Concerts:
*End stage 180°: 13,376
*End stage 270°: 15,236
*End stage 360°: 18,249
*Center stage: 18,504
*Theatre: 4,000–7,000
Spectrum Center is an indoor arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Located in Uptown, it is owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by its main tenant, the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The arena seats 19,077 for NBA games but can be expanded to 20,200 for college basketball games.
The arena opened in October 2005 as Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The name was changed to Time Warner Cable Arena when the naming rights were purchased in 2008. [5] When Charter Communications purchased Time Warner Cable in 2016, the name was again changed to reflect the Spectrum trade name.
The arena was originally intended to host the original Hornets franchise in the early 2000s. The Hornets' arena, the Charlotte Coliseum, was considered outdated despite being only 13 years old, primarily owing to the arena only containing eight luxury suites, whereas the Palace of Auburn Hills, which opened the same year as the Coliseum, had 180.
In 2001, a non-binding public referendum for an arts package, which included money to build the new uptown arena, was placed on the ballot for voters; it was placed in order to demonstrate what was believed to be widespread public support for new arena construction. Polls showed the referendum on its way to passage until then-mayor Pat McCrory vetoed a living wage ordinance just days before the referendum. As a result, Helping Empower Local People, a grass-roots organization supporting a living wage, launched a campaign to oppose the arena, arguing that it was immoral for the city to build a new arena when city workers didn't earn enough to make a living. [6] The referendum failed with 43% for building the arena and 57% opposed.
City leaders then devised a way to build a new arena that did not require voter support, but let it be known that they wouldn't consider building it unless then-Hornets' owner George Shinn sold the team. While even the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans, NBA officials felt such a statement would anger other team owners. [7] As it turned out, the NBA approved the Hornets' application to move to New Orleans. However, the league promised that the city would get a new team—which became the Bobcats—as part of the deal. The total cost of the arena to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County was not known, but estimated at $260 million. The construction was approved by the city council, which did not opt to present another referendum to the public.
The arena opened as the Charlotte Bobcats Arena on October 21, 2005, costing $265 million. Architects hoped the building would bring the city together, as its location and large outdoor plaza, among other features, would suggest. [8] The building's concourses and open design, plus artwork throughout also suggests the concept of community and socializing. One major feature of the arena was its original center-hung scoreboard, which was not only the largest scoreboard in any NBA arena when it debuted, but also featured a one-of-a-kind light-up 360 degree 3D mural of the Charlotte skyline. [9] In early 2006, the arena became the subject of controversy when the Bobcats charged a $15,000 fee to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for graduation ceremonies held at the building. The fee was eventually waived following media attention from a local newspaper. Many high schools in the area moved graduations to Bojangles' Coliseum.[ citation needed ]
As part of the deal, TWC shuttered its poorly-performing regional sports network C-SET (which was established to serve as the Bobcats' rightsholder) and allowed the team to negotiate a new deal with Fox Sports South to ensure wider distribution of its games. [10] [11] Following Charter Communications' purchase of TWC, the arena was renamed Spectrum Center, in accordance with Charter's trade name for its cable services. [12]
In September 2014, the Charlotte city council agreed to give the Hornets $34 million for arena renovations in preparation for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. [13] (However, the game was moved to New Orleans because of a controversial HB2 bill, but Spectrum Center did host the 2019 NBA All-Star Game to make up for it.)
On January 24, 2015, the Hornets announced and unveiled images of a new scoreboard to be installed in summer 2016, costing $7 million. The board's screens measure out at 25' high by 42' wide and 18' high by 31' wide, approximately, making it almost twice the size of the original board and among the NBA's largest. The screens are able to handle 1080p resolution, something unique to the NBA. Two smaller "underbelly" screens would also be included. In addition, the scoreboard would be able to change colors and have a visible 'hive' motif built-in throughout its design. It was also announced that four retractable auxiliary scoreboards will be installed in the corners of the upper level and finally, 360° ribbon boards are scheduled to be installed as well. Construction was completed by the start of the 2016–17 NBA season. Also announced were plans for the renovation of the visitors locker room, suites, and other rooms. [14] [15] This marked the first major renovations to the Spectrum Center in its history.
