Greensboro

Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro, previously Greensborough, is the county seat and largest city of Guilford County in North Carolina. After Charlotte and Raleigh, it is the third most populated city in North Carolina. It is also the 69th most populous city in the country and the largest city in the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area. There were 299,035 residents there as of the 2020 Census. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina saw the construction of this city as the intersection of three significant interstates (Interstates 40, 85, and 73).

To replace Guilford Court House as the county seat, Greensborough (the spelling used before 1895) was established in 1808 and built around a central courthouse plaza. As a result, the county courts were positioned nearer to the county's geographic center, which was closer to where the majority of the county's residents, who commuted by horse or foot at the time, could more readily reach.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget redefined the former Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point metropolitan statistical region in 2003. The area was divided into the Winston-Salem metropolitan area and the Greensboro-High Point metropolitan area. The Greensboro-High Point metropolitan area had 723,801 residents as of 2010. There were 1,599,477 people living in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point combined statistical area (CSA), also known as the Piedmont Triad.

The Greensboro Science Center, the International Civil Rights Museum, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Greensboro Symphony, the Greensboro Ballet, Triad Stage, the Wyndham Golf Championship, and the Atlantic Coast Conference's headquarters, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, which hosts numerous sporting events, concerts, and other events, are some of the city's most well-known attractions. The Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic Baseball League, the Carolina Dynamo of USL League Two, the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League, and the Greensboro Roller Derby are some of the sports teams that play in Greensboro. The North Carolina Folk Festival, Greensboro's First Fridays, the Fun Fourth of July Festival, the North Carolina Comedy Festival, and Winter Wonderlights are all annual events. Greensboro served as the National Folk Festival's host city from 2015 to 2017.

Geography

The city has a total area of 131.8 square miles (341.4 km2), of which 126.5 square miles (327.7 km2) is land and 5.3 square miles (13.7 km2), or 4.01%, is water, according to the United States Census Bureau.

In the middle of North Carolina's Piedmont, between the state's Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains to the west and the Atlantic beaches and Outer Banks to the east, is the city of Greensboro. The Jefferson-Pilot Building, the city's tallest structure, is generally referred to as the Lincoln Financial Tower and offers a panoramic view of the whole city. At the city, Interstates 40, 85, and 73 come together. Greensboro is located 77 miles (177 km) to the northwest of Raleigh, 54 miles (86 km) to the west of Durham, and 90 miles (144 km) to the northeast of Charlotte.

Climate

Greensboro has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons, like much of the southeastern United States. Winters are brief and often cool, with a daily average temperature of 38.9 °F (3.8 °C) in January. A typical year has 4.3 days with temperatures below freezing and 75 nights with temperatures at or below zero. 7.5 inches (19.1 cm) of measurable snowfall accumulates on average each winter, generally in January and February but occasionally between December and March; the amount fluctuates greatly from winter to year. Freezing rain can be made more likely by cold-air damming (CAD), which frequently makes it a more urgent problem than snow.

The summers are long and hot, with an average daily temperature of 78.5 °F (25.8 °C) in July. A typical year has 32 days with highs at or above 90 °F (32 °C), but as in much of the Piedmont South, readings over 100 °F (38 °C) + are rare. The weather in the fall is similar to that in the spring, although there are fewer days and less overall rainfall. On January 21, 1985, the temperature reached an extreme of -8 °F (-22 °C), and on June 12, 1911, June 12, and July 17, 1914, the temperature reached an extreme of 104 °F (40 °C).

In the humid spring and summer, there are often strong thunderstorms. Around 7:00 p.m. on April 2, 1936, a sizable F-4 tornado tore a seven-mile (11-km) path of devastation through southern Greensboro. A portion of downtown was struck by the tornado, which caused 14 fatalities and 144 injuries. The storm occurred during the Cordele-Greensboro tornado outbreak of 1936. Since then, the Greensboro region has experienced several severe tornadoes, including those that hit Stoneville on March 20, 1998, Clemmons and Winston-Salem on May 5, 1989, Clemmons and Greensboro on May 7, 2008, High Point on March 28, 2010, and Greensboro on April 15, 2018.

