Cary voters rejected a new stadium. What happens to the $75 million promised for it?
Cary voters rejected plans to build a 4,000-seat indoor stadium and sports complex.
The town planned to spend $75 million in county tourism money and more than half of a $560 million Cary parks bond on the ballot last fall to pay for the project.
Now, those plans have stalled — voters rejected the bond 55% to 45% — and town leaders want the tourism money to go to the WakeMed Soccer Park instead.
“With the failed bond and the sports center not coming on, there were discussions and WakeMed really seemed to fit the bill, and so now we’ll find out if Wake County and others agree,” said John Collins, Cary’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources director.
Cary Town Manager Sean Stegall sent a letter to Wake County requesting the change. The Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council decide how tourism money is spent.
Wake County tourism
Wake County taxes the sale of prepared food and beverages and hotel stays. That money can only be used to promote and support tourism.
The $300 million renovation of the Lenovo Center and $355 million to expand the Raleigh Convention Center were two of the largest projects approved for tourism money in 2023.
Another $75 million was also designated for an indoor sports facility.
A 10-year tourism plan for Wake County released in 2018 included an indoor multisport complex that would “elevate Wake County’s profile as a competitive sport tourism destination.” Cary was the only entity to submit a proposal for it in 2019.
Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, declined to be interviewed but said in a statement there is still a need for the indoor complex.
“However, in order to get that kind of venue moving forward again, there would need to be a new [request for proposal] process to determine if there are any municipalities and/or private investors interested in developing such a facility,” he said.
“Whether it will be used for upgrades to the WakeMed Soccer Park or another tourism-related project will ultimately be decided by the City and County,” he continued. “I’m sure there are additional projects that would also like to receive funding consideration as well.”
That city and county discussion would likely happen later this year.
WakeMed Soccer Park
WakeMed Soccer Park opened in 2002 on state-owned land, with the town of Cary responsible for maintenance and operations. The last major expansion was to bring the stadium to 10,000 seats in 2012.
“WakeMed drives a ton of economic development,” Collins said. “We have a good variety, everything from the host for two professional soccer teams all the way down to hosting local high school football and local youth practices out there, as well as cross country meets and NCAA soccer, lacrosse. So it’s a really versatile facility that we leverage in a lot of unique ways.”
There’s a lot the town could do in “upfitting and rehabbing” the park, he said.
“The bones are good,” Collins said. “We need a little more indoor space. We need some improved media spaces. We need some improved seats. But the basics of it are really good.”
Bond failures
Collins agreed that the area would benefit from an indoor stadium like the one Cary wanted to build.
“We took our shot at it,” he said. “I don’t think it was the right time for us, clearly, because that’s what our citizens told us when they voted on the bond.”
Last year’s bond failure was one of five bonds that failed across the state in 2024. Three occurred in Wake County.
Voters rarely reject bonds.
A blog post from the UNC School of Government found 202 out of 213 bonds (94.8%) were approved by North Carolina voters between 2012 to 2022.
In 2023, the $60 million Fuquay-Varina Parks and Recreation bond was the only bond in North Carolina to fail.
