The Official Charlotte, NC Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Towlie
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UserNameless
Veteran
Crazy thing is 90 percent of those people weren’t even from Charlotte . They were bussed in and paid agitators .
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article239730378.html
CIAA tournament celebrates 15th, and final, year in Charlotte. Could it come back?
By Hannah Smoot
January 29, 2020 12:59 PM
Officials discuss Charlotte as the home of the CIAA tournament. By McClatchy
A year after announcing its annual men’s and women’s basketball tournament would leave Charlotte, the CIAA is a month away from celebrating its 75th anniversary — and 15 years in Charlotte.
The conference expects 150,000 people will attend the games and related festivities in late February, CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams said at a news conference Wednesday.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the first historically black collegiate athletic conference in the nation, is headquartered in Charlotte. CIAA announced in January 2019 the annual tournament will be held in Baltimore from 2021 to 2023.
But it could return to Charlotte in the future, Johnson C. Smith University President Clay Armbrister said Wednesday.
JCSU, a historically black university in Charlotte, has served as the host institution for the CIAA basketball tournament for 14 years.
“Johnson C. Smith and the city of Charlotte stand ready to serve as hosts in the future, should that be the collective desire of the conference,” Armbrister said.
Charlotte will host the 2020 tournament on Feb. 25 and 26 at Bojangles’ Coliseum and Feb. 27 through 29 at the Spectrum Center.
Impact and controversies
The week of games and parties had been Charlotte’s most lucrative annual event, bringing in an estimated economic impact of $43.7 million last year, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
“Clearly, the CIAA tournament has been one of the economic, sports and cultural jewels in the Queen City’s crown,” Armbrister said.
The tournament has had an estimated $600 million economic impact, including $370 million in direct visitor spending in the last 14 years, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tom Murray said Wednesday.
But the tournament had seen a drop in attendance numbers in recent years.
In 2018, tournament organizers roped of sections of the Spectrum Center for the first time — limiting the capacity from nearly 18,000 to about 10,700, the Observer reported at the time.
During the 2015 tournament, the Ritz-Carlton provoked backlash from fans by tacking on a 15% surcharge for customers in its lounge.
Other fans may have kept away from the annual conference after reports of violence. Rapper Young Dolph, who survived a shootout at a party during the 2017 tournament weekend, has booked a return concert during this year’s event. Rival rapper Blac Youngsta has booked a separate show during the tournament.
The two feuded after the shootout, where police said about 100 shots were fired at homes and cars before the last game of the 2017 tournament. Blac Youngsta was accused by police of firing the shots but the charges were later dropped.
’This is home’
The change in location in 2021 could be a way to get fans excited about the tournament again, McWilliams told the Observer last year.
Though the conference tournament is moving to Baltimore, McWilliams said Wednesday that the offices of CIAA will stay in Charlotte.
“This is home,” she said.
The bid cycle for tournament host cycle will start again in 2022 or 2023, McWilliams said.
And Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Charlotte will be ready: “We’ll always bid on the CIAA.”
CIAA tournament celebrates 15th, and final, year in Charlotte. Could it come back?
By Hannah Smoot
January 29, 2020 12:59 PM
Officials discuss Charlotte as the home of the CIAA tournament. By McClatchy
A year after announcing its annual men’s and women’s basketball tournament would leave Charlotte, the CIAA is a month away from celebrating its 75th anniversary — and 15 years in Charlotte.
The conference expects 150,000 people will attend the games and related festivities in late February, CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams said at a news conference Wednesday.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the first historically black collegiate athletic conference in the nation, is headquartered in Charlotte. CIAA announced in January 2019 the annual tournament will be held in Baltimore from 2021 to 2023.
But it could return to Charlotte in the future, Johnson C. Smith University President Clay Armbrister said Wednesday.
JCSU, a historically black university in Charlotte, has served as the host institution for the CIAA basketball tournament for 14 years.
“Johnson C. Smith and the city of Charlotte stand ready to serve as hosts in the future, should that be the collective desire of the conference,” Armbrister said.
