Sports in Charlotte

[FrankNash]

^^^I thought of Charlotte as well while watching the race.  This type of event is made for Charlotte.  The skyline shots would be so dramatic!  Y'all need to pressure the Smith dude into making this happen IMO.

[kermit]

I am in NO WAY anti-sport, but this abstract from the Journal of Sports Economics greatly amused me:

[post-NFL hangovers cost the US economy $5 billion per season]

Sorry about topic divergence...

Edited August 16, 2021 by kermit

[KJHburg]

One of the largest Cricket purses is coming to NC in Morrisville in Wake County next to Cary and RTP.

""A cricket facility in Morrisville has landed a major event. Minor League Cricket just announced the first Toyota Minor League Cricket Championships will be held at Church Street Park, which opened in 2015. The semifinals will be Oct. 2 and the final Oct. 3.  The tournament features some serious dollars – the largest in American cricket history. The total purse is $250,000, with half that going to the winning team. Admission is free.  “The community around Church Street Park and in the broader Raleigh region has embraced cricket with incredible passion""

Triangle Biz Journal today 

[videtur quam contuor]

Pakistani and Indian followers. India versus Pakistan for world championship a few years ago had ~270 million viewers.

[CltFlyer]

The Charlotte 49ers just beat Duke in football!

https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/college/charlotte-49ers-duke-close-game-football-college/275-6be0b05f-a539-4718-8563-53fb3db58618

First ever win against a power 5 team.  

For those that care.  The starting quarterback is a 5th year senior who started as a walk-on.  He played high school for nearby Davie County High School.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Great win! You don’t have to be a clt or duke fan to have enjoyed that game…that was a fantastic college football game to watch in general. Yesterday was a big win for App too. Sorry @carolinaboy . Tomorrow’s the headliner game Clemson vs GA and college game day at romare. Just an excellent weekend for college football in the QC and how about this damn weather, wow! Happy for the hotel and restaurant industry uptown too. Much needed boost. 

[videtur quam contuor]

I was at the Charlotte-Duke game. If Charlotte is to keep enthusiasm they must improve the stadium experience. 25 minute wait for entry due to limited gate staff. L-o-o-o-o-ng lines for concession. Wayfinding is lacking. Where is the ticket booth? Once in the stadium the stadium seating map on the wall shows all relevant locations except "You Are Here".  So, where am I? The seating is a shallow slope thus sight lines are confused. When looking at the field during a play from row 9 it is a jumble of players clashing without form. From uppermost rows it must be better, which I recommend. I spent most of the game watching plays on the scoreboard video as player movement was distinct. 

Light rail access is excellent though one must climb many, many steps from stadium seat to rail station. Not a University issue, just a caution. The attendees seemed to be happy to be at a big game. No alcohol abuse in view. Matt Rhule was at the game and walked through my section from the field, fist bumping fans on the way. 

[kermit]

1) I don’t approve of the new turf

2) Go Dawgs!

[atl2clt]

As a UGA grad, I can't believe I was able to experience a Dawgs game in Charlotte. So glad I was able to show off my new city to friends and family and watch Georgia bring home the W.

Other than the weird mayonnaise themed festivities, Queen City really shined. The streets were absolutely packed with people. ESPN College Gameday in Romare Bearden Park showcased the city perfectly. New additions to the skyline like Honeywell and FNB make the stadium's vista even more impressive. Every restaurant and hotel was slammed with out-of-town guests. Most importantly, every single person I talked to enjoyed their experience in this city. Though the game itself was less than exciting, the weekend was everything it was hyped up to be. 

[kermit]

^ There was also a huge compliment for Charlotte tucked into the day after story from the UGA beat writer in the Athletic:

Quote

Such it was as Jeff Schultz and I left in the wee hours of Sunday morning, stepping over passed-out fans. (There was a definite Cocktail Party feel to this atmosphere, minus the jorts.) Jeff and I had largely kept our columns to what we saw during Georgia’s 10-3 win over Clemson, and the immediate takeaways, but now our thoughts turned to what it meant for the rest of the season. [emphasis added]

For a UGA writer to say that the atmosphere was similar to the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville each year is quite a statement and it indicates that we have arrived at the top tier of neutral sites for college football. When combined with GameDay, this game was a huge coming out party for Charlotte as an event town. I gotta hand it to the foundation, the kickoff game was brilliant, and as bowls at the level of Duke's teeter on the precipice of playoff discussions these sorts of games are the future. Since these games need to be planned years in advance the matchups won't always be good ones, but lets solidify our reputation for a fun and exciting opening weekend in Charlotte every year.

[yea, I know that beating downtown Jacksonville at anything is nothing to be proud of, but the cocktail party still manages to transcend the existential crappiness of North Florida]

(GoDawgs!)

