1000 Room Convention Center Hotel

[cjd5050]

8 minutes ago, Phillydog said:

I didnt say Charlotte doesnt have attractions, the city and region have many....but a city without attractions that appeal to the broadest range of ages, incomes, education, lifestyles, etc., is not going to be a healthy tourist destination.  Conventions are being drawn to cities that offer more than what we have to offer, in cities that are considered "tourist destinations".   Our competition isn't Des Moines, it's Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Nashville, Dallas, Austin...

Even shopping Uptown would be an improvement from the perspective of visitors.  I hear frequently that Charlotte is beautiful, but not having lively (outdoor) retail districts Uptown makes strolling along our streets less interesting and engaging.

I agree with you on the need for attractions but what? How?  Most cities seem to have converted older buildings into retail but Charlotte does not have that same stock.  So how can a retail district be created and not have it feel like a big outdoor mall?  

You could create a space needle type attraction but is the view worth it?   Maybe commission someone famous to design something like an Eiffel Tower?  

The one thing that is not as good as it could be is the Music Factory.  That campus is setup to be something really special but I am not impressed with what they book there on a regular basis.  Maybe some other venues could be built over there.  Maybe a Museum of Performance Arts with a studio or hall and try to do some type of Austin City Limits show on a regular basis?   How awesome would it be if Charlotte has some version of Beale St. in Memphis where you could go any night of the week and know you're going to be able to find good music and have a good time.   But sadly, AvidExchange might have taken the space needed for this.  

 

[Dale]

Memphis had the Blues. Nashville had Country Music. We had racin' and wrasslin'.

[QClifer]

When do we put a statue of Ric flair up at trade &. Tryon?  WOOOOOOOOO

[Richhamleigh, DC]

I think expanding on the rail trail.  That's an amazing concept.  San Antonio has it's "river".  The CLT Rail Trail could be a string of attractions.  Part botantical gardens, industrial museum, passive recreation, water features...new buildings would have to provide outdoor public space.  Restaurants, cafes and shops lining the Trail.  "Attractions" can be organic and built from a variety of financial sources.  It doesnt have to be an aquarium.  

[Matthew.Brendan]

Exactly.... an Aquarium I would visit maybe once a year? No thanks. 

[CM2424]

10 hours ago, Phillydog said:

I think expanding on the rail trail.  That's an amazing concept.  San Antonio has it's "river".  The CLT Rail Trail could be a string of attractions.  Part botantical gardens, industrial museum, passive recreation, water features...new buildings would have to provide outdoor public space.  Restaurants, cafes and shops lining the Trail.  "Attractions" can be organic and built from a variety of financial sources.  It doesnt have to be an aquarium.  

Yes this is a way better idea than an aquarium.  Think about all of the organic development happening around Bearden Park now - it’s a thriving area because the city built a nice outdoor space.   An aquarium would likely end up like the NASCAR HOF - a terrible investment of tax payer dollars that doesn’t improve the city’s street scape at all.

[go_vertical]

I LOVE the idea of a botanical garden somewhere along the rail trail. It would be great for casual dates and also for school field trips. 

An proper aquarium is something I have hoped the city would look into for a while. While expensive they do draw in people from all over the region. The only issue is with the Georgia Aquarium not all that far away ours would have to do something pretty big to get a ton of attention.

[asthasr]

It'd be nice to have some really extensive gardens... maybe something enclosed, like the "Flower Dome" and "Cloud Forest" in Singapore?

[Tyrone Wiggum]

1 hour ago, asthasr said:

It'd be nice to have some really extensive gardens... maybe something enclosed, like the "Flower Dome" and "Cloud Forest" in Singapore?

We don't need another hotel

We don't need to know the WAZE home

All we really want is QC

Flower Dome

[Tyrone Wiggum]

12 hours ago, QClifer said:

When do we put a statue of Ric flair up at trade &. Tryon?  WOOOOOOOOO

Personally, I'd like to see the current statues replaced with Nature Boy, Junkyard Dog, Vince McMahon, and Ricky The Dragon Steamboat

[Tyrone Wiggum]

I'm confused why so many of you are down on an aquarium.  Shedd is constantly packed with locals due to the constant influx of new attractions in Abbot and Jazzin' at the Shedd in the summer time (get drunk on a Wednesday and look at fish? Don't mind if I do!).

Granted, the view is a huge part of the attraction (there's a lot of weddings that overlook LSD and the skyline because the view is Ah-mazing), something Charlotte can't really recreate, but there's a right way to do it where it's not some lame ass Atlanta No1Curr wasteland.

[CLT2014]

I think everybody would be down for an aquarium if a rich person wanted to fund one (like the Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, or Monterrey Bay Aquarium). Somebody with the money and passion behind it can truly build a great aquarium. Without the financial backing and commitment to operating a non-profit aquarium where the care of animals and research is a top priority... you end up with crappy for profit aquariums like SeaLife at Concord Mills where the overcharge you for a 20 minute walk through a fish tank. 

I honestly don't think the city and county would be able to execute on funding a quality $250 million + aquarium all on their own and have it turn out well. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by CLT2014

[Dale]

14 minutes ago, Tyrone Wiggum said:

I'm confused why so many of you are down on an aquarium.  Shedd is constantly packed with locals due to the constant influx of new attractions in Abbot and Jazzin' at the Shedd in the summer time (get drunk on a Wednesday and look at fish? Don't mind if I do!).

Granted, the view is a huge part of the attraction (there's a lot of weddings that overlook LSD and the skyline because the view is Ah-mazing), something Charlotte can't really recreate, but there's a right way to do it where it's not some lame ass Atlanta No1Curr wasteland.