Charlotte will host the 2020 tournament on Feb. 25 and 26 at Bojangles’ Coliseum and Feb. 27 through 29 at the Spectrum Center.
Impact and controversies
The week of games and parties had been Charlotte’s most lucrative annual event, bringing in an estimated economic impact of $43.7 million last year, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
“Clearly, the CIAA tournament has been one of the economic, sports and cultural jewels in the Queen City’s crown,” Armbrister said.
The tournament has had an estimated $600 million economic impact, including $370 million in direct visitor spending in the last 14 years, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tom Murray said Wednesday.
But the tournament had seen a drop in attendance numbers in recent years.
In 2018, tournament organizers roped of sections of the Spectrum Center for the first time — limiting the capacity from nearly 18,000 to about 10,700, the Observer reported at the time.
During the 2015 tournament, the Ritz-Carlton provoked backlash from fans by tacking on a 15% surcharge for customers in its lounge.
Other fans may have kept away from the annual conference after reports of violence. Rapper Young Dolph, who survived a shootout at a party during the 2017 tournament weekend, has booked a return concert during this year’s event. Rival rapper Blac Youngsta has booked a separate show during the tournament.
The two feuded after the shootout, where police said about 100 shots were fired at homes and cars before the last game of the 2017 tournament. Blac Youngsta was accused by police of firing the shots but the charges were later dropped.
’This is home’
The change in location in 2021 could be a way to get fans excited about the tournament again, McWilliams told the Observer last year.
Though the conference tournament is moving to Baltimore, McWilliams said Wednesday that the offices of CIAA will stay in Charlotte.
“This is home,” she said.
The bid cycle for tournament host cycle will start again in 2022 or 2023, McWilliams said.
And Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Charlotte will be ready: “We’ll always bid on the CIAA.”
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-around-town/c5-development/article239658318.html
New social bar, tasting room opens in Midwood — and it has a swing
By DeAnna Taylor
January 27, 2020 05:50 AM
Owner Kimberly Wilkinson describes Members Only as a social bar and tasting room. DeAnna Taylor CharlotteFive
The next time you’re craving bubbly with a cotton candy garnish while on a wooden swing, we know just the spot.
A private social lounge and tasting room called Members Only has opened up at 2413 Central Ave., in the space where wine bar Cork and Crate operated until closing in the fall. It will serve craft cocktails, local craft beer and will eventually include a high-end food truck.
Its owner Kimberly Wilkinson, a Johnson C. Smith University business marketing grad, also opened Juice Box Juice Bar in NoDa in November 2017.
“I always knew that once I graduated from Johnson C. Smith, I was going to spend my life backpacking the world,” Kimberly Wilkinson told CharlotteFive. “But I found out I was pregnant with my daughter two months before graduation. People asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I said, ‘I want to work for myself.’”
Using the tools she learned while researching for her senior exit project at JCSU, Wilkinson created a business plan, sent it over to the property owner of the NoDa space and soon after launched her entrepreneurial career. She started out with a clothing boutique, Vivian B’s, which was named for her grandmother. Finding little success, she decided to rebrand into a juice bar after seeing a need in the neighborhood.
As the juice bar took off, she held onto her dream of opening a bar.
When Wilkinson learned that Cork and Crate would be closing, she contacted the owners to discuss bringing a new business into the space.
“Luckily they were offering the space the way it was and everything that came with it, including a food truck. It was perfect. I made the decision to purchase within 3 days.”
The only changes are new furniture, a larger bar area, newly designed walls and a photo-worthy swing that is sure to be the talk of social media in the coming months.
You’ll need a $10 annual membership to get into the bar. There will also be a gold-tier membership available for $200 per year, which will get you access to monthly private events hosted in the space, as well as special discounts on featured drinks.
The bar will feature local craft beers, wines including grab-and-go bottles and special craft cocktails including The Members Only, which is Luc Belaire sparkling wine topped with cotton candy.
