Charlotte Hornets and the Arena

[kermit]

Just back from a checkers game and discovered the semi-stealth price increase in concessions. You now pay sales tax on top of menu prices, last year the menu prices included tax.

I love the checkers but I hate $8.50 ($9.29) beers....

[New Name]

Just back from a checkers game and discovered the semi-stealth price increase in concessions. You now pay sales tax on top of menu prices, last year the menu prices included tax.

I love the checkers but I hate $8.50 ($9.29) beers....

I noticed that at the Bobcats home opener. But they set base price to round off the sales price (beer costs $X.24 + $.76 in tax = $round.number). Pretty stealthy.

[New Name]

tonight's game is on ESPN - good for all those fans who have traveled out of Charlotte for Tday!

[HopHead]

While it hasn't been a great season for the Bobcats on the court thus far, it's definitely been a great one off the court. Aside from more than doubling their previous sponsors, Michael Jordan is now bringing his famed "Jordan Brand Classic" to Charlotte this coming April. This is one of the most popular high school basketball all-star tournaments in the country that showcases some of the best talent. It had previously been at NYC's Madison Square Garden the last 5 years. Definitely great to see this tournament come to town. Some MVPs from this game are currently NBA stars such as LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant.

[Urbanity]

While it hasn't been a great season for the Bobcats on the court thus far, it's definitely been a great one off the court. Aside from more than doubling their previous sponsors, Michael Jordan is now bringing his famed "Jordan Brand Classic" to Charlotte this coming April. This is one of the most popular high school basketball all-star tournaments in the country that showcases some of the best talent. It had previously been at NYC's Madison Square Garden the last 5 years. Definitely great to see this tournament come to town. Some MVPs from this game are currently NBA stars such as LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant.

That is excellent news and a great thing to have it move from NYC to CLT!

[Bikeguy]

Has anyone noticed that the large video screens over center court have a large number of black ,pixilated dots scattered over the image areas?

Aren't they kinda too new to be showing so much wear & tear? ...and who shoulders the cost of having to maintain or replace them.... the city or the Bobcats?

[marcusfromnc]

I just happened to notice the same thing at Saturday night's game for the first time. It really stuck out during pregame, but I don't recall noticing it once the game was underway. Not sure what the lifespan might be for an LED screen like that one.

Has anyone noticed that the large video screens over center court have a large number of black ,pixilated dots scattered over the image areas?

Aren't they kinda too new to be showing so much wear & tear? ...and who shoulders the cost of having to maintain or replace them.... the city or the Bobcats?

[HopHead]

If I'm not mistaken the city already has money set aside for fixing things such as this. In other words, it's not going to cost anyone any additional money. I would also tend to think there's a warranty period for the scoreboard and that could easily handle the cost of fixing it too. Not sure on how long that is though.

[tozmervo]

6-2 in the last 8.

scored some free tix to the 76ers next week. they're making me want to go now!

[HopHead]

Read an interesting article in today's Charlotte Biz Journal. Apparently, the seating changes that will be made for the DNC in 2012 may become permanent in the lower bowl. I'm interested to see what those changes may be. I've often thought there's too much of a focus on luxury in the lower bowl. There are seats that line up behind the baskets with monitors in them (I'm guessing for every 1 of those you could add 2 regular seats). I'm not sure what they cost, but when they are used it's often for groups. I would be willing to guess they may be removed for the DNC. I think the Bobcats are probably looking to add seats in the lower level. If anyone has a subscription to the Charlotte Biz journal, feel free to update us with what the rest of the article says

[kermit]

Read an interesting article in today's Charlotte Biz Journal. Apparently, the seating changes that will be made for the DNC in 2012 may become permanent in the lower bowl. I'm interested to see what those changes may be. I've often thought there's too much of a focus on luxury in the lower bowl. There are seats that line up behind the baskets with monitors in them (I'm guessing for every 1 of those you could add 2 regular seats). I'm not sure what they cost, but when they are used it's often for groups. I would be willing to guess they may be removed for the DNC. I think the Bobcats are probably looking to add seats in the lower level. If anyone has a subscription to the Charlotte Biz journal, feel free to update us with what the rest of the article says

The full article does not say much more than what you have already said (you may have seen the whole article, its pretty short). The article quotes a bobcats exec who says that "in a perfect world" the Royal Boxes and Terrace Tables will be removed and replaced with regular seats. The Royal Box seats are said to be $200 per game. There was also talk of removing a wall in the Front Court restaurant that blocks diners from seeing the game. All this appears to be dependent upon DNC plans which have not yet been developed.

[HopHead]

Both UNC and Duke will be playing in Charlotte at TWC Arena for the NCAA tournament this coming weekend. I'd say that local businesses are quite happy about that. And add Tennesee and Georgia to boot.

[tozmervo]

Uhg, my poor Vols. They have a wretched record in this city. I hope that streak isn't continued.

