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U.S. National Whitewater Center


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40 minutes ago, kermit said:

It appears that the Whitewater Center has purchased 488 acres from adjacent landowners, this is in addition to a 150 acre purchase last year. No word on what they will do with the land, but they did obtain a $3.5 million construction loan 8 months ago. I am surprised we have not (yet) seen any housing development on site.

The article also says that WWC continues to operate profitably ($4 million operating profit in 2013) following the write down of their original construction costs.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/real_estate/2015/12/u-s-national-whitewater-center-makes-big-land.html?ana=e_clt_bn_breakingnews

 

I'm surprised we have never seen a hotel. I think a small hotel would sell out consistently. 

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1 minute ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I'm surprised we have never seen a hotel. I think a small hotel would sell out consistently. 

You ain't kidding.  When we went this summer, just listening to the people in line..they were from all over the state (and SC). Throw a hotel in there that is walking distance to the center and you have goldmine. Heck, athletic/outdoor-y people that are are even working uptown might set up there a few times a month rather than be uptown all the time. With the number of concerts, races, events, etc I would think a hotel would be a no brainer. 

Winter might be a little slow but for people in town looking for a place to mtn bike or trail run, this would be ideal. 

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1 hour ago, InSouthPark said:

You ain't kidding.  When we went this summer, just listening to the people in line..they were from all over the state (and SC). Throw a hotel in there that is walking distance to the center and you have goldmine. Heck, athletic/outdoor-y people that are are even working uptown might set up there a few times a month rather than be uptown all the time. With the number of concerts, races, events, etc I would think a hotel would be a no brainer. 

Winter might be a little slow but for people in town looking for a place to mtn bike or trail run, this would be ideal. 

I did a 6k there in summer 2014. I met people from several states away. One couple was in town from New Orleans. I asked why they were visiting Charlotte and they said specifically to visit the whitewater center, take in the beer festival, and run the 6k. They thought it was one of the coolest things they'd ever seen.

 

I would love if they added accommodations or camping some day. I don't want to see them developing large swaths of land or anything, but they could add some lodging without ruining the natural feel of the facility.

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2 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I'm surprised we have never seen a hotel. I think a small hotel would sell out consistently. 

Interesting that you mention that.  I have long thought a hotel would go great between I-85 and USNWC, although I think this area would be a good place for a large golf resort hotel and conference center kind of like Grandover near Greensboro rather than a small hotel.  I figure if Grandover can survive in the no-mans land between Greensboro and High Point on I-85, then surely one could survive in this area where, unlike Grandover, it would have the added benefit of being on a river and being very close to a major international airport.  Such a place, in my opinion would appeal to both the business traveler/convention-goer and the leisure traveler.

As for USNWC itself, a pie-in-the-sky idea I had for that area would be to turn all the land around it into the Charlotte equivalent of Balboa Park in San Diego.  Specifically, I think it would be cool if this hypothetical park were anchored by the USNWC, and the Charlotte Zoological Park if it ever comes to fruition, but also included various botanical gardens and other landscapes, perhaps a museum of the Catawba/Wateree river basin, and others.

For a really big pie-in-the-sky idea, I think it would be cool, when the USS Charlotte (a submarine named after our city) is decommissioned, if someone could salvage some of the more noticeable compartments and the part of the sub that sits above the waterline when pier side and rebuild it in the river to make it look as if it were resting pier side in the Catawba...in other words, allow the water in the river to hide the fact that the submarine is not fully intact.  Then inside the compartments create a small museum dedicated to the four ships that have been named USS Charlotte.  The shoreline around the sub could be turned into a veteran's memorial park with various monuments commemorating vets from the Carolina's who have fought in our nations wars such as a Carolina vets WWII memorial, Korean memorial, etc.  And perhaps that area could even include a museum of the armed forces.  These could serve as the "third" anchor of the hypothetical park outlined above.

**Edit-The attached image is a submarine pier side.  My idea would be just to salvage the parts that are above the waterline when a sub is pier side to make it look as if the sub was docked on the banks of the Catawba. 

submarine.jpg

Edited by cltbwimob
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7 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I'm surprised we have never seen a hotel. I think a small hotel would sell out consistently. 