The city proposed a $245 million renovation plan for both the arena and the area around it in early 2022. It included various internal upgrades to the arena such as new HVAC units, and the possibility of an outdoor space for entertainment similar to others found at NBA arenas. The biggest addition would be a separate new practice facility located across the street from the arena. In addition, the cost would also cover upgrades to the existing transit station where the new facility would be. [16] City leaders approved the renovations, now priced at $275 million, in June 2022. Construction is expected to start in summer 2022 with a rough completion date in 2027. [17]
As North Carolina is a hotbed for college basketball thanks to constant success among its major universities, it was expected that the arena would host many NCAA basketball games, and that expectation was correct. Notable NCAA basketball games the Spectrum Center has hosted to date include:
On January 27, 2018, the arena hosted its first UFC event for UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 . [19] The promotion returned to the arena on May 13, 2023, for UFC on ABC: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida . [20]
In 2012, the Spectrum Center hosted the Democratic National Convention. [21] In 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. [22] It was scheduled to host the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, [23] [24] but was removed as host on July 21, 2016, due to the league's opposition against North Carolina's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act signed by then-Governor Pat McCrory. [25] [26] The league said consideration for Charlotte to host in 2019 would remain if the North Carolina State Legislature and current Governor Roy Cooper made changes to the act that were satisfactory to the league. On May 24, 2017, Charlotte and the arena were officially announced as hosts of the 2019 NBA All-Star Game. [27] The arena was originally scheduled to host the 2020 Republican National Convention, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the event was scaled back with Day 1 events taking place at the Charlotte Convention Center and the remainder of the convention being held virtually.
Spectrum Center has had two other permanent tenants besides the Hornets.
The Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL vacated historic Bojangles' Coliseum to play in the new arena in fall 2005. When the ECHL Checkers gave way to an American Hockey League team with the same name, they remained at the arena. Although primarily built for basketball, the arena can accommodate an NHL-sized ice hockey rink. The seating capacity for hockey was 14,100 in an asymmetrical seating arrangement, with much of the upper level curtained off. This resulted in many seats with poor sightlines; over 4,000 seats in the hockey configuration had obstructed views. Primarily because of those factors, on December 16, 2014, it was announced the Checkers would move back to Bojangles' Coliseum starting with the 2015–16 AHL season. [28] Overall, both incarnations of the Checkers played 10 seasons at the arena.
The WNBA's Charlotte Sting moved with the then-Bobcats to the arena in 2005, becoming the building's third permanent tenant. However, they only played one season at their new home in 2006 before folding in early 2007. This was due to low attendance and a lack of on-court success. [29]
The arena is used for more than just sporting events. Musical acts, family productions and other events including concerts, circuses, and professional wrestling all perform there.
List of wrestling events | ||
---|---|---|
Event | Date | Notes |
WWE Raw | January 23, 2006 | |
November 26, 2007 | ||
June 15, 2009 | ||
June 14, 2010 | ||
March 25, 2012 | ||
October 29, 2012 | ||
November 28, 2016 | ||
October 29, 2018 | This event featured a confronation between Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker & Kane) and D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) | |
October 24, 2022 | ||
September 4, 2023 | This event marked the debut of "Main Event" Jey Uso on RAW which is his first solo run without his twin brother Jimmy Uso | |
WWE SmackDown!, ECW on Sci Fi and NXT | June 19, 2007 | This event featured the last match of Chris Benoit, who died several days later |
July 15, 2008 | ||
December 26, 2008 | ||
April 5, 2011 | ||
November 29, 2011 | ||
November 5, 2013 | ||
November 14, 2017 | This event featured an appearance by Ric Flair, months after a serious illness earlier in the year. Episode also featured the RAW roster invade SmackDown Live roster, days before Survivor Series | |
February 26, 2019 | ||
March 18, 2022 | This show aired on the 20th anniversary of Brock Lesnar's debut in WWE. Brock Lesnar made an appearance during the episode | |
February 9, 2024 | This event marked the first two contenders for the 2024 Elimination Chamber, which were Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton | |
Vengeance | June 25, 2006 | [30] |
February 4, 2023 | This was the first standalone NXT livestreaming event since NXT TakeOver: Portland in February 2020 to take place outside of Florida. | |
Clash of Champions | September 15, 2019 | "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt attacked Seth Rollins after the main event. |
The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at the Spectrum Center.
Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles Coliseum, which was called Charlotte Coliseum prior to 1988, the Charlotte Convention Center, and Ovens Auditorium. It was the home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 2002, and the Charlotte Bobcats, the second incarnation of the Charlotte Hornets, from 2004 to 2005.
Frost Bank Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Smoothie King Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Caesars Superdome. The arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and has been home to the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 2002. The New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League played their home games in the arena from 2004 until the team disbanded in 2008. The VooDoo resumed play at the arena in March 2011, until after the 2015 AFL season when the franchise folded.
