New:
@CLTMotorSpdwy
GM Greg Walter tells me, "We are hearing that the 45th president of the United States" —
@realDonaldTrump
— "is making plans to attend our race this weekend." Trump attended the Daytona 500 in 2020 while in office. The Coca-Cola 600 is Sunday at 6 PM.
Guess he knew it all along: New
@Panthers
owner David Tepper posed with his favorite
@NFL
helmet at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis in February. His spokesman just released this photo
“I feel like this city is quickly becoming one of the premiere sports cities in our country and to be able to bring something new and exciting like the
@MLS
to Charlotte would be pretty dope,”
@mPinoe
tells us during Q&A with reporters at Romare Bearden Park
Breaking: Smoky Bissell giving $25M to
@Charlotte49ers
for football stadium expansion, matches $25M from state budget. Confirmed to CBJ by Charlotte AD Mike Hill. Proposal is for $81M project to double capacity. More soon from
@CBJnewsroom
Office of
@RoyCooperNC
on possible 2028 DNC bid: "Having just spent a few days at the DNC in Chicago, I can say with certainty that Charlotte would be an ideal choice to host the 2028 DNC. We put on a great convention in 2012 and the Queen City will be ready to do it again."
Republican and Democratic strategists tell me trends point to Democrats breaking super-majorities in both chambers of
@NCLeg
today with outside chance of Democrats gaining majority in House (that would be a stunner). Republicans have had majority in both chambers since 2011
Not a secret anymore:
@MELOD1P
ranked 15th in player jersey sales between Oct. 19 and Jan. 12, per
@nba
sales figures released today. Top 2:
@KingJames
and
@StephenCurry30
. The is the first time LaMelo — or any
@hornets
— have cracked the list since the NBA returned in 2004.
Hill says
@Charlotte49ers
voluntarily reduced the athletics budget by 10% — to $31M from $34M — in response to Covid-19 and pressures faced by UNCC across the board. No sports eliminated and no staff cuts. Credits predecessor Judy Rose and CFO Darin Spease for fiscal health
“We’ve been celebrating a lot of good news in North Carolina,”
@SecretaryPete
says. Mentions
@SenThomTillis
as one of Republican senators who supported Bipartisan Infrastructure legislation, stresses importance of bipartisanship
Here's what
@finebaum
told me about Matt Rhule, hired Tuesday as
@Panthers
coach after 3 seasons at
@BUFootball
: "He's a stunningly good coach. The Baylor turnaround is one of the best in college history. He won at Temple. That combination is equal to holding four aces in poker."
.
@CMPD
tells me that there was one arrest inside the
@lovinlifefest
footprint over the weekend. It was for public intoxication. Estimated attendance was 81,000 for the three days. CMPD spokesperson says it was a successful event with few problems in its first year
@greenfield64
I had not considered that; 100 years after women won the right to vote, they will hold two of the three most powerful political jobs in the nation. Like so many barriers that are broken, it’s been both an eternity and a blink reaching this point.
So after touting sustainability resolution tonight passed by
@CLTCityCouncil
, supporters celebrated by leaving their signs on the ground
#ohtheirony
Inbox: Per
@espn
, an average of 343,000 people watched
@MLS
games on ABC/ESPN networks this season, +16% from last year and highest since 2007 (357,000/match). Of the five most-watched matches on those networks, No. 4 was
@CharlotteFC
vs
@NewYorkRedBulls
(568,000) on June 11
Good Deeds Dept:
@HamlinIsland
, who was at the White House today meeting
@POTUS
, will be in Charlotte on Monday as part of a CPR training event hosted by
@Panthers
with
@American_Heart
CEO Nancy Brown. They will train Tepper Sports staff, some Panthers players, and PSL owners
.
@DaleJr
’s podcast and studio are now sponsored by
@Bojangles
— the retired NASCAR driver is a longtime endorser of the chicken-and-biscuits chain (📸 courtesy
@Bojangles
)
.
@CharlotteFTBL
is the subject of a new documentary series that will be streamed on
@ESPNPlus
this season, Biff Poggi says. Filming started in the spring.
