Charlotte area lands its first major sporting event since HB2 — but not without criticism

But on Friday, leaders of a state-of-the-art equestrian facility about 70 miles west of Charlotte announced that they had won their bid to host the World Equestrian Games in 2018. The games are held every four years and include events like dressage, show jumping and vaulting. The last games were held in Normandy, France. These will be in Mill Spring, N.C.

The event will be September 10-23, 2018 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Polk County, south and east of Asheville. The Chamber says it has “the potential to be the largest sporting event in state history,” attracting 500,000 spectators and packing a $400 million economic impact. An estimated 60,000 hotel room nights will be required, and visitors are expected to stay in Charlotte, Asheville and Greenville, S.C.

Gov. Pat McCrory, who has borne the brunt of the criticism for HB2’s impact on North Carolina after signing the bill the day it was passed, was on hand in Charlotte to celebrate the announcement. It was his first public appearance at the Charlotte Chamber since he touted PayPal’s planned expansion in Charlotte in March. The next month, after HB2 was signed, PayPal canceled those plans in protest.

McCrory praised the games as a “Super Bowl” type get for the state. And he alluded to the sporting events the state has lost as he estimated the impact it would have.

“This is bigger than an all-star game, a football game, a basketball game combined, times two,” he said.

Some mocked the statement on social media, and his political opponents seized on the announcement in their daily emails.

“It is also bizarre to hear McCrory claim that loss the NBA All-Star Game is somehow eclipsed by a horse resort for the well-heeled,” Progress NC Action executive director Gerrick Brenner said in a statement. McCrory is locked in a tight race against Democratic candidate Roy Cooper for re-election. Election Day is Tuesday.

McCrory’s former commerce secretary, Sharon Decker, is now the chief operating officer of the Tryon International Equestrian Center. The ownership group is led by Mark Bellisimo, and his Tryon Equestrian Partners is a juggernaut in the horse industry — also owning and operating well-known facilities in Wellington, Florida, and in Colorado.

They’ve poured more than $125 million into the Mill Spring facility since 2014. More investment is coming: Sheila Johnson — the cofounder of BET, CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, one of the first African-American female billionaires and the former spouse of one-time Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson — was also on hand Friday to announce that Salamander would be building a resort and spa at the Tryon facility.

House Bill 2 and LGBT protections didn’t come up during the official announcement. But when questioned by the Agenda, Decker acknowledged that the Tryon team did face questions about it while preparing their bid for the World Equestrian Games.

She said that Tryon International Equestrian Center is a private facility and is not subject to HB2.

“We are a non-discriminatory facility,” Decker said. “We have gay, straight, transgender, all types of employees … We are receiving a diversity of guests from all over the world.”

The World Equestrian Games announcement was the second bit of positive economic development news for Charlotte on Friday, and continued a positive week. Manufacturer JELD-WEN said it would hire an additional 200 people in Charlotte and expand its headquarters facility.

Two days earlier, LendingTree said it would double its presence in SouthPark, hiring 300+ people and investing $47 million in a new headquarters campus.

Cover photo by the Tryon International Equestrian Center via Facebook.