There will be a permanent food truck on site serving a full menu that Wilkinson is describing as “Ruth’s Chris on wheels” during the bar’s hours. While the truck is being rebuilt, guest food trucks will fill in for a few months. You will also be able to catch weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, which will include speciality mimosas.
“I want this to be a neighborhood chill spot but also great enough for a date night,” Wilkinson said. “You can come in and play games, hang with your friend, and still get a great cosmopolitan or French 75. I want this to be Plaza Midwood’s social spot.”
Members Only
2413 Central Ave.
Open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until late night.
New social bar, tasting room opens in Midwood — and it has a swing
By DeAnna Taylor
January 27, 2020 05:50 AM
Owner Kimberly Wilkinson describes Members Only as a social bar and tasting room. DeAnna Taylor CharlotteFive
The next time you’re craving bubbly with a cotton candy garnish while on a wooden swing, we know just the spot.
A private social lounge and tasting room called Members Only has opened up at 2413 Central Ave., in the space where wine bar Cork and Crate operated until closing in the fall. It will serve craft cocktails, local craft beer and will eventually include a high-end food truck.
Its owner Kimberly Wilkinson, a Johnson C. Smith University business marketing grad, also opened Juice Box Juice Bar in NoDa in November 2017.
“I always knew that once I graduated from Johnson C. Smith, I was going to spend my life backpacking the world,” Kimberly Wilkinson told CharlotteFive. “But I found out I was pregnant with my daughter two months before graduation. People asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I said, ‘I want to work for myself.’”
Using the tools she learned while researching for her senior exit project at JCSU, Wilkinson created a business plan, sent it over to the property owner of the NoDa space and soon after launched her entrepreneurial career. She started out with a clothing boutique, Vivian B’s, which was named for her grandmother. Finding little success, she decided to rebrand into a juice bar after seeing a need in the neighborhood.
As the juice bar took off, she held onto her dream of opening a bar.
When Wilkinson learned that Cork and Crate would be closing, she contacted the owners to discuss bringing a new business into the space.
“Luckily they were offering the space the way it was and everything that came with it, including a food truck. It was perfect. I made the decision to purchase within 3 days.”
The only changes are new furniture, a larger bar area, newly designed walls and a photo-worthy swing that is sure to be the talk of social media in the coming months.
You’ll need a $10 annual membership to get into the bar. There will also be a gold-tier membership available for $200 per year, which will get you access to monthly private events hosted in the space, as well as special discounts on featured drinks.
The bar will feature local craft beers, wines including grab-and-go bottles and special craft cocktails including The Members Only, which is Luc Belaire sparkling wine topped with cotton candy.
There will be a permanent food truck on site serving a full menu that Wilkinson is describing as “Ruth’s Chris on wheels” during the bar’s hours. While the truck is being rebuilt, guest food trucks will fill in for a few months. You will also be able to catch weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, which will include speciality mimosas.
“I want this to be a neighborhood chill spot but also great enough for a date night,” Wilkinson said. “You can come in and play games, hang with your friend, and still get a great cosmopolitan or French 75. I want this to be Plaza Midwood’s social spot.”
Members Only
2413 Central Ave.
Open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until late night.
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
Whyyyyy!?!?!
Why they got to do this to me on a Friday? Smh.Mindfield333
Superstar
ReggieFlare
Superstar
Looking at new cities to live and this place has come up a few times...
As an ATL breh, how would yall say Charlotte compares?
As an ATL breh, how would yall say Charlotte compares?
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
If you want the troll but truthful response. Holla at me.
If you want that real upstanding gentleman and responsible response. Holla at good brothers like @Pressure or @Responsible Allen Iverson
Also, don’t listen to what @CarmelBarbie says. She’s on probation right now
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
triplehate
Superstar
They need to hurry up and finish those airport renovations, getting off the plane and being outside is not it brehs
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
Yeah I can see how that could be annoying. I hate moving around that airport sometimes.
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
Glad I didn’t have to go
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
what are they doing there? Ain’t been to the airport in a few years