Edited September 6, 2021 by kermit

[carolinaboy]

On 9/4/2021 at 12:21 AM, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

Great win! You don’t have to be a clt or duke fan to have enjoyed that game…that was a fantastic college football game to watch in general. Yesterday was a big win for App too. Sorry @carolinaboy . Tomorrow’s the headliner game Clemson vs GA and college game day at romare. Just an excellent weekend for college football in the QC and how about this damn weather, wow! Happy for the hotel and restaurant industry uptown too. Much needed boost. 

Appalachian State didn't win. Fake news. 

Hooray for the 49ers. It was my daughters first game as a new 49er student. At least one of my teams won (I guess I have to cheer for Charlotte now). 

[elrodvt]

Asked this in another thread but no takers. Someone must have insight though.

Given the big 12 and Power conference recent announcements does anyone have thoughts on the possibility of Charlotte moving up from the crappy (basketball stmt) Conference USA?

Edited September 8, 2021 by elrodvt

[cltbwimob]

1 minute ago, elrodvt said:

Asked this in another thread but no takers. Someone must have insight though.

Given the big 12 and Power conference recent announcements does anyone have thoughts on the possibility of Charlotte moving up from the crappy (basketball stmt) Conference USA?

There are rumors swirling around that the AAC is in conversation with the AD at UNCC, but they are just rumors.  However, once Cincy, UCF, Houston, etc go, the case for going to the AAC is significantly less appealing, especially as it relates to football, but also basketball I think. Once those teams move, the AAC just becomes a glorified CUSA in my opinion.  Although having an in conference rivalry with Memphis and ECU again I think would be pretty cool.

[SouthEndCLT811]

21 minutes ago, cltbwimob said:

There are rumors swirling around that the AAC is in conversation with the AD at UNCC, but they are just rumors.  However, once Cincy, UCF, Houston, etc go, the case for going to the AAC is significantly less appealing, especially as it relates to football, but also basketball I think. Once those teams move, the AAC just becomes a glorified CUSA in my opinion.  Although having an in conference rivalry with Memphis and ECU again I think would be pretty cool.

Bring in App State and Coastal as well.  Make it a group of 5 version of the ACC

Edited September 8, 2021 by SouthEndCLT811

[a2theb]

15 hours ago, SouthEndCLT811 said:

Bring in App State and Coastal as well.  Make it a group of 5 version of the ACC

I think one of the AAC, CUSA or Sun Belt (least likely because Keith Gill is kinda spineless) will make a move to cannibalize the other two and create a "P6" conference.  I think you will see something along the lines of:

 

The 8 remaining AAC schools + App, ULL, Coastal (Liberty and JMU backfill these spots in the sun belt) + UNCC, FIU, Marshall (dunno who would backfill these). 

 

Other less likely option is adding ECU, Temple, USF and Navy to Sun Belt East and SMU, Memphis Tulane and Tulsa to the West. With ESPN running the show though I assume they will want to keep the AAC brand recognition and I don't think the Sun Belt or CUSA have the cajones to make a move to absorb the rest of the AAC.

[carolinaboy]

As a die-hard ECU Pirate (whose daughter is a 49er) what I would prefer happen now that Houston, Cincinnati and UCF are leaving the American:

ECU, Temple, Navy, Memphis, USF, Tulane, SMU, Tulsa and Wichita State (Olympic sports already) are joined by Boise State, Colorado State, Air Force, San Diego State and Virginia Commonwealth (olympic sports).

What could happen:

Navy goes independent. SMU, USF and Memphis join the Big 12. Wichita State goes back to Missouri Valley Conference.

ECU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa form a new conference and add Marshall, Charlotte, Appalachian State, Old Dominion, Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech, Rice and UAB.

Charlotte needs to expand that football stadium to at least 30,000 pronto or they're going to get left behind.

 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

12 minutes ago, carolinaboy said:

ECU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa form a new conference and add Marshall, Charlotte, Appalachian State, Old Dominion, Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech, Rice and UAB.

Charlotte needs to expand that football stadium to at least 30,000 pronto or they're going to get left behind.

There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that has been going on.  Guarantee Charlotte's AD has shown the AAC the facilities Master Plan in their pitch for an invitation.  The beauty of it is that Charlotte can cater the expansion to what the AAC wants/requires.  AAC "We want your stadium to be expanded to 35k."  Mike Hill (CLT AD): "Done!"  Let's hope he can pull it off.  ECU, App, CLT  in a same conference AAC rivalry would be great for fans, the state, and wallets of each university (tremendously less travel costs).  Question is: what criteria is the AAC looking to backfill with?

[elrodvt]

Would it really help with travel though? I'm hoping we don't end up in a bus league. Even with that alignment almost all away games would require air travel right? It's brutal on the kids and can't help with recruiting.

