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Charlotte Hornets and the Arena


Raintree21

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I went to the game on Friday night against Milwaukee. It was great to see the effort the Bobcats put forth (and are now 2-0). One thing I've noticed is that Charlotte has a very passive crowd. It was quiet most of the first half except after a few Felton 3's. But it picked up later in the 2nd half especially in the 4th. Hopefully the fans will get behind this team more as the season carries on. Talent wise, it's the best we've had since they started. Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson are some pretty exciting players to watch as well. I only wish I could go to more games but my travel schedule for work limits me to weekends most of the time :(

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It really stinks that their TV deal is limited to Time Warner Cable. I think they'd grow their fan base a bit more in hinterlands that aren't blessed with Time Warner.

Well, based on the recent talks with Time Warner, that may be over soon. If TW gets naming rights to the arena, as speculated, you'll be able to see Bobcats games on Fox Sports South and not just channel 14. Hopefully we'll hear something on that soon....

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  • 5 weeks later...

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...st&p=900178

If events at the arena (you know, the one we didn't need) are driving all this...that's also a slap in the face to the arguement of the arena being a deadzone. Before this is rebutted with the idea that the arena isn't open during the day (blah, blah, blah), maybe the numbers of people that are at the arena each day should be divided by 24 to get number of people/hour. I'd dare say that rate would compare VERY favorably with any destination uptown.

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Well, based on the recent talks with Time Warner, that may be over soon. If TW gets naming rights to the arena, as speculated, you'll be able to see Bobcats games on Fox Sports South and not just channel 14. Hopefully we'll hear something on that soon....

Why would TW if they sign a deal, move the Bobcats game to another channel like FSN-S ? Maybe so with some sort of deal to get out of a contract.. Not sure when it would be happening but the Canes are on FSN-S and their contract runs out after next year. I can see the Canes changing networks to MASN but they may stay on FSN-S. Depends on money and many other items. I know they can have multiple locations with FSN-S but not sure how that plays with current contracts on coverage.

Edited by Subway Scoundrel
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Why would TW if they sign a deal, move the Bobcats game to another channel like FSN-S ? Maybe so with some sort of deal to get out of a contract.. Not sure when it would be happening but the Canes are on FSN-S and their contract runs out after next year. I can see the Canes changing networks to MASN but they may stay on FSN-S. Depends on money and many other items. I know they can have multiple locations with FSN-S but not sure how that plays with current contracts on coverage.

For better exposure more than anything else. The channel that currently carries Bobcats games isn't widely available across the southeast. I can't remember all the markets but pretty much anyone outside Charlotte region and the Triad area can't see their games unless the opposing team is covering it. I don't believe you can see them on the NBA cable package either. Bitterness from the Hornets debacle aside, that's hurt the 'Cats from growing their fanbase.

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http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...st&p=900178

If events at the arena (you know, the one we didn't need) are driving all this...that's also a slap in the face to the arguement of the arena being a deadzone. Before this is rebutted with the idea that the arena isn't open during the day (blah, blah, blah), maybe the numbers of people that are at the arena each day should be divided by 24 to get number of people/hour. I'd dare say that rate would compare VERY favorably with any destination uptown.

I'm not sure that people/hour really matters much in real-world terms. One could argue that on Sundays BoA stadium draws upwards of 3,000 people per hour, but the reality is that the crowd shows up en masse between 11am (for a 1pm start) and is pretty much gone by 5pm. So at 9am or 8pm, the presence of the stadium has only a marginal impact on uptown activity. Same holds true for Bobcats Arena, just in much smaller numbers (more like 600 people/hour, with the reality being that it's a crowd of 15,000 between 6pm and 10pm).

Not that this is an argument against the arena (I support it), but I don't think we can afford to whitewash the dead-zone argument by pointing to the four-hour window of good activity the arena creates on event nights. If it's going to really do what it needs to do for the city, there needs to be more substantial retail activity there than a donut shop and the team store. I like the plaza and the opportunities it creates for pedestrian activity; perhaps something creative can be done with that space to make it an attractive destination for the lunch crowd, or to encourage skaters to gather there in the evenings the way they do at the Square.

