Charlotte Bobcats Arena

[DanRNC]

I don't think the issue is with creating a playoff caliber team in 2 years. The citizens of Charlotte made it clear that they didn't want to shell out a large amount of cash to build the new arena and most people didn't even care about getting another NBA team. I think the lifespan of this team under Bob(cat) is limited.

[Rickydavisfan21]

Let me start off by saying charlotte is a notorious bandwagon city

I think the problem is, however, with the lack of a winning team or a superstar, I think when the team gets better under the new management there will be support, and we were 22nd in the league in attendance, which is a vast improvement, and things are going up. I am pretty sure there were at least 10 teams that posted a deficit this year, especially the 8 teams with less attendance and higher, much higher payrolls. Bob's Cats will have the chance this year to do some things in free agency, the have a full salary cap, which is a first, and there are some great free agents out there looking to be signed, and I think we'll have a playoff team soon, maybe not next year, and we all know bandwagonning is very big in charlotte, with peoples recent interest in NHL.

You can say that charlotte doesn't support winning teams, the hornets had some of the best years in the waning times of the franchise, and did we support them? No we didn't, but people were ignorant to the hornets. I would say that the hornets were in the playoffs and people would question me, saying that the hornets were the worst team in the league, people wouldn't let themselves follow a truely great basketball team with great basketball players, because of the management that was there. George did some bad things, he wasn't very good with cheerleaders, he lost a good couple big contracts, larry j, Zo, etc, oh and did I mention not selling 50% of the team to michael jordan, instead selling to a crackhead modular home entrepreneur with a big head and a big ego, that had no real interest in the team except as an invesor. That guy's name was ray wooldridge right? There was a lot of things that weren't there to like. And there were plenty of things not to like about this franchise, but mostly the city, the arena really was shoved down our throat, but what a world-class arena it is. It is by far the nicest interior, I've ever seen, I would have liked the outside to be a little better, but the inside is spectacular.

Edit: Actually there is nothing to dislike about the team, only the city, the city went against the popular vote and built it, not the bobcats. The bobcats only believed that this city was great enough to support them and I think we should all respect them for having that belief, we all believe in this city, so we should be proud. Oh and did I mention the arena was built and there is nothing we can do about it, so get over it.

People complain about it being 19k cap, instead of 25k cap, and how, when we are now complaining about not filling it up can we say that? The arena is perfect as it is. When Bob's cats, or possibly mike's cats (praying to be the case) start winning people will start going to the games, and seeing how great the arena is, The will go home, and tell all their friends what a great show it was and what a great environment it was. There is also one more thing that will help within a 2-3 block radius of this place are 4 condo towers (epicenter, twelve, courtside, the park), and three boutique hotels (ritz, aloft and twelve), this can't hurt.

Point of this rant was, Bob's Cats will win and the attendence will get better as well.

Random question, is the epicenter parking deck going to be open to basketball goers?

[turbocraig]

2 o'clock caffeine buzz?

[Rickydavisfan21]

Haha yea a little bit, and we have a heat advisory here, and I'm trying not to go outside too much, its 95 with a 100 something heat index

[RugbyPike#11]

I'm a big basketball fan so I'll try to write a little bit more on the subject later but I want to throw out a couple of things.

Please please please just say no to Michael Jordan. The guy is simply clueless as a GM. His massive ego causes him to make stupid trades in an effort to win games in the short-term. For example, trading a young Richard Hamilton for an aging Jerry Stackhouse. Reportedly mentally abusing Kwame Brown until the immature 19 year old rookie was in tears.

The Bobcats don't have a superstar to rally around, but next year's #1 overall pick is expected to yield the best center to enter the NBA since Tim Duncan. Eat your heart out Dwight Howard, Greg Oden is supposed to be incredible. Look out for him at OSU next year and be sure to watch draft the lottery in the playoffs next year.

