Minneapolis-based Yeadon Fabric Domes, which counts the Carolina Panthers as a customer, will invest $4.6 million to build a plant to make inflatable sports domes in Fayetteville. The move is expected to create 72 jobs in Cumberland County.
Yeadon Domes creates climate-controlled domed structures for customers including professional sports teams and swimming pool operators. The Atrium Health Dome was completed in 2019 for the Panthers practice facility near Bank of America Stadium. Here’s a promotional video from the company on that dome, which measures 50,400 square feet and a height of 65 feet. “This is more than just a bubble,” team owner David Tepper says in the video. Note: The dome was removed last summer.
The company began in 1979 in Canada and moved to Minnesota in 2013. It has installed domes in 46 states and 30 countries, including 41 universities and 11 pro sports teams. It has built domes on four continents. Other customers include the University of Pennsylvania and Marquette University.
In Fayetteville, Yeadon will build a 72-foot tall domed structure in a 50,000-square-foot space at the Fayetteville Regional Airport for its operations.
CEO Matt Mejia has been with Yeadon Fabric Domes for more than 18 years and in his current role since 2015. “Throughout the process, it has become clear that Fayetteville is the perfect place to build our manufacturing facility, and to continue producing world-class air-supported domes,” he says.
Mejia says Fayetteville won him over. “I called Fayetteville Economic Development on a Thursday and arrived in town on Monday. I have to tell you, Fayetteville didn’t make our first cut, but the more I looked into it, the more I liked it,” says Mejia.
“We’re super excited about the military veteran labor pool that is there,” says Mejia. In North Carolina, each year more than 20,000 active-duty military personnel stationed in the state transition from military service to civilian status. Fort Bragg is near Fayetteville.
“North Carolina is one of the most business-friendly, manufacturing-friendly places in the world to work. We looked at a lot of locations and we found that North Carolina just kept winning and the people are awesome.”
Mejia says the company, which currently has about 45 employees, will begin moving to Fayetteville in the summer and be completed by the fall. He will also be moving to North Carolina, as will the company headquarters. Yeadon should begin producing products at its new facility before the end of the year.
Mejia declined to discuss company revenue or sales, saying only three other companies in North America produce air-supported structures. A dome, like the one that was once used by the Panthers, would cost between $1.5 million and $2.5 million, depending on whether it was insulated, had air conditioning and heat, and the type of fabric used, he says.
The average annual salary for the new positions will be $47,734, exceeding the Cumberland County average of $47,175.
The company qualified for a performance-based grant of $225,000 from the One North Carolina Fund. Companies must meet investment and job targets before receiving the money.
Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville approved a combined incentive package of $152,118 over five years. The company is in the process of acquiring 14 acres near Fayetteville Regional Airport, 11 of which will be annexed into the city, according to local officials.