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For better exposure more than anything else. The channel that currently carries Bobcats games isn't widely available across the southeast. I can't remember all the markets but pretty much anyone outside Charlotte region and the Triad area can't see their games unless the opposing team is covering it. I don't believe you can see them on the NBA cable package either. Bitterness from the Hornets debacle aside, that's hurt the 'Cats from growing their fanbase.

Raleigh gets Bobcats games on TW Channel 14 (basic cable). Hurricanes carried in Raleigh and Charlotte on FSN digital cable.

Edited by staffer
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Great pub on ESPN tonight. For the Magic-Bobcats game, espn did a summary of 24 hours of all-access to the Bobcats team. Rookie Jared Dudley gave a tour of the arena, and ended it out on one of the upper balconies with a view of the city. He ended the segment with "Charlotte...and up and coming city, an up and coming team, and im your up and coming rookie" or something to that effect, as the camera panned on the skyline.

The commentators made a comment about all the pervasive development in the city this time around, and compared it to Charlotte circa the late 80's. Cool stuff and good pub for our city.

NOTE: I WISH a lynx train happened to roll by as the camera panned in that direction.

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I'm not sure that people/hour really matters much in real-world terms. One could argue that on Sundays BoA stadium draws upwards of 3,000 people per hour, but the reality is that the crowd shows up en masse between 11am (for a 1pm start) and is pretty much gone by 5pm. So at 9am or 8pm, the presence of the stadium has only a marginal impact on uptown activity. Same holds true for Bobcats Arena, just in much smaller numbers (more like 600 people/hour, with the reality being that it's a crowd of 15,000 between 6pm and 10pm).

Not that this is an argument against the arena (I support it), but I don't think we can afford to whitewash the dead-zone argument by pointing to the four-hour window of good activity the arena creates on event nights. If it's going to really do what it needs to do for the city, there needs to be more substantial retail activity there than a donut shop and the team store. I like the plaza and the opportunities it creates for pedestrian activity; perhaps something creative can be done with that space to make it an attractive destination for the lunch crowd, or to encourage skaters to gather there in the evenings the way they do at the Square.

Regardless of whether the people are compacted into a small timeframe or a large timeframe, the number of people the arena attracts for events FAR outpaces anything else in uptown Charlotte. There really is no arguement against that. Large numbers of people in an area is pretty much the opposite of a deadzone.

And of course, the obvious thing missing from the previous arguement is the number of nights the "crowd of 15,000 between 6pm and 10pm" is present. It's really hard to argue against activity 250+ days/year.

And, just to be completely correct, Bellacino's has also opened beside the "donut shop and the team store". There will eventually be a third retail option also available.

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And, just to be completely correct, Bellacino's has also opened beside the "donut shop and the team store". There will eventually be a third retail option also available.

Yup they opened a few days before Halloween. I also ate there one night before a Checkers Game. They said they are looking forward to more business in the future, when I talked to the owner. The night of the Hannah Montana concert, the line was parked outside of the front door into Bellacino's.

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Well, Seattle's about to move to Oklahoma City fairly soon, so its no surprise that their attendence numbers suck. I wonder how long attendence in OKC will hold up. I know they had a lot of support for the Hornets during Katrina evacuations, but I'm not sure about the long haul. I hope they do good there. I'd figure Indiana would have better numbers than us, but then I remember:

1) No Reggie

2) Ron Artest Fiasco a few years back that dampened the fan's support.

3) No Reggie

Anybody check out Terrell Owens at the game last night?

Edited by southernyank
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Regardless of whether the people are compacted into a small timeframe or a large timeframe, the number of people the arena attracts for events FAR outpaces anything else in uptown Charlotte. There really is no arguement against that. Large numbers of people in an area is pretty much the opposite of a deadzone.

I'm sorry, but I have to completely disagree. It most certainly DOES matter whether visitors are compacted into a small timeframe. This is the reason we are not likely to see train service to LMS, the reason the "new" Coliseum never spurred significant development, and the reason that 3rd Ward still has no retail after 10 years of an NFL stadium being next door.

It would be different if this venue was stuffed away in a corner like BoA stadium or the Music Factory, but it's at the heart of the city and is pretty much the only bridge between 1st Ward and Tryon St. It's absolutely crucial that it not be dead 20 hours a day -- the restaurants are a good start and I hope they do well, but more needs to be made of that space if the area around the arena is going to be a true 24/7 livable district.

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