[Rickydavisfan21]

I wouldn't want him as GM, I would want him as part owner, there is really less responsiblity in the physical aspect of the team (trades and such), they are more responsibly in the fiscal aspect of the team. Bob Johnson can be the owner he has been, and mike can just sit around and be publicity. bobcats also have the #3 pick this year which should yield a pretty good player, but that means our core is just going to get younger and younger, which could be a curse or could be an advantage we will see

oh and speaking of saying no, say no to larry brown, he couldn't bring a team with the highest payroll in the NBA outta the cellar then he isn't worth my time anymore, plus he's too expensive spend that money on a better player not a washed up coach, I'd rather give tim floyd a chance and he couldn't bring the bulls outta the cellar post michael, but hey he had no players at all, the knicks did.

[monsoon]

Well, the population of Charlotte hasn't supported the NBA for a long time. Various reasons have been given for this but the bottom line is that it is hard for most people to get excited about a sport that is only focused on money and nothing else. Shinn left town because of money and Johnson came to town because of money. If Bugtussle USA had coughed up $300M he would have gone there. If Johnson sells out this only demonstrates they don't care about where they play, just how much money it makes them.

The people don't feel like they are part of the "team" when the most important thing in the sport these days are "salary caps". You guys just proved it above. If the players don't think enough of Charlotte to come and be a part of the city unless you pay them an outrageous amount of money, then you can't expect the people here to get into the team spirit when the players don't have any. Other cities may be different, but this is why there is no support for the NBA here and why support for the NBA in general is waning.

If you look at the excitement in this city for Nascar this week, vs that of any NBA game including the grand opening at the arena, the difference is night and day. And most notibly, the race track doesn't have to be in downtown Charlotte for this excitement and support to happen.

[eastsider]

The people don't feel like they are part of the "team" when the most important thing in the sport these days are "salary caps". You guys just proved it above. If the players don't think enough of Charlotte to come and be a part of the city unless you pay them an outrageous amount of money, then you can't expect the people here to get into the team spirit when the players don't have any. Other cities may be different, but this is why there is no support for the NBA here and why support for the NBA in general is waning.

If you look at the excitement in this city for Nascar this week, vs that of any NBA game including the grand opening at the arena, the difference is night and day. And most notibly, the race track doesn't have to be in downtown Charlotte for this excitement and support to happen.

If you have been following nascar the last few years you will have noticed that drivers have been signing contracts with other teams more than a year before their contracts with the current teams expire. There are even rumors of drivers going to the new Toyota teams next year for $20M/year. Not much different than the NBA free agency except nascar teams don't have a city in front of their team names.

Also, if there were 41 nascar races in Charlotte every year, then there wouldn't be much excitement for them either. There have also been communitees that have given great support to nascar like Richmond, North Wilkesboro, and Darlington, only to be left in the dust for larger markets like Dallas, Chicago, and Las Vegas. Why? Money of course. Looks like nascar is makeing it to the big leagues after all.

[monsoon]

I'm not sure where you get the information about Darlington and Richmond as there are several NASCAR races at both tracks each year and there is talk of bringing a race back to the N. Wilkesboro track.

[JC1]

Let me preface this by saying that I have been reading this board for a while but this is my first post.

Metro, we get it, you dont like the Bobcats, you don't like the NBA, and you don't like the fact that the arena was built. You know what...great. You never post anything positive about the Bobcats or the arena, but yet you are always the first to post whatever negative article you can find.

I am a huge supporter of the new arena and the Bobcats (and professional sports in general). This is not because I love the Bobcats (because I don't). This is not because I love basketball (I much prefer football and baseball), but it is because I love my city.

I am a college student attending a very famous university in the North. Among my classmates are the best and the brightest from New York, Boston, Chicago...you name it. They ask me where I from and I am forced to say North Carolina. If I say Charlotte, half the time I am greeted with absolutely blank stares, until I quickly add, North Carolina. And like I said, I don't go to podunk university, these aren't ignorant kids, they are the future leaders of our country. The other half who know where Charlotte is know it for one reason, and one reason only....the Charlotte Hornets. I tell people, you know, Charlotte, the headquarters of Bank of America and Wachovia, 2 of the 4 biggest banks in the country. Like they could give a rat's ---. They are from cities that have 50 fortune 500 companies, not a handful. My point is that Charlotte is nowwhere near as big or as important that you think it is. Professional sports have brought Charlotte's name to the forefront more than any company ever has or can. The name of the city constantly being scrolled across the bottom of ESPN, the name of the city in every newspaper in the country everyday in the sports section. People from LA and Chicago and Boston seeing their teams play against "Charlotte." Name one other way you can get this type of exposure across the country, or for that matter, the globe, and I will form a counter argument. 300 million dollars is the most recent price we paid for this exposure, but in my mind, this exposure is worth ten times this amount. I just dont understand how you, who is Mr. pro everything semi-related to Charlotte can be so against the NBA when it has helped our city more than you can fathom.

