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Charlotte Knights AAA Ballpark in Third Ward

dubone

By dubone
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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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One does have to wonder if the Mayor's comments are a bad sign. The question is, would it be a deal breaker if the extra money isn't approved? Would that be the death knell for a minor league baseball park in uptown or would the Knights still be able to move forward on their own? It seems like I remember reading that there were two different plans, one a more ambitious plan that involved a restuarant and another that maybe was a little less costly. I'll be anxious to hear what they have to say on Thursday.

If that "less ambitious" plan involves the stripping out of any retail, street-level amenities, etc, and making this thing as bland as possible then I hope it gets passed on. This shouldn't be done unless its going to be done exceptionally well.

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kermit
kermit

Never seen more people at the ballpark than tonight for the Checkers. Edit: Checkers report that it was a sellout and 11,031 attended. Felt like more than that. Edit: per the CBJ  

navigator319
navigator319

Beautiful night. Accent and Barings/Kimpton looking great.      

videtur quam contuor
videtur quam contuor

The land under which the stadium was built was for a century or more an African American area of the (much smaller) city. The Isabella Wyche elementary school, the Third Ward recreation center and Goo

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kermit Metropolitan Area

kermit

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While I am uncomfortable with the thought of additional public funds for this project I would say that the ballpark will increase activity downtown and stimulate _some_ additional spending in restaurants and hotels uptown (granted minor league ball is not going to bring in many folks to CLT who spend the night after a game). Given the ability of the ballpark to generate additional revenue it seems to be an appropriate use of the room tax / tourism revenue stream (the same funds which built the arena and the HOF).

I see few other projects which would be a more appropriate use of that money (gateway station and a dedicated shuttle to the music factory aside). If the money is there (from the tourism tax) then it needs to be spent on uses which promote the industry.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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During part of the presentation yesterday, the Knights indicated that basically there were 2 apartment towers with 500-700 total units and a 150 room hotel behind left field that were set to go if this stadium gets the go ahead. Does anyone know what they were referring to? I'm pretty sure none of the apartment buildings that have already been proposed and set for construction this year fit that description.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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This morning I was watching some show on WTVI that deals with local business topics. I forget the name of the show but Eric Spanberg is one of the regulars on the panel. For what it's worth, everyone on the panel thought the ballpark proposal would probably be approved using the tourism tax.

I can't say that anyone would be surprised. My question though is how much of this takes away from the money in the tourism tax that goes towards paying off the arena? I realize $11 million is a lot less than $260 million or whatever the bill was on TWCA. I suspect they may be banking on the windfall from the DNC.

nonillogical posted above that stripping out any retail or other street side amenities shouldn't be considered if they go forward with the ballpark. Have to say, I agree with that. They only really have one time to get this right. "Cheapening" the ballpark is the last thing they should be doing.

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Durhamite Hamlet

Durhamite

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Stadium renderings look great! The Durham Bull stadium has been a great addition to downtown. The football stadium doesn't belong there, not sure where is should go...maybe somewhere near the I85/I-77 exchange with an open-end view of downtown accessible from the red line commuter train...not too far from downtown with plenty of land for tailgating.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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The thing with all of the sports stadiums, and a positive aspect of the baseball park I had forgotten, is that they can leverage all of the freeway (and transit) infrastructure usually at times that do not conflict with business day rush hour. In part, base could help alleviate rush hour in a way by siphoning off some suburban drivers who wait to leave until after the game.

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Guest

Guest

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I can't help but wonder if the Knights could have built the stadium without the need for that 11 million when this was initially proposed. His lawsuits may very well be the reason they now need public assistance.

Without a doubt they could have built it. The initial plan was no public money. Reese screwed them hard over the past half dozen lawsuits, delaying the project, while price of raw materials sky rocketed, and the team continued to lose money. If anything they should be asking Reese for 11 million dollars. And Honestly I think they deserve the 11 million because I think this stadium will be a huge success.

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carolinagarnet Hamlet

carolinagarnet

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Is it just me, or does anybody else wonder where all of these new fans are going to come from? I actually like the proposal for the new stadium and I think the price point is great, but it's hard to imagine a lot more families driving into the city during week nights for baseball games. I don't mean to be overly negative, but it seems like some of the suburban population considers it an impertinance to get in an out of Uptown during games.

Since there are only about 10k people living in Uptown and the adjacent neighborhoods are not that densely populated, I'm wondering from where they plan to draw the increase in fans. I suppose the move to Uptown would make the games more accessible for the Iredell Country and the Myers Park/Dilworth crowds, but it's just hard to imagine huge attendance increases in the first couple of years. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if they plan to host concerts at the proposed stadium? Given the size of the stadium, they might be able to compete with some of the mid-size venues in town.

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