Looks like this will be the week
@Panthers
take
@MLS
expansion bid to the public. Soccer press conference scheduled Tuesday afternoon at BofA Stadium. So after
@USWNT
match today, local soccer fans may want to watch for Tuesday’s news followed by July 20
@IntChampionsCup
match
To recap:
@Panthers
owner David Tepper is worth nearly $12 billion and that’s after spending $2.275B to buy team last summer. Today he was in Columbia seeking tax incentives from
@henrymcmaster
at the same time he’s trying to lower his tax bill on BofA Stadium.
#howtostayrich
Interesting side note to this —
@ChelseaFC
asked
@BoAStadium_
to install natural grass field and
@CharlotteFC
agreed to do so, team tells me ... Charlotte FC vs. Chelsea FC is set for July 20 at Bank of America Stadium via
@CBJnewsroom
New:
@WBTV_News
and a dozen other Charlotte news outlets just sent a joint letter to
@MeckCounty
demanding access to Monday's meeting of the county's policy group, which will decide whether to issue a new mask mandate. Until now, the group has operated in secret
#ncpol
#opengov
I didn’t grow up in North Carolina or go to either UNC or Duke and I have no preference or rooting interest — and I’m utterly exhausted watching this game. What a terrific night of basketball
@henrymcmaster
Southerners’ college football obsession might be only motivation powerful enough to make people protect each other from pandemic. Think of
@finebaum
as
@SEC
version of Dr Fauci
.
@CLTMayor
and
@SecretaryPete
interrupted by airport passenger announcement during press conference today. Mayor, without missing a beat, told
@SecretaryPete
, “We leave no person behind.”
And then there were none?
@theobserver
first to report latest exec departure from Tepper Sports/
@Panthers
. Spokesman confirmed to me that Chief Operating Officer Mark Hart resigned effective Monday. He’s the third high-level exec to leave since February (Tom Glick,
@NickKelly
).
Again, let's remember that all of these statistics about
#COVID19
cases, hospitalizations, deaths, unemployment claims are more than numbers. These are all people with loved ones, they're friends, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, sons & daughters
Strong start: Source close to
@CharlotteMLS
tells me the team has received 20,000 deposits (so far) for season tickets in the month since the expansion club was awarded. Deposits require refundable fee of $50, $75 or $100. Ticket prices have not been set
So, he’s introduced as “Dave Tepper” wearing shorts, a cap and cargo shorts and just asked the school principal to dance with Sir Purr. If nothing else, “Mister” has left the building
Grateful to have spotted a
@Panthers
-themed gimme in today’s
@nytimes
crossword while meandering through the clues for the first of many tries ...
Sad sight: In June 2020,
@NASCAR
banned the Confederate flag from tracks and events. But that doesn’t prevent others nearby from flying it, as seen here across the street from
@CLTMotorSpdwy
Hugh McColl dismisses idea of execs not having time to participate in civic affairs. “That’s so much bull,” he says, mentioning he was CEO of one of nation’s largest banks and was still able to be involved in Charlotte development. Gantt agrees: “That’s B.S.”
Paul Krepelka,
@FlaPanthers
senior VP hockey operations, says change in ownership will not affect
@CheckersHockey
affiliation. Panthers won Stanley Cup this season and are already eyeing extension with Checkers, Krepelka says
Members of
@CLTIndependence
at presser today. Team will donate proceeds from all tickets sold for Aug. 22 home game to help paralyzed youth player McKenna Woodhead, who is 14
It’s Monday morning in North Carolina: Of course we’re — well, the
@CheckersHockey
are, anyway — playing hockey outside. Welcome to Truist Field.
@KnightsBaseball
made some changes to right field
A sad day for all of us lucky enough to know him. Steve did so much to catalog important, overlooked moments in our history through his documentaries and reporting. He was the consummate pro, and, more importantly, a delight to kick around the news of the day. Godspeed, Steve.
It is with great sadness that WBTV announces the passing of Steve Crump. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve’s wife, Cathy, and with his many friends who will be touched by his loss.
Enrollment at
@unccharlotte
is nearing 30,000, the university says, setting a new record this year with 29,710 students. That number includes more than 24,000 undergrads, ranking second only to
@NCState
in NC.
