“Best weekend of sports” to boost Uptown’s battered businesses
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A string of high-profile, high-demand college football games in Charlotte in early September will be the “best weekend of sports” all year, says Charlotte Sports Foundation executive director Danny Morrison.
What’s more, the thousands of fans it’ll draw to town will provide a needed boost to the city’s battered hospitality industry.
Driving the news: Tickets go on sale Thursday at 10am on Ticketmaster for some of the season’s most anticipated college football matchups at Bank of America Stadium — Appalachian State vs. East Carolina (Thursday, September 2 at 7:30pm) and No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Georgia (Saturday, September 4 at 7:30pm).
- Both games will be nationally televised (App/ECU on ESPN; Clemson/Georgia on ABC).
- On top of those, UNC Charlotte plays Duke at home on September 3. And the Around The Crown 10K, which closes off a portion of I-277, is the morning of September 5.
The two Bank of America Stadium games are part of the Duke’s Mayo Classic Doubleheader, the first year with Duke’s as the title sponsor that the stadium will be full of fans. Last year, the Duke Mayo Classic (Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest) was moved several times and ultimately canceled. The Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Wisconsin vs. Wake Forest) only allowed a handful of fans.
- Duke’s Mayo signed a multi-year deal in June 2020 to be the title sponsor of the games, replacing Belk.
Why it matters: Now that vaccines are widely available, now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted and now that Covid trends have improved significantly, people are ready to have fun IRL. The pent up demand is showing up all over, from a wildly busy local wedding industry to sold-out beach house rentals.
“People are — stir-crazy is probably not the right word — but people are excited about getting back and seeing sports and being there in person. There’s nothing like the energy and the enthusiasm when you’re in a stadium,” Morrison says.
Demand has been “off the charts” for Clemson/Georgia game, Morrison says. There will be a very limited number of tickets for sale Thursday; each school got their own large chunk of tickets. Keep an eye out for tickets on the secondary market, though.
- This is the kind of game that could attract ESPN’s College GameDay. The network will likely make an announcement about the show location closer to the start of the season.
Zoom out: North Carolina lifted its mask mandate and ended social-distancing orders in mid-May. Shortly after that, the Panthers said Bank of America Stadium will operate at full capacity (more than 75,000 seats) in 2021.
- The college football games at the stadium will follow the Panthers’ lead regarding full capacity. There won’t be a vaccine requirement, nor will fans have to socially distance themselves or wear masks.
“We’ll have the country’s eyeballs on Charlotte. It will be a great weekend for Charlotte and both games will be nationally televised,” Morrison says.
The Charlotte Sports Foundation estimates that the three games it would have hosted at the stadium last year, at full capacity, would have provided an economic impact of up to $90 million to Uptown — from hotel stays to cocktail bar tabs to concessions at the games.
Flashback: The pandemic crushed Charlotte’s hotels as business travel and live events dried up. A handful of area hotel projects are on hold. Many hotels had to lay off dozens of staffers last year.
When the JW Marriott opens next month, the Uptown-South End submarket will have a total 6,421 rooms across 28 properties, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Tom Dolan, the JW’s director of sales and marketing, says the first weekend of September will be a “Super Bowl-type event for the market.”
“We fully anticipate for us and the majority of the market to be in a sold out situation. Very exciting for the hotel and the national visibility that will be on the city of Charlotte,” Dolan said in an email.
- Others including the Grand Bohemian, Westin and Ritz Carlton are all sold out for full-weekend stays, online booking systems show.
Restaurants anticipate similar demand — a welcome boon after a year of capacity restrictions and lost sales. At the Haymaker in Uptown, revenue was down 65% last year, owner William Dissen says. He’s eager for the crowds that upcoming live events will bring.
“We want all of the events. Bring it. We’re ready for you.”