Charlotte Bobcats Arena

[ElricSeven]

Well, by reading this comment on The Buzz section of The Observer, I think everyone can figure out why ticket sales are lagging!...

"I will say it: A lot of good ol' boys aren't going to support the Bobcats because the team is owned by a smart, successful African American businessman. This is still the South."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/12659195.htm

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Oh, c'mon. That's ridiculous.

[dubone]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte.../19/story3.html

the bizjournal confirms that the bobcats are having trouble selling tickets, but also reiterates that the city is protected from the operating losses due to lower season ticket sales.

i do hope they figure out how to get this ship off the ground, but i'm guessing it will take quite a bit of work.

[monsoon]

I would have thought that at least the lure of a new facility would have convinced a few more people to buy some tickets in the first few years, but I guess not. Supporters of the new arena like to blame the failure of people to attend Hornet's games on George Shinn, but the reality of the situation is they just don't like the NBA anymore.

[ElricSeven]

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte.../19/story3.html

the bizjournal confirms that the bobcats are having trouble selling tickets, but also reiterates that the city is protected from the operating losses due to lower season ticket sales.

i do hope they figure out how to get this ship off the ground, but i'm guessing it will take quite a bit of work.

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There's really only one thing that will work. Winning.

[A2]

Not to get off topic, but how bout' them Panthers !!!!

NBA has a lot of cathching up to do. I think Charloteans are more passionate about college B-ball and NFL than the Bobcats.

My thoughts are that ticket sales will improve, but it will take the Bobcats a few more years to gain the type of attendance that the Hornets had. I loved the Hornets and hated to see them go. The owners really pissed me off the way they handled things. It seems like bad karma follows them everywhere they go. Now with the NO disaster they are almost certainly going broke.

A2

[monsoon]

........ Now with the NO disaster they are almost certainly going broke.

A2

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Nah, they will just convince another dumbass city council in some other city to build them a $265M stadium that the citizens don't want. There are plenty of suckers out there that think having a NBA team equates to being world class or something.

[A2]

Nah, they will just convince another dumbass city council in some other city to build them a $265M stadium that the citizens don't want.

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true

A2

[krazeeboi]

I dont know what all the fuss and commotion is about.....Do you know how lucky you are as Charlotteans to have a NBA team?(again)........Do you know what Columbia people would do to even have a minor team?  We just lost our minor baseball team to Greenville because the SC government was too cheap to build a new baseball park......I think you guys should count your blessings and stop complaining.....and whoever it was that said something about Charlotte joining SC....please stop, you're too funny.....

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1) There are several large, prosperous cities and regions without professional basketball/football/baseball teams (Austin, Las Vegas, Columbus, OH, Richmond, Hampton Roads, etc.)

2) USC has a lock on sports in Columbia, which isn't necessarily bad. USC has an economical impact on the city, specifically downtown, that most cities with only professional sports can only dream of.

3) SC state government has absolutely NOTHING to do with building baseball stadiums in Columbia. PLEASE get your facts straight.

[dubone]

voiceover: meanwhile, back in charlotte

[segway anthem plays]

i noticed that they do have the supports up for the mondo televisions. they are the 3 horizontal bars attached to the wall facing the entrance plaza on trade, and there are also 3 horizontal bars on the second um (do you call it a portico or archway or what) opening on the fifth street side.

my guess is they'll go up towards the very end.

They've got most of the banners up along trade, and it already is making the area seem livelier. In charlotte, even the visual clutter is organized .

[Miesian Corners]

Anything they can do to cover up such an u-g-l-y building, I'm all for. Everytime I walk by I am reminded at how fortunate we are that Pat McCrory did not become an architect. It's bad enough we got stuck with his renditon of bricks on steroids, I certainly wouldn't want to wish his design sense on any other city.

[dubone]

this arena's design is getting praised for trying to meld into the urban streetscape on a small scale, using human scale materials (masonry), and traditional design elements.

True, it is no icon... but icons are for postcards not pedestrians.

[UptownGrrl]

Not to get off topic, but how bout' them Panthers !!!!

NBA has a lot of cathching up to do. I think Charloteans are more passionate about college B-ball and NFL than the Bobcats.

