Coliseum gettng new scoreboard as NC budget sets aside $80 million for Guilford County
Guilford County's haul from the 2025-27 state budget? Nearly $80 million.
The $79.06 million is divided among 38 projects, concentrated in sports, entertainment and tourism, higher education and the local National Guard unit.
The budget provides a one-time $30 million grant to the Greensboro Sports Foundation for capital improvements or equipment at First Horizon Coliseum.
Other notable grants from the state:
The $30 million state grant will pay for coliseum upgrades, such as a new scoreboard, capital improvements to the Greensboro Aquatic Center and Novant Health Fieldhouse, kitchen renovations and significant upgrades to the heating and cooling equipment, said Andrew Brown, director of Public Relations & Communications for the complex.
The grant "will continue capital improvement projects at the complex that are over and above the currently in progress improvements being funded by the city," Brown said.
The $30 million grant from the state budget comes on the heels of a nearly identical funding request by the city of Greensboro to the state's Local Government Commission.
The city asked for nearly $30 million in limited-obligation bonds, and the Local Government Commission approved the request in March. Of the $29.8 million total, $20.4 million is earmarked for coliseum upgrades. Limited obligation bonds are a type of municipal bond generally secured by a limited source of revenue and do not require voter approval.
Brown said 75% of the $20.4 million city-funded projects have been bid and are underway ay at the complex. These include:
Remaining city-funded projects include renovations to the coliseum backstage area, exterior site work and exterior building repair.
"All of the improvements are being done to upgrade the Coliseum Complex so we can remain competitive with other venues as we continue to pursue events and serve as one of this region's most significant economic impact generators," Brown said.
The city said the $20.4 million in taxable bonds for the coliseum would help pay for improvements and retrofits to host sporting and other events, including the 2027 men's ACC Basketball Tournament.
A portion of the remaining $8.9 million in tax-exempt bonds would be used to improve the city's service garage and to address contaminated, hazardous and unsuitable soils at that site.
Guilford Technical Community College broke ground in 2025 on a $34.6 million, 70,000-square-foot aviation center on its Cameron campus, which opened in 2014 just northwest of Greensboro.
The training center is projected to be finished in the spring of 2027.
The new campus will house the college's aviation programs, including aviation manufacturing and avionics programs.
The training center is the first of two planned 70,000-square-foot buildings, which will increase Guilford Tech's aviation education capacity by 40%, allowing the college to serve more than 700 students annually, officials said.
Guilford County is providing $11.1 million toward the aviation center project.
The center has already received $15 million in direct state funding from the state legislature, as well as another $8.5 million in state funding allocated to Guilford Tech for the aviation center.
Phase two has a projected capital investment of $60 million to add a second building and a parking structure next to the first building.
At that point, Guilford Tech will be able to educate at least 1,000 students in aviation and aerospace manufacturing annually.
Guilford Tech President Anthony Clarke has said the aviation training programs "emphasize practical, in-demand skills, including aircraft systems repair, composite material manufacturing, flight operations and quality control."
"This approach not only equips graduates to excel in their careers, but also strengthens the region's reputation as a hub for aviation innovation and excellence."
Clarke said a catalyst for the latest training center is meeting the workforce needs of current Triad aviation companies, such as HAECO, Honda Aircraft, Boom Supersonic, Marshall Aerospace USA and JetZero.
The budget compromise includes language from the Senate version addressing the Cheatham-White Scholarship program that doubles the number of participating N.C. A&T students.
The budget triples the number of annual scholarships at A&T from 50 to 150. The breakdown is 120 in-state and 30 out-of-state scholarships.
The program's legislation includes annual funding of between $3.1 million and $3.5 million.
The merit scholarship program was established by the state legislature in 2016 and partially funded by state lawmakers in 2017. N.C. A&T contributes money to the scholarships.
The program honors two African American Republican lawmakers - Henry P. Cheatham and George H. White - who served two terms in Congress in the 1890s.
The scholarship covers four years of tuition and fees, housing, meals, textbooks and other supplies. It also pays for a laptop and four summers' worth of extra opportunities, which could include international study and travel.
Financial need is not a basis for consideration.
Expectations for recipients include: maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 each year; enrolling full-time each semester and earning at least 30 credit hours each academic year; and maintaining membership and active participation in the Honors College.
The legislature has agreed to sell the residence of the N.C. A&T State University chancellor for $1 to the university's Real Estate Foundation.
The 5,510-square-foot residence is located at 4000 Hazel Lane, a 0.56-acre lot in the Irving Park neighborhood. It contains four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The property is valued at $997,400, according to the Guilford County GIS website.
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This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 9:39 AM.