2023 Annual Comprehensive Report

GSC continues to grow attendance at a record breaking pace. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year ended June 30, GSC welcomed over 600,000 guests, more than a 9% increase over the 2021 2022 fiscal year. GSC aims to increase attendance to 750,000 with an increase in annual economic impact from $77 million to $100 million by 2026 and become one of the top five attractions in North Carolina. With GSC’s plans for construction of Expedition Rainforest: Greensboro Biodome, the Aquatic Rehabilitation and Conservation Center along with a new 200 car parking area, GSC continues to move closer to these goals. Since 2014, GSC has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums , an award that only 223 of the more than 2,000 qualified national facilities receive. GSC is the only facility in the state to offer an accredited science museum, zoological park, and aquarium in a single destination. It is ranked number three in North Carolina as the top field trip attraction, receiving students, visitors and educators from throughout the state.

For the past five consecutive years (2017-2021), the City of Greensboro ranked in the top 10, ranking #3 in 2020, by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) in its annual Digital Cities Survey for cities with a population of 250,000 to 500,000. The CDG is a national research and advisory institute focused on information technology policies and best practices for state and local governments. The survey recognizes cities that use technology to improve services and boost efficiencies. In 2021, Greensboro launched a GIS public application to search building permit data going back 10 years, released a police transparency dashboard, and standardized equipment and software used by three City drone teams to achieve shared resources and best practices. In 2020, Greensboro was identified for their efforts in using technology to undertake varied responses to the pandemic, enhance citizen interactions with government and continue strategic initiatives to enhance services. In 2019, Greensboro was recognized for using technology to tackle social challenges, enhance services and strengthen cybersecurity. In 2018, Greensboro stood out for its mobile progress, including the TransLoc Rider app that allows real-time tracking of city buses and its Park mobile app that allows drivers to pay to park at all meters and parking lots using the online mobile payment system. This is the seventh Digital Cities Survey Award for Greensboro. Greensboro has also been recognized for its effort in forming the Tri-Gig High Speed Broadband Initiative . The regional partnership plans to take advantage of existing fiber optic cable infrastructure previously installed for Greensboro’s traffic-light system. The partnership hopes to provide the next-generation of high-speed broadband infrastructure needed to meet the technological needs of current and future businesses, public institutions, educational institutions, and local residents at a substantial discount from current market prices. The Piedmont Triad Regional Council selected North State Communications as its preferred vendor for delivering high-speed internet services to the region. The Greensboro region is well suited for sizeable computing centers and high tech companies due to the significant electric power grid developed in previous years to accommodate large textile manufacturing operations, along with existing fiber optic and advanced telecommunications infrastructure. In addition, legislation was passed that extends tax incentives to smaller data center customers in North Carolina and makes it a state with one of the lowest investment thresholds. AT&T, Facebook, Apple, Google and IBM among other large-scale data centers and tech companies, have operations in North Carolina.

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