Bon Secours Wellness Arena design team presents DRB-approved updates; amphitheater, marshaling yard and promenade highlighted

Beth Paul, representing the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, told the council the arena design recently received approval from the design review board and that staff continue to refine related site elements for the amphitheater and campus.

“We’re really excited about the expanded marshaling yard,” Paul said, noting the yard is roughly double its current size and should reduce truck stacking on North Academy and improve first-responder access. She described design goals as being a community partner, demonstrating financial stewardship, improving safety and wellness, honoring the site’s history, and strengthening connectivity.

Paul walked council through the site plan, highlighting a new promenade for community staging and queuing, increased ingress and egress points to reduce crowding, and material selections meant to reference Greenville (she singled out tall wooden columns and glass that evoke the river and tree canopy). She said both buildings would be able to share back-of-house operations: “Both buildings will be served out of one kitchen,” Paul said, describing how shared spaces could support large events that need extra capacity.

On the amphitheater scale, presenters described a boutique urban venue of approximately 6,900 seats and compared it to existing facilities in the region (Red Hat in Raleigh, the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville and other 6,000–8,000-seat urban amphitheaters) to illustrate market fit. The team emphasized there is still design work to do for the amphitheater and adjacent surface parking options, including evaluating a motor court and plaza at the city lot/GAB lot area.

Councilmembers asked detailed follow-ups on orientation, acoustics, accessibility and ride-share logistics. On acoustics, Paul said Metro Acoustics produced preliminary findings that are being refined by project engineers and that architectural measures and sound-system recommendations will be used to reduce off-site noise. “Those results have been turned over to our engineer,” she said.

Councilmembers also asked about accessible drop-off and ride-share zones; Paul said the proposed Front Street North carve-out for ride-share pick-up/drop-off is not being reduced and accessibility remains a top priority as site plans advance.

The presenter said arena design development should conclude this summer, while the amphitheater and broader site remain in schematic design and will return to the design-review process for additional approvals. Staff signaled continued coordination with city departments as plans are refined and asked council to identify any outstanding concerns ahead of subsequent DRB and permitting steps.

The council thanked the team and then moved on to the next agenda item.