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Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Advisory Board

Orange County · Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Advisory board meeting Arts and public artAppointments and personnelBudget and appropriationsContracts and procurementEconomic development incentivesEthics and transparencyParks and recreationPublic facilities

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Withdrawn 5Board Meeting Schedule Discussion Motion withdrawn; alternative to be proposed in January

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

UNC's athletics department told the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau advisory board on November 20, 2024 that it is weighing seven options for the Dean E. Smith Center, including building a new arena at one of five sites. Simply repairing and maintaining the existing building would cost $150 million over twenty years.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The arena presentation drew most of the questions. UNC has surveyed more than 33,000 fans, and the answers were lopsided: 75 percent favored building new against 20 percent for renovation and 5 percent for repair and maintenance, with 80 percent wanting a new building on campus. The five candidate sites are the current location, two other main-campus options, the Bowles parking lot, Odum Village, and satellite locations at the Friday Center, which would be demolished, and Carolina North. Board members asked where the teams would play during construction, and were told conference games could go to Greensboro and Charlotte, non-conference games to Carmichael, or the Smith Center could stay open at reduced capacity through a renovation.

Members pressed on what an off-campus arena would do to Franklin Street businesses, which the project has held focus groups with, and on student traditions built around walking there after games. UNC said a new arena would compete for concerts and shows, and that seat rights are folded into the financial models. On Carolina North, the chancellor has commissioned committees on a master plan taking in housing, campus recreation and an arena, against enrollment growth.

The bureau's proposal to meet every other month rather than ten times a year did not survive the discussion. Staff argued it would allow fuller reports, cost less and improve attendance. Members raised the absence of any plan for matters arising between meetings, loss of momentum on partner collaboration, longer meetings, and a possible requirement for monthly budget reports. A motion to make the change was made, seconded and then withdrawn. The board asked staff to bring an alternative in January, built around meeting structure rather than frequency, with small group work sessions and the chair able to call meetings as needed.

On marketing, a survey on updating the logo to give the towns more equal weight split evenly, so any change waits for the new advertising agency the bureau is putting out to bid for FY25/26. The 2025 visitors guide goes to press for December delivery, shorter than last year's.

How the votes went

Minutes approved unanimously. A motion to move to bimonthly meetings was made, seconded and withdrawn after discussion.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (7)

Procedural · 2Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1Presentation · 1Discussion item · 1
  1. 1 Call to Order and Round Table Introductions
    Procedural Appointments and personnel
    Called to order at 8:09 a.m. at the Carolina Inn. New representatives from UNC and the Hillsborough Chamber were welcomed.
  2. 2 Approval of Minutes
    Minutes approval
    The October 16 minutes were approved unanimously.
  3. 3 Executive Director's Report
    Staff or committee report Arts and public artContracts and procurement
    A certificate of appreciation for six years of board service. On marketing: a survey on updating the logo to balance the towns split evenly, so a decision waits until the bureau chooses a new advertising agency for FY25/26 through a competitive bid. Paid search advertising is running in the tourism and meetings markets. The 2025 visitors guide goes to press for December delivery, fewer pages than last year but with the same coverage. The Carrboro brochure is being redone. Short video pieces have drawn 273,000 plays on Facebook. Staff described the Sheraton as the third largest meeting space in Orange County, and expect 2025 to be a normalized travel year with slow growth.
  4. 4 Carolina Athletics Capital Projects and Facilities: Future of the Dean E. Smith Center
    Presentation Economic development incentivesParks and recreationPublic facilities
    UNC athletics presented seven options for the Smith Center: repair and maintain at a twenty-year cost of $150 million, renovate, or build new at one of five sites, being the current location, two other main-campus options, the Bowles parking lot, Odum Village, or satellite locations at the Friday Center, which would be demolished, and Carolina North. A survey of more than 33,000 fans returned 75 percent for a new build, 20 percent for renovation and 5 percent for repair, with 80 percent wanting it on campus. Board members asked where teams would play during construction, what an off-campus site would do to Franklin Street businesses and student traditions, whether a new arena would host con…
  5. 5 Board Meeting Schedule Discussion
    Discussion item Budget and appropriationsEthics and transparency
    Staff proposed moving from ten meetings a year to every other month, arguing for fuller reports, lower costs and better attendance. Members raised the lack of a plan for matters arising between meetings, loss of collaboration momentum, longer meetings, and a possible requirement for monthly budget reports. A motion to change was made, seconded and withdrawn. The board asked for an alternative proposal in January focused on meeting structure rather than frequency, including a directive on subcommittees, small group work sessions, and letting the chair call meetings as needed.
    Motion withdrawn; alternative to be proposed in January
  6. 6 Partner Updates
    Staff or committee report Arts and public art
    The Arts Commission held its first dance performance and a holiday bazaar, and is closing the Paint It Orange exhibit. Hillsborough reported the Tarheel Antique Festival drawing out-of-state visitors and the Efland Christmas Festival beginning December 6. Other members reported sold-out performances, the Carolina Inn holiday market on December 8 and 15, and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Christmas parade on December 7.
  7. 7 Adjournment
    Procedural
    Adjourned at 9:32 a.m. The board next meets January 15, 2025.

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