Charlotte Off Topic

[15895]

Element (I think;Chikdress Klein building) is so much prettier than Catalyst.

I'm so sick of Novares design. Though I admit Avenue is tasteful.

They must save a lot of money by using that same glass

[Matthew.Brendan]

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/leigh-osborne-graham-voce-water-tower-apartment

!!!

[DMann]

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/leigh-osborne-graham-voce-water-tower-apartment

!!!

It is something, but I am not sure I like it!

[HopHead]

Remember when some people were up in arms about the Panthers "secretly" meeting with the city to get public money for stadium upgrades? Well, looks like the Braves went quite a few steps further when it came to having Cobb county help with their new stadium outside of Atlanta. All I can say is... ouch: 

 

http://deadspin.com/opponents-barred-from-speaking-as-cobb-county-approves-1582556255?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[birky]

^Not only did they prevent the opposition from speaking at the vote, they also met privately with the Braves last year and rotated county commissioners in and out of the hallway to ensure they didn't violate open meeting laws.  This whole story is nuts.

 

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2014/01/13/6592/cobb-commissioners-evaded-open-meetings-law-by-waiting-in-hall-while-colleagues-briefed-on-braves-stadium/

 

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2014/05/27/7367/braves-exec-good-thing-this-stadium-deal-was-secret-or-somebody-might-have-objected/

 

http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2014/05/28/7369/cobb-okays-braves-stadium-plan-after-barring-opponents-from-speaking/

[ah59396]

It's really, really dirty business.  Bad day to be a Braves supporter.

[grodney]

Plenty of wine booths at Taste of Charlotte, but no Charlotte Beer in sight.  Are they not invited?  Would it cut into Taste's beer sales too much?  Other legal issues regarding selling alcohol?  I think the wine booths were giving free tastings and selling bottles.  That obviously wouldn't work well for Charlotte breweries.  The festival "coins" are worth $1.33 in bulk, so they could sell beer for those -- but maybe that's not legal?

[tozmervo]

Though I don't know anything about Taste of Charlotte operations (other than its run by the NC Agriculture Dept) , I will offer as insight that it's fiscally (and to an extent, logistically) very difficult to have the local beer scene involved at a festival like that; fiscally in that both the festival AND the brewery need to make money. This is a challenge we've talked blue in the face for CLT Pride. I'd be happy to offer more detail over a Jalapeno Pale Ale

[Guest]

Though I don't know anything about Taste of Charlotte operations (other than its run by the NC Agriculture Dept) , I will offer as insight that it's fiscally (and to an extent, logistically) very difficult to have the local beer scene involved at a festival like that; fiscally in that both the festival AND the brewery need to make money. This is a challenge we've talked blue in the face for CLT Pride. I'd be happy to offer more detail over a Jalapeno Pale Ale

Off Topic on your Off Topic Post within the Off Topic Thread, but could someone PLEASE save me a Jalapeño Pale Ale. Everytime I've ever been in Charlotte everywhere I go is sold out of it.

[tozmervo]

Birdsong is moving to a bigger location so their brewing capacity can meet your insatiable thirst for their tasty treat!

[grodney]

Further off-topic, I brewed my own Jalapeno clone.  And I'm currently fermenting batches of Doin' Thyme and Nodajito!  Stopgap cure for limited availability.

 

Tozmervo, I don't get the difference between local breweries at Taste vs local restaurants at Taste. The restaurants are offering their food for 2, 3, or 4 coins.  Presumably they are making money, and presumably the festival is as well.  

[tozmervo]

It's likely a question of money. If they have a major beer sponsor, that could be far more valuable from a cash perspective. (Judging from the festival, there's a notable presence of Corona.) 

[grodney]

Yeah, sponsorship makes sense. Thanks.

[rugger62]

I have volunteered at TOC for a number of years with the rugby club and it's definitely a money issue. The distributors bid to run the event - it's too pricey for the local guys who (for the most part) do their own distribution. There are also some logistics issues as the locals would be limited to kegs only since glass bottles are a no-no and I don't know if pricing works on aluminum cans en masse.

[ah59396]

WORLD CUP STARTS TODAY!  Who do you got?

 

Hoping to see the US get out of the group stage, but it's pretty unlikely.  I have a hard time not seeing Brazil win it all.

[MilZ]

Hooligans will have a big screen and 40' bar set out in the back parking lot! Go Go USA! 

 

Other than that go England.

 

Favorite with a realistic chance... Uruguay.

[CLTProductions]

WORLD CUP STARTS TODAY!  Who do you got?

 

Hoping to see the US get out of the group stage, but it's pretty unlikely.  I have a hard time not seeing Brazil win it all.

Ahhhh its that wonderful time every 4 years where most of america pretends to care about soccer.

[ah59396]

Ahhhh its that wonderful time every 4 years where most of america pretends to care about soccer.

 

It's definitely improving.  The difference between now and say, 8 years ago, is significant.  Not only in terms of interest, but general knowledge.  The availability of watching the clubs has made a huge impact.

[Madison Parkitect]

Hooligans will have a big screen and 40' bar set out in the back parking lot! Go Go USA! 

 

Other than that go England.

 

Favorite with a realistic chance... Uruguay.

Hooligans is going to be bonkers, it'll definitely be the place to be to watch any of the matches, especially the US ones.

 

For the US to have a chance at getting out of the group they'll have to have a minimum 4 points, which I think is possible depending on how the other games play out. The last friendly against Nigeria has me a lot more optimistic than before.

 

And Brazil seems unstoppable this year.

[MilZ]

It looks like the set up behind Hooligans is branded as the "Queen City SC Experience" or something to that nature.  They will probably be trying to build hype for the new USL Pro team at Memorial Stadium.

 

I think soccer has been growing in popularity in the US, even outside of the World Cup.  Maybe I'm overly-optimistic, but I expect that the turnout next year at Memorial Stadium will surprise the critics.

Edited June 12, 2014 by MilZ

[CLTProductions]

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2014/06/world-cup-could-net-sales-for-charlotte-bars.html

 

and here is Biz Journals take

[tozmervo]

We need every single person that goes there to say, "Queen City South Carolina? How strange and confusing."

[CLTProductions]

Welp, that was fun USA....Bye soccer see you in 4 years when everyone pretends to care again 

[ah59396]

Welp, that was fun USA....Bye soccer see you in 4 years when everyone pretends to care again 

 

You may say bye to soccer, but there are many of us (and we are growing...rapidly) that continue to watch, both World Cup and club soccer (both European and good old home grown American).  The keeper for the Colorado Rapids was on local radio the other day and talked about the "fifa generation", the 18-35 year olds, that are driving this trend.  I fall in that group and I can attest, we aren't going anywhere and we are only gaining more fans.  Pretending like soccer is "going away" in this country and gloating about it is on par with thinking baseball is making a comeback.

[go_vertical]

Read an article today that said the U.S. vs. Portugal game had around 25 million viewers here in the states. For comparison that is more than a majority of the NBA playoff games and more that last year's world series. In fact, U.S. viewership has steadily increased over the last three world cups and MLS is in agressive expansion mode. I don't think we're pretending anymore.