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So what's next...

ah59396

By ah59396
in Charlotte Coffee House

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ah59396 Town

ah59396

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Where does Charlotte go from here? We've held a political national convention, an ACC Chamionship Football game, an NCAA Final Four, the CIAA Tournament and the Belk Bowl. What's the next step? The Superbowl? The Pan Am Games? The Olympics? What are your thoughts? What do we need to land these "big fish".

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Third Strike Hamlet

Third Strike

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I wonder if Charlotte could handle the Pan American Games. If Charlotte is picked, they'll have about a decade to prepare. Also, it's interesting to note that Indianapolis was once the host of the Pan Am Games, and they were about the same size as Charlotte back then (and last US city to host the PAG). If the event is successful, it could open up the doors for the Olympics, many years down the road.

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Urbanity Burg

Urbanity

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One Time Events

In the doable category - I do think a Superbowl is a worthwhile goal and something we could not only handle but excel at hosting. I also would love for us to host more World Cup exhibition games and eventually land an MLS team.

In the possible with work category - I could see us hosting the Pan Am Games.

In the unlikely but possible category - Iif you really want to have an event to mark how far Charlotte has come it would be incredible to have us host the Gay Games though I really don't see that happening in the foreseeable future.

In the not likely category - The Olympics . I don't see them as a good goal myself. Besides the fact that the costs are enourmous and the long term payoff of the facilities built is questionable, there is a significant obstacle to CLT landing them that has little to do with us (which we do have capability issues to be sure) so much as our proximity to Atlanta. Remember that this is an international bidding process and the likelihood of a city so close to Atlanta who had them in 1996 (and which controversy still remains about its choice) makes us an extremely unlikely candidate for the Summer Games which unlike the Winter Games has many more cities that can put on the event.

Reoccurring Events

What I really would like to see for Charlotte as a what's next though is something that either doesn't exist in current form in Charlotte but I think we have the drive, capabilities and now goodwill, to achieve - A significant yearly Charlotte conference. What I mean by that is either the creation or growth of an existing yearly conference/gathering event in Charlotte that not only adds to the city's credentials but supports and aids an city asset. Right now I'm thinking Charlotte's best bets are an international energy conference (dramatically more significant than the CBJ yearly event), or something focused on the Southern U.S. such as a New South conference

Some examples of what I mean for context is the Comic-con International brings the world to San Diego, TED (main conference) happened in Monterery and now Long Beach, Car shows in Detroit, Software (Apple/Google) conferences in San Fran area.

.

The last thing I say, I say as an agnostic, but for me what I think would be a really attainable conference/event/and platform for Charlotte is to become host to a yearly International religion and spirituality conference where every world religions/belief system including agnostic, atheist, pagan, etc gather for an a symposium of issues that have cross religion impact. In truth (as long as I'm playing the wish list card) I would love to see Charlotte develop a significant museum and education center of World religion. Personally - I believe Charlotte not only could achieve this with a groundswell of local support, but would greatly benefit from it as Religion has always been a strength of the city and it would further push our international importance forward as the a center for study.

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ah59396 Town

ah59396

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I agree Urbanity. The Olympics are unlikely for at least 50 years in Charlotte and really just a pipe dream. I would like to see us bid for the Pan Am Games though. I think we could handle it in 10-15 years quite well. Also, it would be a great measuring stick for further events down the road (like an Olympics) and bring some development to the city (a small scale athletes village, possible additional transit, an upgrade of memorial stadium into a full use MLS quality soccer stadium, ect.).

Toronto is finalizing their projects for the 2015 Pan Am games now, and I think the event as a whole has grown larger and larger.

http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/explore_projects2/west_don_lands/2015_pan_american_games

In terms of stadium capacity, we could manage it quite easily. In 5 years, we could hypothetically have:

Bank of America Stadium

Upgraded Memorial Stadium

UNCC Football Field

UNCC Track (if necessary)

BB&T Field to host baseball and softball

Johnson C Smith Football Field/Track

Also important to note that with the addition of the BLE extension and (hopefully) the Streetcar line...all of these will be accessible via rail lines!!

The 2019 bid is due by January 1st of 2013, so it quite frankly may be out of the realm of possibility unless our city leaders have something up their sleeve in the next 3 months. But I could easily see us bidding for and hosting the 2023 games. 11 years to prepare and close to 5 before we even bid. Charlotte in 2023!

Oh and short-term we have to go for a Superbowl. Richardson has the clout with Goodell and a 20-30 million dollar upgrade of BOA could get us there.

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kermit Megalopolis

kermit

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Great thread!

I do agree that the Olympics are a totally unrealistic expectation (if Chicago and Madrid are the most recent loosers.....). Its unfortunate that they are out of reach since Salt Lake City's impressive transit system is, to a significant degree, a product of their Olympic hosting. An annual event or two (along with the ACC football championship) would certainly help spur interest in additional infrastructure and urban development. While I am under no illusions that Charlotte could leverage the Pan Am games or any other event into a full and rapid buildout of the 2025 plan, a few big conventions could certainly help kickstart some downtown retail.

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cltbwimob Burg

cltbwimob

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I hope city leaders pursue the Pan Am games.... I think the city leaders should forget the Olympics. Other than that I want to see a Superbowl, a World Cup soccer game, and the RNC now since we have hosted the DNC. If the city were to land those events, it would really catapult the city to the next level.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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I agree about the RNC and the Superbowl are both attainable choices, and the Olympics is insanity (and is not really worth it for what we'd have to build up for a single event).