Economy

Textiles, tobacco, and furniture have traditionally been the main industries in Greensboro and the Piedmont Triad region. With FedEx having regional operations in the city, Greensboro's strategic location within the state has made it a popular area for families, businesses, and a growing logistics hub. A $1.3 billion battery plant would be run by Toyota Motor North America, a division of the Japanese carmaker Toyota, in Greensboro, it was revealed in December 2021.

The International Textile Group, the Honda Aircraft Company, HAECO Americas, ITG Brands, Kayser-Roth, VF, Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks of North America, Qorvo, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cook Out, Ham's, Biscuitville, Fusion3 3D Printers, Tripps, Wrangler, Kontoor Brands, and Columbia Forest Products are notable businesses with headquarters in Greensboro. "Center of operations" for the insurance provider Lincoln Financial Group is Greensboro.

The high-tech, aviation, transportation, and logistics industries, as well as nanotechnology, have been the focus of city leaders' efforts to draw new enterprises. Gateway University Research Park was inaugurated by North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Sports

There aren't any elite professional sports organizations based in Greensboro. The Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League relocated to Raleigh from Hartford, Connecticut in 1997; however, the team's first two seasons were spent at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex while its permanent home, Raleigh's Entertainment & Sports Arena, was being built. The Minnesota Twins were close to moving to the city in the late 1990s and even received league clearance, but the deal fell through when local voters declined to pay for the planned ballpark.

A minor league baseball team in Greensboro is called the Greensboro Grasshoppers (formerly known as the Greensboro Bats and Greensboro Hornets). They are a farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates and play in the High-A East in Class High-A. Playing at First National Bank Field are the Grasshoppers.

The premier men's amateur soccer league in the country, USL League Two, features Greensboro's North Carolina Fusion U23. Four conferences with 63 teams each are divided into ten regional divisions. It is ranked behind the United Soccer League as the fourth division of competition. The squad has played its home games at Macpherson Stadium in the neighboring town of Browns Summit since 2003. PDL seasons take place throughout the summer, and the player pool is primarily composed of top NCAA college soccer players looking to continue playing at a high level during their summer break while still being eligible for their respective colleges.

The Greensboro Hornets won the right to host an associate NBA Development League franchise on October 27, 2015, outbidding other contender locations like Columbia, Asheville, Fayetteville, and Charleston. At the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse, the Greensboro Swarm started performing in the fall of 2016.

Despite having no schools in the league, Greensboro is home to the Atlantic Coast Conference's headquarters. The ACC men's basketball tournament has been held in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex 23 times since 1967 and the ACC women's basketball tournament 12 times since 2000. Additionally, Greensboro has once hosted the Final Four as well as three NCAA Men's Basketball Regionals.

Every year, Greensboro hosts an event for the PGA Tour. The final PGA Tour competition before the FedEx Cup Playoffs is the Wyndham Championship, which takes place at Sedgefield Country Club. One of the oldest events on the PGA Tour, the competition was first played in 1938 under the name Greater Greensboro Open.

Due to the numerous sporting events it organizes, Greensboro is known as "Tournament Town." The city has also hosted the ACC baseball tournament, the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and a variety of national competitions at the new Greensboro Aquatic Center, in addition to the ACC basketball tournament and NCAA basketball games. The NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four title game was held in Greensboro in 1974. The Final Four was held in North Carolina for the first time ever.

Incorporated in 2010, Greensboro Roller Derby has been a part of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association since 2013. In addition to interleague all-star and b-level teams, which each include skaters from the three intraleague teams, the league consists of three intraleague teams named after notable streets in the city. The league is a not-for-profit organization that is controlled by the skaters, all of whom have ties to the neighborhood. From March to November, roller derby matches take place in the Greensboro Coliseum.

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