Plans canceled for Michael Jordan museum in Wilmington
Posted December 15, 2023 3:02 p.m. EST
Updated April 23, 2024 11:47 a.m. EDT
Wilmington, N.C. — Plans to build a museum in Wilmington honoring Michael Jordan have been canceled.
New Hanover County has worked with the Jordan family over the past several months, but the family has decided not to pursue a Michael Jordan Family Museum at this time.
While this museum is not moving forward, the county said it looks forward to its continued partnership with the Jordan family to display memorabilia from Michael Jordan’s life and career in the Cape Fear Museum.
Plans for the proposed museum were announced in December 2023. The Jordan family would have been responsible for contributing and loaning personal items for display.
No county funds have been expended on this project to date, nor does this change the existing development agreement with Cape Fear Development.
The county and the Jordan family signed a memorandum of understanding on Dec. 4, 2023, detailing what the museum would look like. According to the document, the stand-alone exhibit would have been located at the corner of Third and Chestnut streets.
Michael Jordan's family and the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, which is owned by New Hanover County, had successful relationships in the past, including the Michael Jordan: Achieving Success exhibit, which showcases family-loaned objects.
Michael Jordan grew up in Wilmington, NC
Jordan grew up in Wilmington and went to Laney High School before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1981-1984. His many honors with UNC including winning an NCAA national championship with the Tar Heels basketball team in 1982, being named an All-American twice, ACC Player of the Year, two-time first-team All-ACC, ACC Rookie of the Year and eventually having his number 23 retired by the program. As the No. 3 overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, winning Finals MVP in each appearance. The 14-time All-Star is regarded by many as the greatest basketball player of all time.
