Robeson Ag Complex

by Bob Shiles, Staff Writer The Robesonian

LUMBERTON — After almost two decades of planning for a Robeson County facility capable of providing for equestrian events, groundbreaking for a multi-purpose pavilion was held Tuesday at the Southeastern North Carolina Agricultural Center/Farmers Market.

That accomplished, the wait for additional work will continue.

“This is great for the equine industry, Robeson County and surrounding counties,” said Cecil Jackson, past president of the Borderbelt Horseman Association. “It will be a great facility for all kinds of events. I’d like to see it used for youth camps, and maybe serve as a training center for the university if an equestrian program is developed. Maybe some day it will even grow to be large enough for national events. Maybe even the Olympics.”

The project is moving forward because a recent $1.29 million allocation from the state Golden LEAF Foundation has been added to the $3.7 million that the state made available in its budget two years ago.

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is overseeing construction of the pavilion, which is to become part of the state-owned agricultural complex. The need for an arena to hold horse shows and other livestock events has been floated for years as a way to make the agricultural complex, located just outside Lumberton, self-supporting.

“This is going to be the economic engine that drives the region,” Steve Troxler, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, told the large gathering of state and local officials and Robeson County residents.

“We want to continue to develop this center ... I look forward to seeing this project get off the ground.”

Troxler said that the project represents $5 million in investment. At 54,000 square feet, the metal structure will be larger than the 44,000-square-foot expo building located at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh, he said.

According to the commissioner, the pavilion will provide seating for 900 at equestrian events. The building will have heat and air conditioning, and feature a portable floor system that can be placed over a dirt floor to provide for other events, such as trade shows, concerts, corporate events, and even high school proms.

Although the groundbreaking was Tuesday, bids for construction of the facility will not go out until the fall, with actual construction not beginning until the end of the year.

Brian Long, a spokesperson for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, called the early groundbreaking ceremony as “symbolic.”

“We’re so pleased to have the funding in place,” Long said. “When you get partnerships working together like this, you need to celebrate ... . There is a passionate commitment in this community to get this building done.”

A number of county and state officials advanced to the podium to tout the pavilion as a boost to the region’s efforts to develop and expand agri-tourism.

“I would hope that the state will endorse a super horse complex,” said former state Sen. David Weinstein, who was instrumental in obtaining the state funding for the facility. “I hope that the site of such a complex could be along the I-95 and I-74 corridor because of its location between New York and Miami, and Detroit and Charleston, S.C.”

Weinstein said that a study of the equine industry in North Carolina was done in the Senate last year.

“This is an industry waiting to be developed,” he said. “At one time there were more horse farms in North Carolina than in Kentucky ... . I hope to some day see a derby started in North Carolina that will rival the Kentucky Derby.”

David Stephenson, who serves as one of two Robeson County representatives on the Golden LEAF board of directors, told the crowd that he also has a vision of a booming economy driven by the presence of the new multi-purpose pavilion at the complex.

“I see hotels, restaurants and jobs, he said. “All of the business people in Robeson County are going to benefit.”

State Rep. Ronnie Sutton credited the hard work of county horse enthusiasts since 1993 for the pavilion becoming a reality.

“I know for a fact that there are people in Robeson County who wanted to have houses built on this site,” Sutton said. “... But the horse enthusiasts kept their shoulders to the wheel. They worked it out.”

“I see jobs, money and pleasure for horse enthusiasts,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

Greg Cummings, Robeson County’s industrial and economic developer, said the pavilion will “definitely” help sell the area.

“It will definitely be a marketing tool for restaurants, hotels, and even industry,” Cummings said. “Three of the county’s six industrial sites sit close by.”

After the ceremony, Arnold West, chairman of the Lumberton Tourism Development Authority, said that he believes construction of the pavilion will “lay the platform” that will enhance the county’s entire economy.

“We’ve never had a better opportunity than this to show what Lumberton and the county have to offer,” West said. “We are truly an undeveloped Eden.”




Article courtesy the Robesonian newspaper: www.robesonian.com