Never gave it any thought but great idea. I think ultimately there's probably room for a smallish (80-100) room limited service hotel like a Holiday Inn Express and also a hotel/entertainment concept - either something similar to Great Wolf Lodge or possibly something like what was proposed for the parking lot next to the Chicken Box, with a sports entertainment venue that could be a regional destination for athletics. They definitely have the land to accommodate all the sports fields and being directly on I-85 could draw from a pretty big radius. Seems like it would pair well with WWC too. 

I also LOVE the idea of having the zoo here. Again, the direct I-85 access pulls in a bigger radius, and there's definitely some benefit of having multiple attractions within a short distance of one another.  

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If you've ever been to an event like Riverjam or really any other of their large festivals, you can see the demand for hotel space out there first hand.

that said, I'd prefer to see the WWC itself build a hotel, however make it a lodge or campground like concept.  Maybe something with multiple cabins on site that you would rent out, like a ski lodge.

while we are on the subject and playing whitewater tycoon, I think a micro brewery would KILL at the WWC.  Everyone out there likes beer anyways.  Why not distinguish themselves and brew their own?

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23 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

If you've ever been to an event like Riverjam or really any other of their large festivals, you can see the demand for hotel space out there first hand.

that said, I'd prefer to see the WWC itself build a hotel, however make it a lodge or campground like concept.  Maybe something with multiple cabins on site that you would rent out, like a ski lodge.

while we are on the subject and playing whitewater tycoon, I think a micro brewery would KILL at the WWC.  Everyone out there likes beer anyways.  Why not distinguish themselves and brew their own?

The fact that there are so many opportunities out there, and just 5 years ago banks were forgiving loans and this was in danger of going under is incredible. It has really established itself as a MUST visit for locals, visitors and out of towners....moreso than Carowinds I'd argue. So awesome

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prop

4 hours ago, ah59396 said:

If you've ever been to an event like Riverjam or really any other of their large festivals, you can see the demand for hotel space out there first hand.

that said, I'd prefer to see the WWC itself build a hotel, however make it a lodge or campground like concept.  Maybe something with multiple cabins on site that you would rent out, like a ski lodge.

while we are on the subject and playing whitewater tycoon, I think a micro brewery would KILL at the WWC.  Everyone out there likes beer anyways.  Why not distinguish themselves and brew their own?

+1 for the tycoon series analogy. I was addicted to those games growing up . 

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  • 2 months later...

I was out at the WWC Saturday (well, really all week because I love that place) and MAN have they done a lot of work.  The new all weather trail is complete, which allows some basic trail access even when it rains.  It's roughly 3 miles long and essentially runs the length of the entrance road up and back.

They bought a really awesome Streamline RV, the old school silver ones, not sure what they plan to do with it, but they've just got it set up out in the parking lot right now.

They are doing a full re-vamp of the parking, it looks like it will be extended all the way out to where the entrance to the Lake Loop is.  They have a ton of ground moving going on right now.  Additionally, out near the trail entrances, they've built a bike shop called "The Gear Box", which is basically a big metal module with a flap opening.

They have completed the new Outfitters store, which was an extension they built onto the north side of the building.  It's easily 5x the size of the old shop and houses a lot more cool gear.  They've also added solar panels to the roof of the facility.

 

Last but not least Hawk Island is fully under construction.  They are adding another Beer garden out there and have built a monster tower right in the middle of the island.  The new tower really, well, "towers" over the entire whitewater center.  You will now zipline from it, down to the original zipline platform.

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32 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

Last but not least Hawk Island is fully under construction.  They are adding another Beer garden out there and have built a monster tower right in the middle of the island.  The new tower really, well, "towers" over the entire whitewater center.  You will now zipline from it, down to the original zipline platform.

It looks like there's a line leading from that new tower out into the middle of the woods too, so maybe it connects up with some new canopy zipline stuff? I think this is the reason the Figure 8 Loop has been closed for a few months now. 

They are obviously killing it with the expansions, but one thing I cannot figure out is how they still don't have a disc golf course! I also hope for some more mountain bike skills areas, jump lines and a pump track to complement the revived slalom courses on the South loop. 

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26 minutes ago, nonillogical said:

It looks like there's a line leading from that new tower out into the middle of the woods too, so maybe it connects up with some new canopy zipline stuff? I think this is the reason the Figure 8 Loop has been closed for a few months now. 

They are obviously killing it with the expansions, but one thing I cannot figure out is how they still don't have a disc golf course! I also hope for some more mountain bike skills areas, jump lines and a pump track to complement the revived slalom courses on the South loop. 

