Charlotte greenlights Hornets deal to extend team’s lease, build practice facility

Charlotte City Council approved a deal Monday night that would renovate the Spectrum Center, build a practice facility for the Charlotte Hornets and extend the NBA team’s lease in the Queen City.

In the deal, $215 million would come from the city’s tourism funds and go to the Spectrum Center’s renovations. The remaining $60 million for the NBA team’s practice facility would come from whoever receives naming rights for the creation of a sports and entertainment district around the Spectrum Center.

The deal passed by a 10-1 vote.

“This, for me, is the right thing to do for our city,” Councilwoman Victoria Watlington said. “We value the Hornets.”

Councilman Ed Driggs agreed.

“If (the Hornets) don’t negotiate with us, they negotiate with someone else,” Driggs said.

Braxton Winston, who voted against it, called the contract a “bad deal,” citing future concerns and a poorly executed existing lease.

Seven members of the public commented on the deal before the council voted Monday.

Pierre Bader, owner of Sonoma Restaurant Group, was in support of the deal, calling it “money well spent.”

“It will change the tone of the Epicentre,” Badar said. “You will not be disappointed in your decision for years to come.”

Resident Grace Fendrick was fiercely opposed to the city subsidizing the arena and said the idea that a practice facility would bring economic prosperity to Charlotte is “laughable.”

Charles Held agreed and also spoke in opposition to the proposal.

“I think people are more worried about getting shot outside of the stadium than the shots going on inside of the stadium,” Held said.

Several council members commented on the lack of transparency of the deal. Monday was the public’s only chance to comment on the deal.

“The community should’ve been involved at the takeoff, not the landing,” said Councilman Malcolm Graham, who voted for the proposal.

Under the proposed deal, the city of Charlotte would extend its lease with the Charlotte Hornets to 2045. The existing lease is set to expire in 2030. The Hornets would begin paying $2 million per year in rent in 2030 and $1.1 million in capital investments beginning in 2024.

Construction is expected to begin this summer on the renovations and practice facility. Work could take four years.

In response to the council’s vote Monday, the Charlotte Hornets issued a statement thanking the city.

“We look forward to continuing to serve as stewards of Spectrum Center to make it the premier destination for sports and entertainment in the Carolinas,” Hornets Sports & Entertainment said in a prepared statement. “We are thrilled to have extended our lease agreement and ensure that Spectrum Center and Uptown Charlotte will remain the home of the Charlotte Hornets for an additional 15 years through 2045.”

The Charlotte Observer asked readers last week their thoughts on the deal, and more than half of the 408 people who responded said they support the city’s involvement in the renovations and construction of the practice facility.

Of the respondents, 42% said they’d like to see more retail, restaurants and hotels in the proposed new district.

Plans for new Hornets facility

Early renderings show the new practice facility in a high-rise building. It would include two full basketball courts, expanded locker room space and a health care space. Renderings show the practice facility replacing the existing Charlotte Transportation Center, moving the bus facility underground. These renderings are not set in stone.

The rest of the tower will be filled with parking and undetermined development on the top floors.

There will be a temporary bus station built during the several years of construction on the transit and practice facility building, documents presented to the economic development committee show.

Plan B, according to the original presentation, is to build the practice facility in the existing gravel lot beside the stadium at Caldwell and Trade streets.

The money for renovations will come from the city’s tourism dollars — rental car sales tax or hotel occupancy rate tax, for example — and won’t affect the city’s general fund budget, according to City of Charlotte CFO Teresa Smith.

Renovations to the Spectrum Center would include:

• entryways

• bathrooms

• escalators

• elevators

• new HVAC systems

• plumbing repairs

• roof repairs

This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 8:50 PM.

Genna Contino

The Charlotte Observer

Genna Contino previously covered local government for the Observer, where she wrote about Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. She attended the University of South Carolina and grew up in Rock Hill.