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Charlotte is somewhat new to the major professional sports (compared to some other cities...). We're now just starting to see the first generation of youngish people who "grew up" watching the panthers - that's what it takes to build the kind of team loyalty that gets people truly excited about being fans. They remember going to their first game with their dad, for example. That translates into people who can't wait to buy season tickets to share with their own kids. People who move here come with their own favorites, people who are past adolescence when a new team arrives never really get "attached". I think it will take the Bobcats a good 10-15 years to build up a dedicated fan base (and that's if they get a good reputation). This isn't like Chicago, Boston or Pittsburgh where you have a multi-generational fan base - but, you have to start somewhere. We do like our college basketball though....! I think it was smart on several levels for the Bobcats to recruit some good North Carolina players.

[krazeeboi]

this arena's design is getting praised for trying to meld into the urban streetscape on a small scale, using human scale materials (masonry), and traditional design elements.

True, it is no icon... but icons are for postcards not pedestrians.

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I can see and appreciate that. I think that's how most newer arenas are designed now. The Coliseum is hulking and imposing, but then again, it IS in a suburban location.

[Miesian Corners]

this arena's design is getting praised for trying to meld into the urban streetscape on a small scale, using human scale materials (masonry), and traditional design elements.

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You are kidding, right? I can appreciate the pedestrian attempt, but c'mon. It's dismal.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have the arena uptown, but the design leaves much to be desired. And why the heck couldn't it be green, too. It certainly has enough roof to beg that question. It should have been LEEDy.

[Miesian Corners]

BTW, dub, I like that term you created over in the CMC thread. LEEDy. I'll be using that from now on

[SmellyCat]

Call me crazy, but I like the design. But I also like ImaginOn and the new Freedom Tower design too, so there's your frame of reference.

[dubone]

BTW, dub, I like that term you created over in the CMC thread.  LEEDy.  I'll be using that from now on

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lol. thanks.

by the way, i think they should let flowing vines or ivy grow on some of that brick, especially on the caldwell side. i'm not sure if counts as leedy, but it would sure as heck soften the building up a bit.

[atlrvr]

I think that they should paint the sponsers logos to the facade so we have a advertising scheme consistent with the architectual theme.

[dubone]

Call me crazy, but I like the design.  But I also like ImaginOn and the new Freedom Tower design too, so there's your frame of reference.

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i'm with you smelly, although i'm neutral on freedom tower.

i definitely don't have the imagination for what it could have been. perhaps MC and others have in their mind something that could have been much much more attractive, still met the urban/ped goals, and wouldn't have been more expensive. but to me, it is just a basketball court, and it looks pretty darn good for a basketball court. and i think brick is a fine building material, and i like the look of metalic curtain walls, although MC tells me it's plastic, which i'm not so glad about.

[dubone]

I think that they should paint the sponsers logos to the facade so we have a advertising scheme consistent with the architectual theme. 

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don't laugh at me... but i think that would have looked pretty cool. very turn of last century. am i a reactionary?

[krazeeboi]

At first, the design made me say "Ugh," but it grew on me. Not the absolute best, but pretty darn good if you ask me. I don't think I've ever seen an arena use so much brick.

[Miesian Corners]

Call me crazy, but I like the design.  But I also like ImaginOn and the new Freedom Tower design too, so there's your frame of reference.

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I dig ImaginOn, not with you totally on the Freedom Tower (I liked the first design better).

Vineage could be really cool. Make it a really green building.

[CLTurban]

i'm with you smelly, although i'm neutral on freedom tower. 

i definitely don't have the imagination for what it could have been. perhaps MC and others have in their mind something that could have been much much more attractive, still met the urban/ped goals, and wouldn't have been more expensive.  but to me, it is just a basketball court, and it looks pretty darn good for a basketball court.  and i think brick is a fine building material, and i like the look of metalic curtain walls, although MC tells me it's plastic, which i'm not so glad about.

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Mc(whoever that is) is wrong, it aint plastic, its metal... in 4 different colors no less. (they are close) so that it doesnt appear as a large expanse of the same shade.

[monsoon]

As arenas go its not a bad looking building.

[dubone]

As arenas go its not a bad looking building.

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is it snowing in florida?