Uptown Charlotte’s New Year’s event moved. Officials say it’s not because of 2023 shooting
Changes are coming to a major Charlotte holiday celebration one year after a high-profile shooting. But the group behind the city’s official New Year’s Eve event says the move is unrelated to the violence.
This year’s CLT NYE will be held at Truist Field, Charlotte Center City Partners confirmed. The free annual celebration has traditionally been held along Tryon Street at Levine Avenue of the Arts in uptown. The holiday celebration will now be part of the Charlotte Knights’ “Light the Knights Festival.”
A shooting at nearby Romare Bearden Park shortly before midnight Dec. 31, 2023, disrupted the arrival of 2024 in uptown. A 19-year-old man was arrested at the scene, and five people were injured. The shooting happened just months after a separate incident at the park on July Fourth caused panic and prompted 17 arrests.
In the days after the New Year’s Eve shooting, Center City Partners — which promotes development in uptown, South End and midtown — said the community “must do better.”
“We remain committed to hosting highly produced, inclusive, safe, community-building events that are powerful assets for quality of life in Charlotte. As always, we will continue to work closely with our partners at CMPD to plan for, and produce, safe gatherings,” CEO Michael J. Smith said in a statement at the time.
Center City Partners spokeswoman Moira Quinn said Monday the decision to move this year’s CLT NYE event to Charlotte’s Minor League Baseball stadium was “not because of anything from last year.”
In response to follow-up questions from an Observer reporter about the reasoning and timeline for the change, Quinn said Center City Partners has “been working with the Knights to partner with them for a while.”
“We decided to join forces and have one event in their beautiful venue,” she said.
City of Charlotte spokesman Lawrence Corley referred questions about the event to Center City Partners. City leaders have focused on public safety, especially in uptown, in wake of the New Year’s Eve shooting and a marked increase in juvenile crime.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Deputy Chief Jacquelyn Bryley reported to the City Council on Monday violent crime and property crime are both down slightly in uptown so far in 2024.
