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GREENSBORO — It's not every day the General Assembly convenes outside Raleigh. In fact, it's happened only three times.

But then, it's not every day a city turns 200 .

Greensboro hits the bicentennial this month, and the state's senators and representatives are stopping in to wish the city happy birthday.

A special joint session of the state Senate and House of Representatives will be held Thursday at Harrison Auditorium at N.C. A&T . The event will recognize the city's legacy and relevance in North Carolina history.

Some say the honor shows the significance of Greensboro in current politics.

"This is very impressive," said Thomas Little , a professor of political science at UNCG. "I think it says a lot about the respect they have for Greensboro and the Greensboro delegation."

The delegation includes Rep. Alma Adams and Sen. Katie Dorsett, both Greensboro Democrats who lobbied to bring the session to town.

Dorsett said the special session is an opportunity to show what the city has to offer.

"We think that we've worked hard to bring things to our community, and those things have benefited not only our community but the state as a whole," she said.

Tours of A&T are planned after the session.

Dorsett said she hopes her colleagues will take the chance to familiarize themselves with some of the school's research. Tours of the Gateway University Research Park, to which the General Assembly awarded $58 million last year, and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum will be available.

A&T Chancellor Stanley Battle said he hopes legislators will tour the campus, especially the facilities built with bond money — completed on time and on budget .

"That certainly shows we did not waste the state's money," he said.

Battle will use the occasion to lobby for support of a joint data center between A&T and UNCG. The cost of planning for the center is estimated at $7.5 million to $10 million. University officials believe the data center could save the UNC System an estimated $53 million and meet the increased demands for computing power.

Building individual data centers for each school and the research park could cost more than $100 million.

Mayor Yvonne Johnson said this is an opportunity to lobby legislators for additional funding for local projects.

"I hope people will come and do that," she said. "I hope it's not just ceremonial."

It's doubtful all 170 members of the General Assembly will attend the special session. Perfect attendance at regular meetings is almost unheard of, and most believe Thursday's session will be lightly attended. "We hope that we'll have pretty good attendance," Dorsett said.

Little, who specializes in state legislative politics, said he is trying to change his schedule to attend the session. Because the General Assembly began its short summer session just this month, he does not anticipate much business taking place Thursday .

Still, he said, this is the type of thing history buffs love.

"This is an opportunity for the people of Greensboro to witness history," he said.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com