I just received the same reply from Mrs. Adamson .
1 Like
That’s what Malik said. They’re not getting direct funding but are competing for a portion of the $42 million fund.
For a city that has mention a severe need for hotels they don’t seem to know what they’re doing however.
6 Likes
That’s a sign that we need to vote for good commissioners this time that actually represent our values and wishes.
1 Like
I wish I was old enough to run for a position 
I replied and got back to basics.
“My message is to provide public support for the project, not request that they be allowed to circumvent the process.”
Let’s stay on topic commissioner LOL
4 Likes
Just catching up on this thread…but this quote from Malik jumped out at me. He’s hedging so hard against his chances for an MLS bid that—if you read between the lines—he’s basically telling us it’s not happening. But he wants the stadium anyway for USL and “other events”
I’m sure he knew Tepper’s power move was coming, which it now has. And if the existing MLS owners are wise, they’d wait until more suitors made themselves known, creating a bidding war that drives up the expansion fee (that lines all their pockets).
So, the question comes back to “are we cool with using the hospitality tax funds for a minor league soccer and concert venue?” Personally, if those funds end up going towards sports, I think it needs to be a major league project (PNC renovation for example). I’m definitely pro-density and pro-growth for DTR, and I want this thing to happen, but I’m a lot less excited about using those tax dollars for a minor league project.
7 Likes
I also want this to happen, but really think a more urban location is better suited for soccer. This site just seems like it will always be secluded from downtown - and kinda a sleepy area of town - so maybe better suited for baseball stadium.
Also, a smaller soccer stadium seems to be a perfect fit. Even with 14,000 seat stadium, concerts could have 20,000 by using the field for floor seating. Still not sure what the demand is for such a large stadium. Maybe leave one end of the stadium open for temporary seats if USMNT / USWNT / or NCAA championship games roll into town.
In my opinion, they should cut their ask to $7M/year and build a smaller stadium and yet still seem like heroes for “compromising” to take less.
3 Likes
Exactly - Build a smaller stadium that is easily expanded in the future if and when and MLS team gets awarded. There is zero need for a 20,000 seat stadium for a minor league soccer team…
3 Likes
Unfortunately it’s a business and money always wins–reason why Tepper doesn’t want to build a stadium he wants to maximize his returns. Charlotte can have another mediocre team to add to their list.
If there’s one lesson in life that everyone should learn, unfortunately this is it. Tepper is a Billionaire, and Malik is only a Millionaire. For that reason alone, MLS is more likely to award Charlotte a franchise - if choosing between the two. As Unique12b mentioned, if Malik can get Jim Goodnight on board, that would level the playing field, but in the end, the candidate with the deepest pockets will get to join the owners club first. Unlike Malik though, I don’t think Tepper cares one bit about soccer - he just wants inventory to fill his stadium.
That said, I don’t think failure to land an MLS franchise should stop this project, or even keep the interlocal funds from being used here, since it will be a multi-use venue that could attract high school and college events as well as musical artists. I don’t know if $11M/year is the right amount, but it seems like it should certainly receive some funding.
8 Likes
Charlotte won 2000 IT jobs because of its investment in light rail and urban density. Lowe’s directly stated that the dense transit-oriented Southend would attract the skilled workers they need.
In the meantime, RTP continues to lose IT jobs as Cisco and IBM shrink their presence and Apple’s plans are on indefinite hold.
Hope this project is approved or we will continue to lose jobs to more attractive cities.
6 Likes
Maybe we can just link this development to downtown with one of these bad boys:
13 Likes
They also just landed one of Germany’s largest/oldest beer maker Gilde. I wish Raleigh could get some more companies to come here 
1 Like
Ya, connect that to the Pullen Park Train! Affordable at just $1.50 per ride.
All aboard!
5 Likes
I mean there is a point there for sure, but a Charlotte company picking Charlotte for new jobs probably isn’t the most shocking thing. They were probably explaining why there as opposed to suburbs.
5 Likes
Lowe’s HQ is in Mooresville, on a huge campus, and decided on spending massively more on a 23 story tower in Southend instead of expanding on their suburban campus.
I think we need to have a real level setting conversation on here.
Kane and Malik created their pitch this way for a reason. They made the $1.9 billion carrot to be dependent on public funds being awarded. On the surface it looks like a no brainer for the tax payer. Our taxes don’t get up. We get a stadium. We get a new district. We get big time density. etc
We just need to be very vigilant and very cautious with this. This is tying up $250-300 million dollars total over the course of 20-25 years. Once the county grants it, they’re on the hook for it. The same is not true for the developer. If the stadium isn’t working out and he wants to put a majority of that $1.9 billion development on hold, he is free to do that.
Let’s just look at the numbers…
NCFC/The Courage are going to be your only guarantees as far as tenants go. Let’s say the move downtown increases attendance by 50% for both teams. They will bring a total of 210,961 fans to the stadium per year and activate the stadium a total of 30 days.
For context, World of Bluegrass brought 223,000 over a 4 day period w/ very little infastructure cost to the city/county.
So the 335 days, how are you activating it? Concerts? Gradutations? Trade Shows? Festivals?
C’mon everyone. There is no open-air sports stadium that is having success booking stuff like this on a regular basis. Concerts in stadiums are a logistical nightmare. Stage set-up and tear down for one night. Completely at the mercy of the weather/elements. Its why only the biggest stars in the world (U2, Rolling Stones, Beyonce) choose to do it. With all of our other venues available specificly for those uses it would have trouble staying active (and thats been the case specifically w/ MLS stadiums all over the country.)
I know I’m not telling you something you don’t know. But I also know that $1.9 billion will get people thinking crazy. Just rememeber., if we don’t ask questions make sure we are getting something that is beneficial to the city, then we will be the ones on the hook if it fails.
I was very on board with this because I thought it would mean MLS. With Charlotte looking more likely to get that final MLS bid and no real word on expansion past 30, I still want a stadium at this location, but I think they realllly need to rethink this 20k seat decision at this point.
7 Likes
World of Bluegrass isn’t a permanent investment. They will leave once they find a better deal and host city.
There is often never a guarantee in most things in life. How much public money was lost in the Durham Orange Light Rail project? Sometimes you have to take the risk in order to win big. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. This has the potential to be a generational project. I am fully 100% for this project.
9 Likes
I can not completely recall, so someone correct me if I am wrong. Didn’t Kane pull a similar bluff with NHE. IIRC, he said he would only be able to construct suburban style big box stores with a sea of surface parking unless the city provided TIF financing for the parking decks. I don’t think he got it and NHE is probably bigger than its initial plans. I would love to have the stadium but I can not imagine that Kane would walk away from a viable project and a model he has been successful with just because the stadium does not get funding.
3 Likes