Upcoming late fall sporting events you don’t want to miss

Charlotte Hornets home opener

Date: Sunday, November 1, 2 p.m.

Location: The Hive

Cheapest Ticket: $27.50

Why you should go: 

The Hornets went 7-1 in the preseason, a trip that included a very successful trip to China. The 2015-16 edition of the Hornets is going to be fun. Lance Stephenson is  the Clippers’ problem now, and Linsanity and Nic Batum-sanity* are poised to sweep through the QC. This time last year everyone’s focus was on the return of the Hornets nickname, but 2015 is all about the product on the court. Despite a devastating injury to the Hornets’ most important player, things are looking up. They’re going to win playing defense and taking good shots on offense and look to improve on a 3-point shooting percentage that was among the worst in the league, a virtual certainty now that the aforementioned chucker Mr. Stephenson has been banished to the Left Coast.

Charlotte Checkers re-open Bojangles Coliseum

Date: Saturday, November 7, 7:05 p.m.

Location: Bojangles Coliseum

Cheapest Ticket: $13

Why you should go:

The Checkers open up the revamped Bojangles Coliseum in their first home game of the season on a Saturday night. This is a huge deal for the city, and early indications are that the $16.5 million they’re spending on renovations will be worth it. It’s important that the Checkers have a dedicated space with their own parking and a hockey-only arena to let them grow an independent brand instead of just being the team that keeps TWC Arena warm for the Hornets while they’re out of town. I expect nothing but great things from the Checkers’ move to Bojangles Coliseum. Hockey is best experienced live, and tickets are a great value for families looking for something to do on cold nights in the winter. Be a part of the Checkers’ triumphant return home after a 10-year hiatus, if for no reason other than to check out a refurbished icon of Charlotte’s past.

Panthers vs Packers Round 1 of 2?

Date: Sunday, November 8, 1 p.m.

Location: The Bank

Cheapest Ticket: $184

Why you should go:

As you almost certainly know, the Panthers are off to a historically great start. You may have read that there are some folks out there who doubt if the Panthers are “for real” and surmise that their great start is the result of an “easy” schedule. If you’re a seasoned NFL fan, you know that the idea of an “easy schedule” is a bit of a myth, and that making these arguments is a giant waste of time. Especially so in this case, since the Panthers will have some serious tests coming up and any questions about their for-realness will be answered on the field. This is the first of those tests (the others being two divisional games against the also-good Falcons). The Packers are having an excellent season in their own right, and this game could be a preview of the NFC Championship game in January, as it likely will feature the teams with the two best records in the NFC.

You can expect to shell out a few extra pennies to get in the door (tickets in the 100s are going for $908 at the time I’m writing this), but the Bank is certain to be live for this one.

Davidson at UNC-Charlotte (men’s basketball)

Date: Tuesday, December 1, 7 p.m.

Location: Halton Arena

Cheapest Ticket: On sale 10/27

Why you should go:

As I’ve written before, I think Charlotte needs to get way more into this matchup between area schools. I’d love to see this game become an annual tradition held in Uptown at Time Warner Cable Arena, a la the Braggin’ Rights Game between Illinois and Missouri that’s played every December in St. Louis. This year’s edition will be held on campus at UNC Charlotte’s Halton Arena. It should be a great game, with Davidson coming off of a regular season conference title and expected to make some noise in the A-10 once again, and former Hornets assistant Mark Price in his first season as 49ers coach. I’m hoping for a barnburner classic that stokes the flames of a rivalry between these two schools that continues into next year.

ACC Football Championship Game

Date: Saturday, December 5, 7 p.m.

Location: The Bank

Cheapest Ticket: $25

Why you should go:

It’s great that this game is in Charlotte for the sixth straight year. I believe that for a variety of reasons (geography, infrastructure, weather, convenience for me personally), all ACC championships should be held in Charlotte. If you have any connection to an ACC school at all, you should make it a point to attend the festivities that surround this game. My family and I ran the 5k race last year, and it was great. It was a flat, very fun course that ran through Uptown, South End and Wilmore. The ACC mascots were there cheering on the runners, as well as the bands and cheerleaders for the schools playing in the championship game. I’m a giant curmudgeon and generally hate the fans of teams other than my own, but I was pleasantly surprised at how it felt like a big ol’ ACC family celebration. #goacc indeed. Seriously, check it out if you have a connection to the ACC, even if your terrible team has been mathematically eliminated from conference title contention before the end of October.

Belk Bowl/Carrie Underwood Concert

Date: Wednesday, December 30, 3:30 p.m.

Location: The Bank

Cheapest Ticket: $41.26

Why you should go:

We don’t know yet who will be playing at this year’s Belk Bowl, but that’s largely irrelevant right now. Carrie Underwood is performing as part of the festivities. This is basically a Carrie Underwood concert where you get to stick around for a football game afterward if you’re interested. The Fan Fest is free and starts at 10 a.m. If you’re in town on the 30 and aren’t trying to watch one of the top musical acts in the biz play for free, then you and I have less in common than I initially thought.

Root, root, root for the home team, you guys!

*still workshopping this

(Photo credits: Hornets, eventusa.com, sportlogos.net, BelkBowl.com, chathamjournal.com, Wikimedia.org)