540 replies to this topic

[atlrvr]

Watching the game on ESPN right now.....they've done some pretty decent city pans....

[jednc]

Justadude, on Dec 11 2007, 11:28 AM, said:

I'm not sure that people/hour really matters much in real-world terms. One could argue that on Sundays BoA stadium draws upwards of 3,000 people per hour, but the reality is that the crowd shows up en masse between 11am (for a 1pm start) and is pretty much gone by 5pm. So at 9am or 8pm, the presence of the stadium has only a marginal impact on uptown activity. Same holds true for Bobcats Arena, just in much smaller numbers (more like 600 people/hour, with the reality being that it's a crowd of 15,000 between 6pm and 10pm).

Not that this is an argument against the arena (I support it), but I don't think we can afford to whitewash the dead-zone argument by pointing to the four-hour window of good activity the arena creates on event nights. If it's going to really do what it needs to do for the city, there needs to be more substantial retail activity there than a donut shop and the team store. I like the plaza and the opportunities it creates for pedestrian activity; perhaps something creative can be done with that space to make it an attractive destination for the lunch crowd, or to encourage skaters to gather there in the evenings the way they do at the Square.

Regardless of whether the people are compacted into a small timeframe or a large timeframe, the number of people the arena attracts for events FAR outpaces anything else in uptown Charlotte. There really is no arguement against that. Large numbers of people in an area is pretty much the opposite of a deadzone.

And of course, the obvious thing missing from the previous arguement is the number of nights the "crowd of 15,000 between 6pm and 10pm" is present. It's really hard to argue against activity 250+ days/year.

And, just to be completely correct, Bellacino's has also opened beside the "donut shop and the team store". There will eventually be a third retail option also available.

[revitalize]

atlrvr, on Dec 14 2007, 08:41 PM, said:

Watching the game on ESPN right now.....they've done some pretty decent city pans....

yeah, the aerial views of uptown looked sweet.  BoA CC's crown glowing blue.  
unfortunately the Bobcats fell flat on their big opportunity to shine on a nat'l stage.  sux...

[Andyc545]

jednc, on Dec 15 2007, 12:50 PM, said:

And, just to be completely correct, Bellacino's has also opened beside the "donut shop and the team store". There will eventually be a third retail option also available.

Yup they opened a few days before Halloween.  I also ate there one night before a Checkers Game.  They said they are looking forward to more business in the future, when I talked to the owner.  The night of the Hannah Montana concert, the line was parked outside of the front door into Bellacino's.

[reverbandwhiskey]

So how are the bobcats doing in terms of ticket sales this year?

[setfiretoflames]

Someone could probably answer your question better than me but according to ESPN you're the seventh worst team in the league in attendance, but you are doing better than Seattle, Philadelphia, Memphis, Indiana, Sacramento, and New Orleans!

[staffer]

setfiretoflames, on Dec 21 2007, 01:13 PM, said:

Someone could probably answer your question better than me but according to ESPN you're the seventh worst team in the league in attendance, but you are doing better than Seattle, Philadelphia, Memphis, Indiana, Sacramento, and New Orleans!

I'm sure the team would say they are the 23rd best.

[AuLukey]

Call me an optimist, but if we're beating Philly and Seattle in attendance, then we're doin somethin better!

[southernyank]

Well, Seattle's about to move to Oklahoma City fairly soon, so its no surprise that their attendence numbers suck. I wonder how long attendence in OKC will hold up. I know they had a lot of support for the Hornets during Katrina evacuations, but I'm not sure about the long haul. I hope they do good there. I'd figure Indiana would have better numbers than us, but then I remember:

1) No Reggie

2) Ron Artest Fiasco a few years back that dampened  the fan's support.

3) No Reggie

Anybody check out Terrell Owens at the game last night?

Edited by southernyank, 22 December 2007 - 10:40 AM.

[Justadude]

jednc, on Dec 15 2007, 01:50 PM, said:

Regardless of whether the people are compacted into a small timeframe or a large timeframe, the number of people the arena attracts for events FAR outpaces anything else in uptown Charlotte. There really is no arguement against that. Large numbers of people in an area is pretty much the opposite of a deadzone.

I'm sorry, but I have to completely disagree.  It most certainly DOES matter whether visitors are compacted into a small timeframe.  This is the reason we are not likely to see train service to LMS, the reason the "new" Coliseum never spurred significant development, and the reason that 3rd Ward still has no retail after 10 years of an NFL stadium being next door.  

It would be different if this venue was stuffed away in a corner like BoA stadium or the Music Factory, but it's at the heart of the city and is pretty much the only bridge between 1st Ward and Tryon St.  It's absolutely crucial that it not be dead 20 hours a day -- the restaurants are a good start and I hope they do well, but more needs to be made of that space if the area around the arena is going to be a true 24/7 livable district.

[tiblerbrit]

Charlotte is one of 19 US cities Radiohead will be visiting on their 2008 tour. Pretty exciting stuff. I assume they'll probably perform at the arena, but locations and dates will be announced later.

Edited by tiblerbrit, 09 January 2008 - 02:12 PM.

[ricky_davis_fan_21]

GO CATS, Way to beat the 29-3 Celtics easily. For those who missed it bobcats won 95 to 83.

That was the best basketball game i've seen from these guys in sometime, if not ever. MJ needs to go to practice and kick some butt more often.

[southernyank]

Yeah, I saw the game. That was actuall a, close as you can get,  flawless performance by the 'Cats. I think it was a shock to win by twelve, but not a shock that we won. We nearly beat them last month if it wasnt for the rookie mistake of passing the ball in bounds on the Celtics side of the court, as well as Ray Allen's recovery of the ball and .8 second buzzer beater. This game tonight was a complete game though. they actually looked like a viable basketball team.


PS. They're 29 and 4 now. :0

Edited by southernyank, 09 January 2008 - 09:36 PM.

[dbull75]

^Yea, that was a great game by the 'Cats... Glad to see Richardson redeem himself from that November game. Hopefully this can give them a jump start b/c they had not been the same since that Celtics game in November.

BTW - that's great about Radiohead. I'm impressed that we're on that short list of cities. I'm guessing it will be at Bobcats Arena.

[Raintree21]

The Arena has decided to go with Los Angelese based AEG to handle bookings and marketing of events.

[TeeJay]

Anyone have an idea when the arena will officially give naming rights to TimeWarner?

[Raintree21]

When they sign a contract? Haven't heard any talks of any deals made. Just that they were in talks a while back.

Edited by Raintree21, 14 January 2008 - 05:18 PM.

[Batou]

I'm just surprised it's lasted this long without a real corp name all over it.

[dbull75]

Raintree21, on Jan 14 2008, 09:14 AM, said:

The Arena has decided to go with Los Angelese based AEG to handle bookings and marketing of events.

I just noticed that Greensboro booked Bon Jovi to play up there in March. My girlfriend is going to be upset if they don't come here too Hopefully AEG can get them to play Charlotte. Though, with as many bookings as CBA has over the next 4 months I see where that will be a challenge.

Edited by dbull75, 15 January 2008 - 07:50 PM.

[reverbandwhiskey]

dbull75, on Jan 15 2008, 08:49 PM, said:

I just noticed that Greensboro booked Bon Jovi to play up there in March. My girlfriend is going to be upset if they don't come here too Hopefully AEG can get them to play Charlotte. Though, with as many bookings as CBA has over the next 4 months I see where that will be a challenge.

They can take Bon Jovi,  I guess Charlotte will have to settle for Radiohead this spring instead.