Tired of overhyped snow storms? 5 other infamous Charlotte busts
So, The Snowstorm of 2015 turned out to be a bust for a lot of us. It happens, even to the best of forecasters.
But this is hardly the first time Charlotte’s been promised something BIG that turned out to be so disappointing:
(1) The big rolling bush balls
Take a walk back in Charlotte history to the old home of the (first-go-around) Hornets, Charlotte Coliseum along Tyvola Road. Famed artist Maya Lin, creator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, was commissioned to do a public piece of art for the coliseum.
She came up with “The Playing Field,” a series of 10 huge round bushes that flanked the 60-foot-wide median running from Tyvola to the coliseum entrance. I guess it was supposed to look like dribbling basketballs. To many, it looked like bushes. And it cost $360,000. Outrage and mocking ensued.
After the coliseum was imploded, the bushes were eventually ripped down – quite unceremoniously.
(2) Cityfair
Until the late ’90s, Uptown had a mall/shopping center called Cityfair. But nobody ever really went there because (a) It didn’t have street-level stores (2) Hardly anybody lived in uptown back then (3) It had no major tenants. It closed and then reopened and then closed for good. It was a laughing stock and was imploded to make room for the Hearst Tower.
(3) Patrick Cannon
He wins Charlotte mayor and about two months into the job gets arrested on bribery charges. He’s now serving 44 months in a federal prison and will forever be Charlotte’s first mayor to get sent to prison.
Ex-Mayor Patrick Cannon indicted on voter fraud. He cast ballot after guilty plea http://t.co/67drB1HL36 pic.twitter.com/RbCIcKDAIa
— Charlotte Observer (@theobserver) February 3, 2015
(4) Chiquita
The city and state lavished $22 million in economic incentives on the banana company to settle in Charlotte. The company bit, all the while negotiating a buyout with a Brazilian company. Less than 3 years later, Chiquita is gone.
Charlotte’s divorce with @Chiquita may cost up to $40 million http://t.co/T1bDOw5KXi pic.twitter.com/MWTUPdwLsc
— Business Journals (@bizjournals) January 22, 2015
(5) NASCAR Hall of Fame
Interestingly, Chiquita headquartered at the Hall, which continues to financially drown. Do you ever go there?
NASCAR Hall of Fame sponsorships fall from $1.5M in 2012 to $110,000 http://t.co/SLNWien7mrpic.twitter.com/uar1fARQQc
— Charlotte Observer (@theobserver) January 28, 2015
Photos: Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 1:06 AM with the headline "Tired of overhyped snow storms? 5 other infamous Charlotte busts."