Winston-Salem to "Agressively" Pursue Selling Bowman Gray Stadium and The Joel

 

City officials said they would "aggressively" pursue selling the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (now officially named the Winston-Salem Entertainment-Sports Complex) and Bowman Gray Stadium, likely to Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University respectively.  The two university's rent the venues to host sports games and both have expressed an interest in purchasing them.  The city estimates it would save $1.6 million per year if it sold them; LJVM Coliseum recently appraised at $37.1 million while Bowman Gray Stadium appraised at $9.9 million - the appraisals were paid for by the city.  A spokesman for the city said racing at Bowman Gray would be protected by including a clause in any sales contract requiring that long-term leases be honored.