[kermit]

1 hour ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

ECU, App, CLT  in a same conference AAC rivalry would be great for fans, the state, and wallets

I agree. Having these teams in the same league would do more to develop fan interest than any wannabe power 5 move and overtime the rivalries could develop into national visibility. The lack of regional coherence really prevents me from enjoying the AAC or CUSA, I just can’t get excited about UTSA coming to town.  I would think a ton of UNCC students would road trip to games in Boone and Greenville and crash w high school buddies and the fan base would quickly develop into UNC-duke levels of enthusiasm.
 

without regard to current affiliation I would really want the three NC teams to share a league with Georgia State, Georgia Southern, UAB, Coastal Lesser-Carolina, MTSU, VCU (do they have football?) ODU, Southern Miss, Marshall. Basically kick out everybody west of the Mississippi and add the NC core to the league.

Edited September 10, 2021 by kermit

[elrodvt]

Sounds good other than VCU. Can't imagine them moving down from A10.

I think A10 is the last decent conference without football as the focus.  Are there others? I've always been surprised they haven't moved up - not having fb limits your options unfortuunfortunately.

 

In that vein it'd be nice to be paired with Davidson.

[cltbwimob]

19 minutes ago, kermit said:

I agree. Having these teams in the same league would do more to develop fan interest than any wannabe power 5 move and overtime the rivalries could develop into national visibility. The lack of regional coherence really prevents me from enjoying the AAC or CUSA, I just can’t get excited about UTSA coming to town.  I would think a ton of UNCC students would road trip to games in Boone and Greenville and crash w high school buddies and the fan base would quickly develop into UNC-duke levels of enthusiasm.
 

without regard to current affiliation I would really want the three NC teams to share a league with Georgia State, Georgia Southern, UAB, Coastal Lesser-Carolina, MTSU, VCU (do they have football?) ODU, Southern Miss, Marshall. Basically kick out everybody west of the Mississippi and add the NC core to the league.

My “dream” conference would be the AAC-to keep the name, prestige, and presumably the money-with the following schools:

Charlotte, ECU, App, Coastal, Liberty, Memphis, UAB, ODU, USF, FIU, FAU, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Marshall.

Benefits for Charlotte:

-Old CUSA rivalries reetablished- Charlotte, Memphis, ECU, along with UAB which I believe was a rival in Charlotte’s earlier CUSA days.

-Battle for the Carolinas-ECU, Charlotte, Coastal, App

-Atlanta vs. Charlotte-Charlotte and Georgia State

-Additional Regional rivals <5 hrs away-Liberty, Georgia Southern, Georgia State

Benefits for the conference: 

-Hyper-regional focus creates  the possibility for numerous in-state rivalries and other regional rivals...N.Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia would all have in state rivalries.  All schools would be within a bus ride or very short plane ride of each other, creating additional cross-state rivalries.  In fact the whole setup could create numerous bitter rivalries across the conference.

-Representative mixture mid-to-large schools-Public, Private, Religious, Major Research Universities, Teaching Colleges, etc.

[kermit]

The Athletic (paywalled) has a story on Group of 5 realignment possibilities. Charlotte is mentioned as a candidate for AAC replacement schools, but it was a laundry list of teams and Charlotte certainly did not float to the top of the list (App State and ULL were at the top). FWIW here is the not super insightful Charlotte blurb:

Quote

Charlotte: This would be a future play, as Charlotte’s football program is less than a decade old and has just one bowl appearance. The 49ers have one of the larger budgets in C-USA in the high-30s, and there is success in other sports, as Charlotte finished in the top 100 in the Directors Cup. If the AAC wants a big market, the city of Charlotte is growing.

The article was very pessimistic on the future of C-USA, indicating that none of the schools are happy with the TV deal. OTOH, the SunBelt was said to be sitting pretty thanks to its regional focus. Charlotte was mentioned as a good fit for the SunBelt if the AAC does not pan out. 

https://theathletic.com/2826426/2021/09/15/conference-realignments-next-steps-what-im-hearing-about-the-american-sun-belt-and-more-in-the-group-of-5/

Edited September 15, 2021 by kermit

[elrodvt]

I read another one, don't remember the author, who said Charlotte could rise to the top of AAC list if their criteria emphasizes media market size. Along with UAB.

[HopHead]

16 hours ago, elrodvt said:

I read another one, don't remember the author, who said Charlotte could rise to the top of AAC list if their criteria emphasizes media market size. Along with UAB.

UAB is about to open a brand new 45,000 seat stadium which would certainly help in moving up to AAC I would believe. Pretty cool looking digs (see link). Anyone know how much Charlotte's football stadium can expand to?

https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2021/09/15/protective-stadium-sign-lighting.html

[SouthEndCLT811]

I think 40-45,000.  Interesting enough if you search UNC Charlotte Stadium Expansion there was a link to a Jan 2020 budget concept where the expansion was getting dollars allocated to it.   Who knows now the impacts of Covid if that's set back the plan any

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/63689365/uncc-athletics-masterplan-v40

Edited September 16, 2021 by SouthEndCLT811