Shedd may be packed because admission is cheap. I think it must be publically funded ?

[CLT2014]

1 minute ago, Dale said:

Shedd may be packed because admission is cheap. I think it must be publically funded ?

https://www.sheddaquarium.org/globalassets/about_us/annual_report__financials/101809-shedd-aquarium-society-1217-final.pdf

$34 million of the $59 million annual operating budget is from admissions. Membership and donations make up the second largest chunk of revenue at $12.3 million. 

The biggest thing Shedd has going is momentum. Established in 1930, it had the financial contributions of John Shedd to build the initial buildings, hire staff, etc... to get it going. Once it had that kick and a nearly 90 year legacy of fundraising and admission revenue, it operates self sufficient now. 

[CM2424]

16 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

I think everybody would be down for an aquarium if a rich person wanted to fund one (like the Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, or Monterrey Bay Aquarium). Somebody with the money and passion behind it can truly build a great aquarium. Without the financial backing and commitment to operating a non-profit aquarium where the care of animals and research is a top priority... you end up with crappy for profit aquariums like SeaLife at Concord Mills where the overcharge you for a 20 minute walk through a fish tank. 

I honestly don't think the city and county would be able to execute on funding a quality $250 million + aquarium all on their own and have it turn out well. 

Charlotte, and most cities in general, don't have great track records spending $ on big projects like this and if they make sense financially someone will probably do it anyways.  The city needs to focus on laying the groundwork for organic development to occur - parks, transportation, ease of business, homelessness, etc. - and then get out of the way 

[atlrvr]

Memberships are about a 15% premium to a family of 4 individual tix and let you jump the massive line....all memberships are really just additional ticket sales.

That said, I agree that an aquarium here isn't going to be overly successful unless it were better than Atlanta's.

About a decade ago, Discovery Place planned like a 5 climates terrarium museum, which sounds much cooler IMO.

[cjd5050]

1 hour ago, CLT2014 said:

Established in 1930

 

This is key.  Charlotte didn't host a World's Fair 100 years ago and wasn't a big enough city in the Gilded Age for barons to leave behind a legacy from their fortunes built before taxes.   We're not going to bid on an Olympics like Atlanta either.  

I get the sense Bruton Smith is a selfish jerk and Clemmie Spangler doesn't seem to be the type of person who is really interested in giving back to the region.  Maybe the new owner of the Panthers would be willing to drop half a billion on some legacy builder but I doubt it.  

[asthasr]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Wiggum said:

We don't need another hotel

We don't need to know the WAZE home

All we really want is QC

Flower Dome

Admittedly it's a stupid name, but I'd love to have something like the "Gardens by the Bay" (which includes the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) here.

[Tyrone Wiggum]

24 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

This is key.  Charlotte didn't host a World's Fair 100 years ago and wasn't a big enough city in the Gilded Age for barons to leave behind a legacy from their fortunes built before taxes. 

True, but Charlotte DIIIIDDDD spend $140m of your taxpayer dollars on the NASCAR Hall of Who Gives an Unclebleep; what's an extra hundo for an attraction people would actually visit?  NC has lots and lots of marine life on top of bringing in a Narwhal from time to time.

#toosoon?

13 minutes ago, asthasr said:

Admittedly it's a stupid name, but I'd love to have something like the "Gardens by the Bay" (which includes the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) here.

I didn't mean to suggest it was stupid and if it came across that way I apologize.  Any time I can insert Tina Turner standing on top of a post-apocalyptic  dome structure into the theater of the mind I'm ready.

[Dale]

1 hour ago, atlrvr said:

Memberships are about a 15% premium to a family of 4 individual tix and let you jump the massive line....all memberships are really just additional ticket sales.

That said, I agree that an aquarium here isn't going to be overly successful unless it were better than Atlanta's.

About a decade ago, Discovery Place planned like a 5 climates terrarium museum, which sounds much cooler IMO.

And Discovery Place expansion is on the horizon. As a matter of interest, it was a 1981 article in Southern Living that got me interested in Charlotte. It listed Discovery Place as the primary downtown attraction.

[TheOneRJ]

No one outside of elementary and middle schoolers know what the Discovery Place is. 

[sakami]

As a city known for being a good place to raise a family and is full of kids that is hardly an insult. 

 We tried to go to Science on the Rocks (adults only) one night and it was completely sold out weeks in advance. While it may not be a hangout spot for the under 30 crowd people really enjoy this museum. We regularly take out of town visitors here as a fun activity. They always leave wishing they had a similar amenity in their hometown. It is a huge asset to this city. 

1 hour ago, TheOneRJ said:

No one outside of elementary and middle schoolers know what the Discovery Place is. 

[Cadi40]

Discovery Place isn't completely unique to Charlotte. Many large cities have museums much alike Discovery Place.

[Dale]

I fear that what some are looking for can never be replicated. Charlotte never had much history such that it could be bulldozed. And it's never been a music or entertainment mecca. If we did get an aquarium we'd be a prosperous, albeit bland city tha now has an aquarium.

[NcSc74]

Why not encorage race teams to move their shops near uptown.  Create a real gasoline alley.  Also incorporate or develop a bbq corridor.  I mean the region is known for its style of bbq; so why not use that to consolidate bbq talent to te area.  Where is a good place for a gasoline alley?  I mean to me its a no brainer.  NASCAR whether folks like it or not, is Charlotte's homegrown entertainment.  Cars suped up for bootleggin.  Use it, dress it up some and stop being complacent.  I grow sick of seing travel adverts for other cities and states get more airtime than the QC.  

 

Edited May 19, 2018 by NcSc74