Crown Complex Announces The New Professional Basketball Team Coming to the Crown Arena March 2026
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Dec 5, 2025 - TheCrown Complex is excited to announce the launch of the inaugural season of Fayetteville Liberty Professional Basketball at the Crown Arena in 2026. A new chapter in Fayetteville’s sports history is about to be written. The Fayetteville Liberty, Fayetteville’s first professional basketball franchise since the Fayetteville Patriots (NBA D-League), is preparing to launch its inaugural season as part of The Basketball League (TBL).
The Liberty will mark a milestone with their official press conference on December 12, 2025 at the Alpha Academy at 2:00pm. The event will introduce the team to the city, highlight corporate partners, and share the broader vision for the inaugural season.
The following day, December 13, 2025, the Liberty will host their final player combine and flagship tryout, where athletes from across the region will compete for a spot on the inaugural roster. This event is expected to draw scouts, media, and fans alike, setting the stage for the Liberty’s first season.
The finalized roster will be unveiled in early 2026, with training camp and community activations leading up to the March 2026 season opener.
Tickets will be available at the Crown Box Office, Fort Bragg Leisure Travel Office, and online at Ticketmaster.com. starting October 31, 2025.
About Fayetteville Liberty
With the guiding vision of “Building Hope in the Community One Possession at a Time,” the Liberty are establishing themselves not only as a competitive professional basketball team but as a cornerstone of community engagement, youth empowerment, and regional pride.
A Team for the City, By the City
At the helm is Team Market Owner Robert L. Edwards Jr., a lifelong Fayetteville resident and entrepreneur who has worked tirelessly with his leadership team to ensure the Liberty is more than just another sports franchise.
“Our mission is bigger than basketball,” Edwards explained. “The Liberty represent the spirit of Fayetteville—the resilience, the culture, and the vision for what this city can be. We are here to win games, yes, but more importantly, to create opportunities, to inspire the next generation, and to unite this community under one banner.”
The Liberty will play home games at the Crown Complex Arena, one of the region’s premier sports and entertainment venues. This marks a significant step for both the Crown Complex and the City of Fayetteville, expanding their portfolio of professional sports tenants alongside the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (MiLB) and Fayetteville Marksmen (hockey).
The addition of professional basketball helps further position Fayetteville as a regional hub for sports tourism and entertainment, creating new opportunities for local businesses, job growth, and cultural visibility.
Hope.Community & Liberty City Ambassadors
Beyond the hardwood, the Fayetteville Liberty are committed to initiatives that reach deep into neighborhoods, schools, and community organizations. This commitment is embodied in the Hope.Community movement and the Liberty City Ambassadors Program (LCAP).
Through these programs, the Liberty are building platforms for the next generation:
Free Youth Camps: Annual basketball and leadership camps, with more than 200 kids expected at the first sessions. These camps emphasize fundamentals while teaching teamwork, resilience, and goal-setting.
Scholar of the Year Awards: Students across Cumberland County in grades 1–12 will be recognized each year for achievements in academics, leadership, and service.
School Day Game: A special gameday where thousands of students attend for free, combining basketball excitement with lessons in leadership, sportsmanship, and responsibility.
Community Givebacks: The Liberty are already active with Alpha Academy, United Way, Build Better Youth, the Dogwood Festival, and others to provide mentorship, resources, and volunteer support.
About the Crown Complex
Located in the heart of Cumberland County, the Crown Complex is a state-of-the-art, five-venue complex consisting of a 4,500-seat arena, a 9,200-square foot ballroom, a 10,880-seat coliseum, an exposition center with 60,000 square feet of unobstructed space and a 2,440-seat theatre. Managed by Oak View Group, the Complex is home to the Fayetteville Marksmen hockey team (SPHL) and Fayetteville Fury indoor soccer team (NISL) and hosts a variety of other sporting events, family shows, concerts and special productions year-round. The flagship venue of the Crown Complex, the Coliseum, opened in October of 1997. The Crown Expo Center is designed as a full-service, multi-purpose exhibit and meeting facility. The Expo boasts 60,000 square feet of unobstructed event space that can be adjusted in size to meet the needs of any client. Adjoining the Crown Expo Center, the 9,200-square foot Ballroom and Hospitality area is utilized for meetings and gatherings for groups of up to 650. Easily adaptable to theatre or classroom style seating for speaking presentations, the Ballroom is also an ideal location for wedding receptions, proms, anniversary dinners and more. An in-house, connected kitchen provides complete food service to all facilities throughout the Complex. This is provided by Oak View Group Hospitality, the Crown Complex’s exclusive caterer. Seating just over 2,400, the Crown Theatre showcases a wide range of theatrical events, concerts and comedy shows. The theatre hosts a number of concerts, family and special entertainment as well as a variety of Broadway productions to complement an assortment of community events. The Crown Arena has the capability to meet the needs of a wide range of activities including catered functions, exhibitions, banquets, rodeos, circuses, basketball, wrestling, concerts and other sporting events. The Arena seats up to 4,500 and provides 11,552 square feet of unobstructed space. The Crown Arena is host to a tenant roller derby team, the Rogue Rollergirls, and the TBL Professional Basket Tea Each year, the Crown Complex also hosts a variety of outdoor events including the Cumberland County Fair.
On the web: crowncomplexnc.com
On Facebook: facebook.com/crowncomplexnc
On X: twitter.com/CrownComplexNC
On Instagram: instagram.com/crowncomplexnc
About Oak View Group (OVG)
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster of arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. Founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in
Media contact:
Gary Rogers, Oak View Group | Crown Complex
Director of Marketing
Anna Deaton, Oak View Group | Crown Complex
Marketing Manager
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