State Farm Arena is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It also served as home to the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League from 1999 to 2011, before the team moved to Winnipeg, as well as the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 2008 to 2016 and 2019, and the temporary home of Georgia Tech basketball in 2011. It opened in 1999 as Philips Arena at a cost of $213.5 million, replacing the Omni Coliseum. It is owned by the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by the Hawks, owned by Tony Ressler along with a group of investors including Grant Hill.
Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place from its opening until July 6, 2010, when General Motors Canada ended its naming rights sponsorship and a new agreement for those rights was reached with Rogers Communications. Rogers Arena was built to replace Pacific Coliseum as Vancouver's primary indoor sports facility and in part due to the National Basketball Association (NBA) 1995 expansion into Canada, when Vancouver and Toronto were given expansion teams.
The Greensboro Complex, formerly known as the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight venues that includes an amphitheater, arena, aquatic center, banquet hall, convention center, museum, theatre, and an indoor pavilion. It is the home of the UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team, the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League, the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with their Men's and Women's basketball tournaments.
The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two unsuccessful seasons in Houston at the Sam Houston Coliseum.
Paycom Center is an arena located in Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It opened in 2002 and since 2008 has served as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder. Previously, the arena was home to the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2002 until the team folded in July 2009, and the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of AF2 from 2004 to 2009 when the team moved to the Cox Convention Center. In addition to its use as a sports venue, Paycom Center hosts concerts, family and social events, conventions, ice shows, and civic events. The arena is owned by the city and operated by the SMG property management company and has 18,203 seats in the basketball configuration, 15,152 for hockey, and can seat up to 16,591 for concerts.
Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which also oversees nearby Ovens Auditorium and the uptown Charlotte Convention Center. The naming-rights sponsor is the Bojangles restaurant chain. The building's signature domed roof is made of tin, rather than steel or iron. The dome spans 332 feet in diameter and rises to 112 feet tall.
Bobby Ray Phills Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played shooting guard and small forward for the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets.
Athletes and sports teams from North Carolina compete across an array of professional and amateur levels of competition, along with athletes who compete at the World and Olympic levels in their respective sport. Major league professional teams based in North Carolina include teams that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The state is also home to NASCAR Cup Series races. At the collegiate and university level, there are several North Carolina schools in various conferences across an array of divisions. North Carolina also has many minor league baseball teams. There are also a number of indoor football, indoor soccer, minor league basketball, and minor league ice hockey teams based throughout the state.
The ACC men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It has been held every year since the ACC's first basketball season concluded in 1954. The ACC tournament is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's tournament.
Sports in Charlotte, North Carolina have a long and varied history. The city is home to teams at nearly every level of American sports including the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League and Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association. In addition to serving as the home base for several teams the city plays host to many events of national and international importance including the longest race in NASCAR, the annual Coca-Cola 600 and golf's Wells Fargo Championship.
This is a list of the accomplishments and records of the current Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets, known from their creation in 2004 until May 2014 as the Charlotte Bobcats, are an American professional basketball team currently playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Checkers play their home games at Bojangles' Coliseum.
The history of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets dates to 1985 when founder George Shinn first thought of bringing professional basketball to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets commenced play as an expansion team in 1988. After fourteen seasons under its original ownership, the franchise suspended operations in 2002 when Shinn transferred the basketball organization under his control to a new franchise in New Orleans. The Charlotte franchise was subsequently acquired, reactivated and renamed the Bobcats by Robert L. Johnson. After restocking its roster through their second expansion draft, the team resumed play in 2004. Johnson sold controlling interest to Hall of Fame legend and North Carolinian native Michael Jordan in 2010. Jordan, who restored the club's original name in 2014, sold the team to group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin in 2023. The franchise has reached the postseason twelve times and made ten playoff appearances, although as of 2024 they are the oldest club in all of North American major professional sports to have never won a division championship.
The 2019 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2019, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 season. It was the 68th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the home of the Charlotte Hornets. Team LeBron defeated Team Giannis, 178–164. This was the second time that the NBA All-Star Game format was not Eastern Conference versus Western Conference. Charlotte was announced as host on May 24, 2017. This was the second time that Charlotte hosted the All-Star Game; the first time was in 1991, at the Hornets' previous home arena Charlotte Coliseum.
Fred Whitfield is the chief operating officer, president, vice chairman, alternate governor, and minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. Whitfield is the only African-American COO in the NBA.
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