[tozmervo]

Uhg, my poor Vols. They have a wretched record in this city. I hope that streak isn't continued.

And the Cable Box Curse continues in fine form.

[HopHead]

NCAA officials gave glowing reviews of Charlotte hosting the men's NCAA tournament this past weekend. Local officials are already putting plans together to submit bids to host future tournament dates. Right now for 2013 there are no southeastern or mid-Atlantic cities hosting either the 2nd and 3rd round games (which were here last weekend) or the Regional round (which Charlotte hosted in 2008). 2014 through 2016 are also open as well, so it's likely Charlotte will get something then.

[jednc]

NCAA officials gave glowing reviews of Charlotte hosting the men's NCAA tournament this past weekend. Local officials are already putting plans together to submit bids to host future tournament dates. Right now for 2013 there are no southeastern or mid-Atlantic cities hosting either the 2nd and 3rd round games (which were here last weekend) or the Regional round (which Charlotte hosted in 2008). 2014 through 2016 are also open as well, so it's likely Charlotte will get something then.

I'm ready for another Final Four here in Charlotte. The last one here was a lot of fun. Before someone chimes in that it's not possible these days, I am well aware of the venue size the NCAA prefers these days for the Final Four. A guy can dream though right?

[HopHead]

A little surprised this wasn't mentioned, but numbers for last month's CIAA tournament at TWC Arena came out. The event brought a record 190,000 visitors to Charlotte and over $44 million to the local economy. I had heard a lot of buzz from pro athletes (Chris Harris, Vince Young to name a few) about how busy uptown was for that weekend, but wow... that's pretty impressive.

[Bikeguy]

If I'm not mistaken the city already has money set aside for fixing things such as this. In other words, it's not going to cost anyone any additional money. I would also tend to think there's a warranty period for the scoreboard and that could easily handle the cost of fixing it too. Not sure on how long that is though.

I went to the Orlando game this week and the screens are much worse. If I was paying the big bucks to advertise on that thing, a refund would certainly be in order... Second rate team, third rate video screen.

[kermit]

CBJ is reporting that the Big East has signed a 10 year contract extension (through 2026) to have its conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. Given the very narrow scheduling window for conference tournaments this will prevent the ACC from staging its tournament in MSG (assuming the Big East lasts that long). This should open the window for a couple more ACC tournaments here according to the CBJ:

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2012/03/big-east-does-charlotte-a-big-favor.html?ed=2012-03-08&s=article_du&ana=e_du_pub

This is good news for Charlotte, but even better news for the ACC. In my opinion, staging the tournament in NYC would be a disaster, the league should not turn its back on its Tobacco Road roots.

[kermit]

It looks like the ACC is less interested in hosting its tournament in a dome than in years past: This is good news for Charlotte as the area was frequently criticized as too small for the ACC and NCAA. It sounds like Charlotte will bid to host the ACC tournament after 2015 (the next free dates)

From the Observer blog: http://aboverim.blog...osting-acc.html

"The (Charlotte) building works for us size-wise in today's market," ACC commissioner John Swofford said. "The last experience in Charlotte was outstanding in every respect and the feedback we got from schools and fans was extremely positive."

Edited March 10, 2012 by kermit

[southslider]

Did they ever add more buildings like the "power tower" to the scoreboard over center court? Granted, I haven't been to a game at the "cable box" in over a year.

[New Name]

^Nope. That thing hasn't ever been updated.

[HopHead]

I'm sure adding buildings to the scoreboard is probably on the lower side of their priority list. The video screen on the scoreboard did get fixed at some point before the basketball season started though.

[ah59396]

In off topic Bobcat related news, I was thinking about all the times the Bobcats are mentioned in the media as the butt-end of a joke. I know it's not the best publicity, but the past couple years have allowed for our team name to land in some places we typically wouldn't if we weren't so dismal.

Off the top of my head I was thinking of Entourage when Ari Gold was claiming he didn't go to the Lakers game because they were "playing the f***ing Bobcats" (in regards to him potentially being depressed).

Another one was Mark Cuban stating that a guy like Jeremy Lin would never have been heard of in a place like Charlotte.

Another is a joke I saw on Yahoo this past weekend noting "12 seconds of Charlotte Bobcat basketball as the worst pro basketball the guy had ever seen".

Then someone noted that the police in Charlotte are putting Bobcats tickets on your window now when you park illegally instead of fines, but people are still fighting them.

Anyways, I'm not really going anywhere with all of this, I just found it funny and noteworthy. I'd love for the Bobcats to become successful and I understand what they are trying to do right now so I am patient. At the same time though, if we are going to be bad it's at least nice to know people care enough to bust our chops around the country.

[New Name]

^The Clippers have been the butt of those jokes until this year - Bobcats are the new punchline...for the foreseeable future