What is Charlotte doing right?

[Tepees]

None of us might be fans, but honestly the NASCAR museum and all the drivers shops (Mooresville) and all the race oriented activities in the region ARE going to be similar to what you named in terms of national attention, visitors, and major attraction from all over. I hope we get something else so we aren't "Race City", but to those that love and support NASCAR this is a big thing.

[nowensone]

Well, I like that it is "home" to CLT, just rather CLT have a more "sophisticated" drawing point. Before I get reamed for that statement, I am generally a sports fan, and when I say I have nothing against NASCAR, I mean it, and I'll probably get roped into going to another race this year. I just think we should have something cultural, not just sports related which we have now already in football to a degree. But a good point is made in that the NASCAR HOF may itself be a catalyst of and afford other amenities, so it is hard to rue it's presence.

[New Name]

Well, I like that it is "home" to CLT, just rather CLT have a more "sophisticated" drawing point. Before I get reamed for that statement, I am generally a sports fan, and when I say I have nothing against NASCAR, I mean it, and I'll probably get roped into going to another race this year. I just think we should have something cultural, not just sports related which we have now already in football to a degree. But a good point is made in that the NASCAR HOF may itself be a catalyst of and afford other amenities, so it is hard to rue it's presence.

[Charlotte_native]

The NASCAR museum is going to help round out our center city. A large complaint about uptown is that it is very sterile, very whitebread, very yuppie, etc... and I would consiter the wolrdwide fans/fanatics of NASCAR to be anything BUT sterile, or yuppie. With their interrests, there will come new retail oriented toward them which will be on a completely different plane than the yuppie bank employee scene we have now.

[Idaho]

Along these same lines -- anyone else downtown this weekend and see all the cowboys and cowgirls with their full cow-person outfits and big ol' hats? Rodeo in Bobcats Arena drew a very interesting crowd -- fun to watch them meander all over the city. Oh, and combine them with the Harley / Motorcycle convention at the Convention Center...