[monsoon]

^"Among my classmates are the best and the brightest from New York, Boston, Chicago...you name it..... If I say Charlotte, half the time I am greeted with absolutely blank stares. And like I said, I don't go to podunk university, these aren't ignorant kids, they are the future leaders of our country."

Well, if the "best and brightest" of USA college students as you describe them, don't know basic geography and are only aware of places because due to the presence of the NBA, I would say the USA is in a really bad decline. I don't disagree that some pampered college students of today are not as knowledgeable as their predecessors. However, when I worked in NY State in the 80s, before the Hornets, everyone I met knew exactly where Charlotte was located.

I suggest that you actually read this thread instead of passing off judgements against the people who might disagree with your opinion. Your implication that I think Charlotte is "big and important" off base and for your first post here is not a good sign. A smart person such as yourself should know how we conduct ourselves here if you have been reading this forum for a while as you claim. The suggestion the "best & brightest" students are only found in places such as NY, Boston & Chicago goes against this spirit of this forum as it has no basis in reality.

Finally in regards to the actual subject at hand, I am sure the taxpayers of Charlotte are not that concerned with clueless college students located in "famous universities of the North" (and Indiana too) whose only attribute is the high opinion they have of themselves. In a few years, if trends continue to hold, they will most likely be living in NC anyway where they will no doubt learn the cities of the state.

[Miesian Corners]

I'm not too sure what NASCAR does for Charlotte in terms of notoritey. Last night on EXTRA! (I was flipping channels...I don't actually watch crappy tv shows that go on and on about pseudo entertainers) and the story was about the new movie Cars. The stars of the movie were at "...at the Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina". The word "Charlotte" was never mentioned.

I too am a little worried about the state of education in our country when supposedly smart folks don't know their geography. I realize I'm a geo-geek, but not to know what the largest cities in this country are is just sad. Reminds me of the buisness-suited woman blathering on and on into her cell phone at the Minneapolis airport (she was OBVIOUSLY very important ) and she loudly told the person on the other end of the line she had a meeting in Charlotte, South Carolina.

[krazeeboi]

...after which she had to hop on a jet to Bismark, South Dakota.

[eastsider]

I'm not sure where you get the information about Darlington and Richmond as there are several NASCAR races at both tracks each year and there is talk of bringing a race back to the N. Wilkesboro track.

Your right, I mispoke. I meant Rockingham instead of Richmond. Darlington has gone from 2 races/year to one and is in danger of losing that race. Nascar aslo yanked their traditional Labor Day Weekend race in favor of California. Where did you hear about N. Wilksboro? Bruton Smith and the owner of the New Hampshire track bought that track for its race dates and have refused to do anything with that track other than just letting it rot. If you have driven by it in the last couple of years, you will have seen that it is in horrible condition.

[JC1]

A smart person such as yourself should know how we conduct ourselves here if you have been reading this forum for a while as you claim. The suggestion the "best & brightest" students are only found in places such as NY, Boston & Chicago goes against this spirit of this forum as it has no basis in reality.

Actually, I never said that the best and brightest are only found in places such as those cities mentioned. I listed three cities and then said "you name it", implying that kids from everywhere across the country attend my school. This is in contrast to kids who go to UNC Chapel Hill where yes everyone has heard of Charlotte because 88% of the kids are from North Carolina. Let me rephrase that sentence so it is a little clearer:

The kids at my school are from everywhere in the country, just in my hall alone my friends are from Houston, San Francisco, LA, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, DC, Baltimore, St. Louis, and on and on. When I originally say that I am from Charlotte, I get a inquisitive stare and they ask, "Wait, that's in South Carolina, or, no, North Carolina, right?"