Interestingly, the DNC benefitted a lot from the vacant blocks that most of us despise on urbanist forums. Lots of blocks in Levinetown, and the federal courthouse site (plus with 300 S Tryon, 521 S Tryon (next to Gantt), and the baseball land being used for tents and legacy village)were used for staging and so forth that I am not sure how they could have been done with active land-uses on those blocks, let alone ones that would have required ready access.

So as far as conventions, we may have a harder time hosting them as we build out.

It is amazing to consider, at least for me, that when I moved here in 2000, there was no way we'd be able to host the DNC. We had much fewer hotels downtown, let alone luxury ones. Transit was considerably poorer, lacking any rail mass transit, certainly not to our coliseum on Tyvola.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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In comparison to the Olympics, I think the Super Bowl is very much attainable. One thing the Panthers are currently evaluating is a pretty good size upgrade to Bank of America Stadium (a new stadium doesn't seem to be in the cards, which I'm perfectly fine with). Not sure if they will be looking at putting a retractable roof on the stadium or not, but that would certainly increase the odds. Throw in the hotel behind the new Knights Stadium and perhaps one next to the Duke Energy Center (the pad that was originally slated for a condo tower) and I think we're in business. One thing that the DNC goers liked was the compact-ness of uptown. Everything was walk-able and easy to get to. This is one of the same attributes that made Indianapolis such a great host for the Super Bowl this past year. Everyone there raved about how easy it was to get to things, as opposed to having to be driven everywhere when Super Bowls are in places like Glendale, AZ or Tampa.

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Niner National Burg

Niner National

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In comparison to the Olympics, I think the Super Bowl is very much attainable. One thing the Panthers are currently evaluating is a pretty good size upgrade to Bank of America Stadium (a new stadium doesn't seem to be in the cards, which I'm perfectly fine with). Not sure if they will be looking at putting a retractable roof on the stadium or not, but that would certainly increase the odds. Throw in the hotel behind the new Knights Stadium and perhaps one next to the Duke Energy Center (the pad that was originally slated for a condo tower) and I think we're in business. One thing that the DNC goers liked was the compact-ness of uptown. Everything was walk-able and easy to get to. This is one of the same attributes that made Indianapolis such a great host for the Super Bowl this past year. Everyone there raved about how easy it was to get to things, as opposed to having to be driven everywhere when Super Bowls are in places like Glendale, AZ or Tampa.

Panthers are considering a size upgrade? I knew they were planning upgrades, but I'd never heard anything about expanding the capacity. Where did you hear that?
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HopHead City

HopHead

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Panthers are considering a size upgrade? I knew they were planning upgrades, but I'd never heard anything about expanding the capacity. Where did you hear that?

No, not size in terms of capacity, but size in terms of the scale of the upgrades to the stadium. Perhaps "sizable" wasn't the right adjective. Panthers need to take the stadium out of 1997 and put it into 2017 to be on par with some of the other stadiums in the league. Personally, I think BofA is a good stadium. It just needs upgrades to the size of the video boards and take some of the blandness away. I know one thing being discussed was cutting out part of the end zone and give a view of uptown. I know a retractable roof was mentioned, but not sure how serious that idea really is.

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jednc Burg

jednc

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No, not size in terms of capacity, but size in terms of the scale of the upgrades to the stadium. Perhaps "sizable" wasn't the right adjective. Panthers need to take the stadium out of 1997 and put it into 2017 to be on par with some of the other stadiums in the league. Personally, I think BofA is a good stadium. It just needs upgrades to the size of the video boards and take some of the blandness away. I know one thing being discussed was cutting out part of the end zone and give a view of uptown. I know a retractable roof was mentioned, but not sure how serious that idea really is.

The retractable roof has been on my wishlist since this stadium was built. Many people prefer open air stadiums (me included) and a retractable rook allows for that. The majority of the time the roof can remain open, only closing when weather really dictates. What this would buy is a more comfortable environment during games, but it would also make the stadium an option for events that really can't take the chance of "rain or shine". Obama's acceptance speech comes to mind, but also the Super Bowl, more Final Fours (some cities are in a pretty tight rotation for that and it would be nice to see it in Charlotte every several years) and also some mega concerts, etc. I just can't see any reason against the retractable roof idea other than cost of course (which can always be overcome).

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Third Strike Hamlet

Third Strike

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Looks like Charlotte might make a bid to host another National League of Cities convention. It won't be as big as the DNC or CIAA, but it is expected to make the city some revenue. It would also take place in 2017; just in time for the BLE!

http://www.charlotte...ubsidy-for.html

http://en.wikipedia....eague_of_Cities

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DEnd Whistle-Stop

DEnd

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Did I read that right, the city would get the games for three years?  I wonder if the entire event would have to be at CMS or could the events be spread out to take better advantage of our existing facilities?

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Urbanity Burg

Urbanity

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Saw this as well and agree it would be awesome if we get it.  I do like that the Speedway has been trying to increase it's usage for other types of events as it really is a great facility.  

 

Events like this happening hopefully offer support to the case for eventual extension of the Light Rail towards the Speedway and the Concord Mills.

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Sabaidee Hamlet

Sabaidee

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CIAA contract up next year and we do not have enough central hotel space they complain, how many more rooms do we have coming online next year to possibly avert the tourney moving?

I know WSOC-TV reporting is always somewhat off, but today they said one of the CIAA officials want to move it back to Raleigh. Wouldn't Raleigh have a worse lack of a centralized location of hotels? Makes no sense. If the CIAA wants to expand, it will likely choose Atlanta for a location to attract the HBCUs there, that has been mentioned before. 

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