, ten, to fifteen years ahead, then I think we have the council's attention, and this is going to do that."
Ferguson stated they have reached out to the NBA about possibly bringing a team to the resort city for this arena.
He mentioned that initially, the arena would focus on hosting events and concerts.
