Coast Coliseum Looks to Expand Using Trust Fund Money

With a fresh new year, Executive Director of the Coliseum, Bill Holmes, is expecting expansion on the horizon. He says, "The building is 38 years old this year, major motors go down. I’m talking about 10, 15,000 dollar pieces of equipment, so it’s merely a backstop for us."

The backstop Holmes refers to is the ability of the Coliseum to tap into their $7 million trust fund. The Coliseum must first get approval from the Harrison County Board of Supervisors and the Mississippi Legislature before receiving access to the fund. Holmes says there are big opportunities for the Coliseum if they are allowed to use some of the trust fund money. He also says, "Real estate developments are looking to occur and we need to be able to have some flexibility there to move properties and eminent domain power, etcetera."

The Coliseum is looking to build a hotel on their southwest lot, but Holmes wants to continue exploring ways to make the Coliseum bigger and better. He says, "We’re constantly on expansion, we’re constantly looking at how the experience of the patron to the facility is everything and more than what they expected, and that takes money."

With expansion already underway, the Coliseum is able to secure big names like Florida Georgia Line, who performed Thursday night and was opened by Frankie Ballard and Thomas Rhett. Ballard says, "It must be one of the hottest tickets going, these guys are on fire, and it’s such an honor to be opening up the show, and it’s a big responsibility because these people are expecting a party tonight."

The Coliseum believes the possibilities are endless if they can invest in their future.