That what’s concerning why I worry about corporate and government support.
I suspect governmental support will depend somewhat on how funding for a stadium is proposed, but at the end of the day I would think most politicians would generally support making an MLB team happen because it sounds good to say that you helped bring a professional sports team to NC.
Corporate support is a minor issue imo, and even though Raleigh doesn’t have a ton of F500 companies I have absolutely no doubt that at least a handful of corporations with a presence in the Triangle will step up to the plate, especially if they are trying to grow their name recognition in Raleigh. Charlotte FC is primarily sponsored by Ally Bank which is not based here, so even if IQVIA or Advance Auto isn’t the main sponsor you will see something similar occur.
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Why are they so quiet its scary? That means it’s not guaranteed.
There just so quiet about it very scary.
Once they have something real in front of them to review (stadium proposal, timeline, etc.) they will stop being quiet one way or another. We’re just not there yet.
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Spot on.
When I say government support at this juncture I mean they are in full support of making a bid and going after an expansion franchise.
Obviously, in today’s world, no stadium is being built without a little public funding. How much public funding will be the question. They all know thats how it works, so it won’t be a surprise and the fact that you’re hearing Cooper be public about the desire for bringing MLB to NC should tell you that there is a willingness to work with Dundon on that front.
Again, Dundon has said publically that money will not be the reason we don’t get this thing, and if you’ve paid attention to how he operates with the Canes, you’ll know that he doesn’t make statements unless he’s dug in deep on what it will take and how it would work.
I’ll say it again, corporate support will be the toughest and last thing that has to be figured out, but ‘corporate support’ is a phrase that gets thrown around without context.
Box/Suite/Group Seating sales wont be an issue. Modern stadiums are backing off of the ‘stuffy suite’ model. Most new stadium, esp small market ones, have less suites and more premium/flexible group seating options that target smaller, up and coming companies (which the Triangle has a TON of). The suites target the big companies, but most of these larger companies are pulling back this type of spending, so it makes sense to limit suites.
The tougher part is naming rights and sponsorship, but thinking that is limited to local companies is a mistake. Like you mentioned with ALLY / Charlotte FC partnership isn’t a local HQ. And many stadium names are not local Corporate HQs (ie. PNC Arena).
So it’s the hardest part of all of this, but still not something that I believe will stop it.
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Yeah I agree on the premium group experiences emphasis.
I tend to think (especially in today’s economic environment) corporate spending on luxury boxes for a full season is irresponsible for most businesses. Getting one for a team or client event for a specific game makes more sense.
Advertising is a little different, of course. I’d guess Lane and Associates is seeing positive ROI judging by all the Parthenon looking offices everywhere.
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This is why you have sports/stadium consultants. There is a well-known one involved already here.
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With Apple possibly setting up here it could save us. Corporate support seems to be managed well with the Canes.
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A little off topic; however, a shout out to hometown product Mitch Spence for being the first pick by the Oakland A’s Rule 5 draft out of the Yankee’s farm team on Tuesday. The Green Hope High School product finally made a 40-man roster. I love it when a Raleigh kid makes the big leagues…
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It’s a hurdle but I’m fairly certain our corporate support is greater than that of Nashville. They have a couple big companies (Nissan, Bridgestone, AT&T), but I can assure you, that doesn’t outweigh the amount needed. The canes have Invisalign, Pepsi (who has a canes flavored drink), Lenovo, Cisco, Advance Auto, Lexus, NASCAR, Verizon, PNC, Fidelity, Wells Fargo, Mastercard (who has a canes rewards card), Delta Air Lines. And that’s only scratching the surface. There is also companies like MetLife, IBM, Oracle, Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, IQVIA, Burt’s Bees with major presence here now that I could see wanting to be a major supporter for that team.
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From what I’ve heard, Capitol Broadcasting (James Goodnight & Owner of Bulls) are working with Dundon on that and it is something they want. That’s a massive series of hurdles jumped at once. You don’t have to worry about a minor league team blocking the move, A LOT of money, existing community ties, and easy affiliation purposes.
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And in terms of stadium naming rights, there seems to be pretty high demand to be the canes stadium sponsor. They had around 6 companies fighting for naming rights to PNC Arena last year. The deal was believed to be inked at $8M/year with Lenovo (who had to pull out as a canes partner due to a massive financial issue at the time). However, they were able to recover and are the helmet sponsor. PLUS, you have Lexus now sponsoring the club level and Invisalign is the practice facility sponsor, arena entrance sponsor, and youth league presenting sponsor.
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Halftime of the Panthers game today.
Charlotte’s Got A Lot…and doesn’t need another terrible pro franchise. Raleigh on deck.
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Terrible product = no customers
Charlotte’s got a lot of empty seats!
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Charlotte Hornets are currently 7-17 and just suffered the worst loss in franchise history.
The game gave me shades of NC State vs Notre Dame during Hurricane Matthew.
I was at that game (hurricane Matthew, not the panthers) and can say for certain it was better attended
MLB is watching our markets - so I’ll say this again; which city, between Charlotte and Raleigh, do you think they’d actively want to expand into? The city with just one pro-sports franchise that has been going to the Playoffs the past few years and has one of if not THE highest attendance in their sport (NHL) - or the city with TWO pro-sports franchises that are both among the WORST in their leagues and selling tickets for a dollar because nobody wants to go see them play? 
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Same here, I was more pointing out the similarities (relentless driving rain, low scoring, etc.)