Center to hold open house
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on March 21, 2016 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro Event Center will mark its official opening on April 5 with an open house event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The event is open to the public and there will be no fee to attend. Ed's Southern Food and Spirits, Logan's Roadhouse, Chef Herb's Bistro and Lane Tree will provide food for the event, though the event center staff is still seeking more vendors to cater the event. Any vendors interested in providing food or other services for the open house can contact the event center staff at 919-583-8432.
"Obviously, we're selling the space," said Paramount Theatre Director Sherry Archibald. "People will be free to walk around and view the center. We have several restaurants donating food, we'll have music and we'll have several things set up so people can see examples of what spaces can potentially look like."
All rental requests for the center are currently being routed through the Paramount Theatre until the event center opens.
Mrs. Archibald said 18 people have already been given tours of the Goldsboro Event Center in anticipation of its opening.
The center's first event has already been booked, also, for Sunday, April 3. The event will be a church anniversary luncheon, held only two days before the center officially opens.
Mrs. Archibald said she believes the event center will be primarily rented out for weddings, though the center has been receiving a large number of requests to be rented out for family reunions.
"It's a very attractive space," Mrs. Archibald said. "I think the city's improvements have really set it apart. With the landscaping improvements to the back of the facility where it backs up to the golf course and overlooks the course, I think that will be very attractive to brides."
The event center, which was formerly the Goldsboro Country Club, was purchased by the city in February 2015.
More than half a million dollars worth of renovations have been put into the event center to revamp the facility that opened up more than 60 years ago.
The total price tag for the purchase of the old country club, which occurred in February 2015, and the near-complete renovations, is expected to top out around $1.2 million, which is a price tag that includes the cost of purchasing the building at $400,000.
At the most recent Goldsboro City Council meeting, the council approved a fee schedule for the cost of renting both the entirety of the facility and individual rooms.
All rental rates in the approved fee schedule assume a five-hour rental period. The rates are also split into separate rates for Monday through Thursday and Friday through Sunday.
Renting the entire facility will run you $1,000 during the week, and $1,200 on Friday and the weekend. The entire facility accommodates 600 people.
To rent only the ballroom, it costs $700 during the week or $800 on Friday and the weekend.
Renting just the bar room will run you $300 during the week, and $400 on Friday and the weekend. Rates for renting just the dining room or just the gallery, patio and lawn area run exactly the same as the bar room.
To tack on catering with your rental costs $125 during the week or $175 on Friday and the weekend, and only licensed caterers are allowed to cater events at the event center.
Adding on a la carte options to an event runs $50 for all days of the week.
To secure an event package, which is renting the entire event center for three days up to eight hours per day, will cost $2,500. A full day package, which is renting the entire center for up to 10 hours, costs $1,500.