Piedmont Triad Economic Panel Draws Leaders to High Point

Germany's World Cup squad is coming to Winston-Salem. Norway's is coming to Greensboro. On Tuesday, the region's top business and elected leaders gathered at High Point University to reckon with what that means for a Piedmont Triad economy already in the middle of a historic run.

The Piedmont Triad Partnership convened the discussion at the university's Qubein Arena and Conference Center, drawing N.C. Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley, High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson, and Greensboro Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter alongside sports executives, athletic directors, and economic development officials.

Germany's men's national team will practice at W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium on the Wake Forest University campus in Winston-Salem. Norway's squad will arrive in Greensboro in early June, training at UNC Greensboro through at least July 1, with the stay extended if the Norwegians advance in the tournament. Their housing location is being withheld for security reasons.

Greensboro Sports Foundation President and CEO Richard Beard told the gathering that the hospitality will stretch beyond the training pitches. "We're collectively going to brand the Piedmont Triad International Airport to welcome visitors from Germany and Norway," Beard said.

Mike Fox, President and CEO of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, moderated the panel. Fox also serves as a partner at Greensboro law firm Tuggle Duggins P.A. and has chaired the N.C. Board of Transportation since 2017. High Point University President Dr. Nido Qubein, a member of the PTP executive committee who participates in regional industry recruitment discussions, opened the event and welcomed Fox and the panelists to the stage. The panel included Brian Mackin, Director of Athletics at UNC Greensboro; John Currie, Vice President and Director of Athletics at Wake Forest University; and Mark Owens, President and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem.

The World Cup conversation unfolded against a backdrop of striking economic momentum. PTP's Carolina Core brand, launched in 2018 to market a corridor running from Winston-Salem to Fayetteville, encompasses four megasites, 30 colleges and universities, and Piedmont Triad International Airport. Fox told the audience the region attracted $20 billion in investment and tens of thousands of new jobs over the last four years alone. More striking still: PTP had set a goal of 50,000 new jobs by 2038, "and we surpassed that goal in seven years," Fox said. The new target is 100,000 jobs.

Guilford County, home to both Greensboro and High Point and the state's third-largest county with roughly 556,000 residents, has absorbed much of that growth. Toyota Battery Manufacturing's $13.9 billion campus at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in Liberty opened in 2025, projected to employ 5,100 workers. JetZero's multi-billion-dollar investment, announced in 2025, is expected to bring more than 14,000 jobs to the county. Boom Supersonic completed its jet fabrication facility in Greensboro in 2024, and a Food Lion-linked distribution center code-named Project Titan, valued at $860 million, is expected to add 505 more positions.

More than 50 aviation and aerospace companies near Piedmont Triad International Airport already infuse nearly $6 billion into the local economy annually. As German and Norwegian players prepare to train on Triad fields this summer, those figures give regional leaders a ready answer to anyone asking why the world should be paying attention to this stretch of North Carolina.