CATS CEO Brent Cagle telling council that having Silver Line stop on airport property within a mile of front door is “a very high level of service” and will connect to a direct shuttle, common at many airports
Biggest mistake
@Braves
ever made was not naming previous ballpark for Hank Aaron. Now they're at
@TruistPark
and we know corporate naming rights will never be ceded. Take a cue from basketball and name the playing surface: Should be Hank Aaron Field at
@TruistPark
by Opening Day
Just asked
@CLTMayor
about the possibility of G-7 in Charlotte next year and she said this is the first she's heard of it, is unaware of any discussions about that possibility
#cltcc
meetings are like
@MLB
games. Sail through first couple of innings, think you might be in for a brisk, well-played game. Then a broken-bat single causes pitcher to throw to first to hold runner, pitching changes ensue, you wind up with 5-hour Red Sox-Yankees debacle
Miserably hot summer day. Only one solution for dinner: two slices of bread,
@DukesMayonnaise
, as much 🍅 as can be found, lots of pepper. Genius. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
.
@FuchsOfficial
recently earned an assist on a new beer dubbed No Fuchs Given and made by
@ResidentCulture
. Now the beer, which raised $1600 for disadvantaged youth soccer players last month, is going to be sold at
@CharlotteFC
home games the rest of this season starting Saturday
Nice move here:
@hornets
have made Election Day (November 3) an official company holiday: “HSE employees are encouraged to utilize this day to vote as well as volunteer at polling sites or within our community.”
BREAKING:
@unccharlotte
trustees and chancellor Phil Dubois have decided to keep former
@Panthers
owner Jerry Richardson’s name on the school’s stadium, per school spokesman Stephen Ward. Richardson donated $10 million to help start the
@Charlotte49ers
program
.
@NickKelly
just told us that sales for
@CharlotteFC
opening home match March 5 will surpass 40,000 by the end of this week. He expects a sellout by early February ~74,000 tickets. That would heal the
@MLS
attendance record. Expects season tickets to reach 20,000 end of January.
Big MLS news reported by sister pub
@sbjsbd
:
@Panthers
have signed Ally as lead sponsor for Charlotte
@MLS
team (including jersey/kit). I've gotten no response yet from team or bank. Obviously would be unusual to have Ally-backed team at Bank of America Stadium ...
.
@unccharlotte
Chancellor Sharon Gaber mentions that fall enrollment is near 31,000 students. For the second year in a row, the freshman class set a record (4,700 students).
On to the most important news from
@mPinoe
: She listened mostly to
@Eminem
and
@NipsyHussle
during World Cup. Plans to dye her hair a shade of blue next, but sticking with her current color for a while longer. This should clinch my Pulitzer.
Whoa:
@CharlotteFC
valued at $570M by
@Sportico
, 12th in 28-team
@MLS
. David Tepper paid a record entry fee of $300M for the team in 2019. Meaning: Value is almost double and FC is still in its first season of play.
.
@CheckersHockey
exec Tera Black: “This will be the best outdoor game … with our city and this backdrop.”
@pepsi
is presenting sponsor of the game (Winter Classic). Says “this has been in the making” for a long time
Other notes:
@MLS
team name will be announced/selected in the spring, team begins play in 2021, ticket deposits of $50 accepted starting today for season tickets
Interesting:
@CharlotteFC
has $15 tickets available to college students all season long (validated for anyone with an .edu email address) including Saturday match vs
@ATLUTD
Tracy Dodson, assistant city manager for economic development, tells city committee that her department is pursuing 6 recruiting projects that could bring 5,100 jobs and $1 billion worth of development
Short version of RNC-leaves-Charlotte mess: Everyone is mad at everyone else. It’s all THEIR fault. Good riddance. Devastating loss. Conspiracy theories abound. To elevate the discourse, I have one question: Are we going to have baseball season? Missing the
@Braves
. Carry on.
Two local government sources tell me
#cltcc
remains in closed session. Meeting has lasted 3 hours already and is not expected to end any time soon. One of my sources says this is entirely about CMPD/protest tactics and does not involve any discussion of possible RNC relocation.