Yes, you're correct.  The reason for Figure 8 being closed is for a line out into the woods.  Which pisses me off because I like running the Carolina Thread Trail back there.

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  • 4 months later...
13 minutes ago, mad_park said:

Whitewater center acknowledges 'flaw' in filter  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article89811797.html

 

How does this end?

What type of changes do they have to make to get this place re-opened? Where does the $$ come from?

Who is on the hook for a lawsuit? Meck County taxpayers? Or is it limited to the WWC itself?

The city/county does not own the WWC in any way. They gave land to them for free and I think gave them property tax breaks, but they aren't partial owners. Any lawsuit would fall on the WWC, and I suspect they have insurance that cover death due to the nature of the WWC itself.

The WWC turns a pretty solid profit these days, so it would look pretty bad if they were to ask the city for money to make the necessary upgrades after they were already given free land and had banks forgive much of their debt.

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3 hours ago, mad_park said:

Whitewater center acknowledges 'flaw' in filter  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article89811797.html

 

How does this end?

What type of changes do they have to make to get this place re-opened? Where does the $$ come from?

Who is on the hook for a lawsuit? Meck County taxpayers? Or is it limited to the WWC itself?

It is important to note that the "place" is open, it is just the whitewater activity that it is close. I went today and it was sad to see. A ghost town, considering how crowded it usually is (granted it was the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, can't imagine it being too crowded anyway).

Personally, long term, I see the center being just fine. I would guess that more people are staying away because they want to whitewater and its not open as opposed to being scared of the place. What happened was tragic but as stated it was INSANELY unlikely and rare and you are in bigger danger driving there than actually being there.

A lawsuit is coming sure, but you essentially sign your life away before they even let you buy tickets, not sure how this would fare in court.

The death is sad, but selfishly this bums me out. WWC was really hitting its stride and momentum was insane and this shatters it. There are not a lot of cool unique touristy things to do in Charlotte (we don't have a Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Millennium Park, world class museums, gardens or aquariums) and this is certainly a INCREDIBLY unique and cool place to go for both locals and visitors. Sure we have Carowinds but WWC is special. I just hope people get back out and support the place when they get this mess behind them. They have some REALLY amazing new activities and ones on the way. 

Edited by Jayvee
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25 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

Personally, long term, I see the center being just fine. I would guess that more people are staying away because they want to whitewater and its not open as opposed to being scared of the place.

This is the case I'm pretty sure. The crowds that go just to drink, eat and watch a concert are taking a hit too because watching the running water and rafters was a big part of the appeal. FWIW I went early Saturday morning 2 weeks ago to mountain bike and the trails were more crowded with bikers than I have ever seen them. There is a concerted effort in that community to show the place some love right now, and they really do have one of the better and larger trail systems in the area. The flatwater area and ziplines were seeing sub-normal but still an encouraging amount of use. Rafting is by far the most visible and popular activity and also draws in the most spectators, but the other attractions are being used. 

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On ‎7‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 4:45 PM, Jayvee said:

A lawsuit is coming sure, but you essentially sign your life away before they even let you buy tickets, not sure how this would fare in court.

A waiver does not absolve anyone from liability due to gross negligence.  What it does do is limit liability exposure in contributory negligence.  So it allows the center to not have to worry about a lawsuit form someone who slipped while running.  At the same time it does not absolve them from liability if someone were to slip because a condition existed that was blatantly unsafe, such as a polished concrete walkway with a steep slope that regularly gets wet.  

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On 7/15/2016 at 4:45 PM, Jayvee said:

The death is sad, but selfishly this bums me out. WWC was really hitting its stride and momentum was insane and this shatters it. There are not a lot of cool unique touristy things to do in Charlotte (we don't have a Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Millennium Park, world class museums, gardens or aquariums) and this is certainly a INCREDIBLY unique and cool place to go for both locals and visitors. Sure we have Carowinds but WWC is special. I just hope people get back out and support the place when they get this mess behind them. They have some REALLY amazing new activities and ones on the way. 

I agree, but the USNWC really blew this one on the PR side. Instead of immediately closing the center, answering questions from the media, etc, it chose to hang up on reporters, escort media off the property, and generally give off a "we don't give a damn" attitude. This is classic "What not to do in the event of a tragedy PR 101". They need a good long study session from from Chipotle, Jack in the Box, and Cowfish--all of whom acted in the public interest by shutting down immediately. 
 

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