Like I said, I LOVE my city. That is why I am such a supporter of anything that gets the name "Charlotte" out there, including professional sports. I want to be able to say that I am from Charlotte and have people know exactly what and where it is. And in my opinion, having the name of the city plastered across newspapers around the country every single day is one of the best ways of doing this.

Also, I like how you decided to share with everyone the state where my school is located because when I signed up for this site my email address ended with @nd.edu.

That was classy.

[Rickydavisfan21]

I am a college student attending a very famous university in the North. Among my classmates are the best and the brightest from New York, Boston, Chicago...you name it. They ask me where I from and I am forced to say North Carolina. If I say Charlotte, half the time I am greeted with absolutely blank stares. And like I said, I don't go to podunk university, these aren't ignorant kids, they are the future leaders of our country.

okay we all know from my previous rant and the many before that I am pro bobcats and procharlotte but I don't understand how your extremely famous university could yield kids who don't know where charlotte is, I got to a very well known very well thought of art school in the south, and I also serve tables at one of the more popular restaurants on the more touristy areas of the city. Did I mention my city is one of the top heaviest travelled tourist destinations? I serve people from all over the country, and world, and one of the things I do is ask them where they are from, there have been people from NY, Cali, Tennessee etc, but there have also been people from Zimbabwe Osaka, Japan, the other day I served people from Segovia, and another person from Santiago, chile. And when I ask these people where they are from many times they ask me in return the same questions, and what do I say, Charlotte, NC, and I've gotten some blank stares but problably only 5% of the time, hell the guy from zimbabwe said he had heard great things, and seen many charlotte hornets tshirts and jerseys back home. Charlotte has plenty of noteriety amongst people 30+ those are the people who know where it is. And its the kids that don't have a clue, because the education system is so poor, but hey what can you do. I know geography very well, I won the geography bee for my school in middle school (haha my crowning achievement, jk) I do believe however that the hornets gave this city the noteriety it needed, most definately. The hornets will continue to.

On a side note: with my highschool and college I've travelled to places around the world, and there have been a number of countries that I've seen hornets jerseys. I remember seeing a hornets tshirt in guatamala city, guatamala, a jersey in Shanghai, China, (and shenzhen), Vienna Austria, Paris France, and finally Barcelona, Spain, and its not like I'm looking for it everywhere.

I think you might think a little too highly of your school, because with the number of transplants from NY and Boston as you single out, most people should have heard of it.

Notre dame huh, I got in there, and decided to go to art school instead.

[MZT]

I have to wonder if the arm-twisting over the NBA management in the arena, will slow the momentum for the baseball plans. Oh well, for $300M at least we got a better arena for the Checkers and CMS graduations.

[monsoon]

Also, I like how you decided to share with everyone the state where my school is located because when I signed up for this site my email address ended with @nd.edu.

That was classy.

Sir.... I am innocent of these charges. I made a lucky guess that one could find the "best and brightest" and future leaders of our society in Indiana. I will tell you however that most people on this forum would classify Indiana as being in the Midwest and not the "North".

[reverbandwhiskey]

I think our team is boring. I went a game and ended up leaving early. Get some players worth watching and people will come.

[AuLukey]

I think our team is boring. I went a game and ended up leaving early. Get some players worth watching and people will come.

Yea, all this team is right now is Omeka Okafor and the 05' Tarheels all-grown-up (when they're healthy.)

[poplife88]

Cyclical, my friends, cyclical. Just like bell bottoms and parachute pants everything is cyclical. As sure as the pink izod shirt with collar up has become "hip" again, so too will the NBA and anything else that seems old will be new again. clef note, clef note...I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony....clef note, clef note.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

We should get Ben Wallace. I hear he's a free agent after this year.

[turbocraig]

The print edition of next week's CBJ reports that the Bobcats are close to signing a sponsor for a naming-rights deal. They hope to have it finalized by the start of next season. No indication of what company's stepping up though.

[CLTfanatic]

Any news on the naming rights deal?

[abbitt]

no news on the naming rights yet, they keeping saying they're close, but they've been saying that for months. i certainly hope it happens before the next season starts.