If ACC moves HQ from Greensboro, Charlotte would ‘love the opportunity’ to become home
Should the ACC decide to move its headquarters out of Greensboro for the first time in its history, Charlotte is willing to become its new home.
In his first year on the job, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has hired outside consulting firms to explore whether to keep the league office in Greensboro, its home since the league was founded in 1953.
While not in the business of poaching corporate offices from other N.C. cities, Charlotte officials are nevertheless open to a discussion should the league decide Greensboro no longer fits its needs.
“Charlotte is a top sports city for both college and professional sports fans, and we’re proud to be associated with the ACC and all of its member institutions,” City of Charlotte spokesman Cory Burkarth said in an email to The Charlotte Observer on Friday. “Charlotte is already a great city for the ACC and their fans because of our airport, transit system, hotels, hospitality scene, and the many fun experiences that are available in our city and region. We would love the opportunity to bring the ACC headquarters to Charlotte if the conference decides to leave Greensboro. We want the ACC to remain in North Carolina, but if the conference decides to leave Greensboro, then we absolutely want the ACC headquarters to come to Charlotte and stay in our great state.”
Charlotte’s stance is shared by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Nash County native and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate well versed in the ACC’s importance to the state.
“The ACC has a storied history and deep roots in North Carolina and the Governor believes that this great conference should continue to make its home in our state for years to come,” Cooper’s deputy communications director, Mary Scott Winstead, said Friday in an email to the News & Observer.
Charlotte is already a major stop on the league’s annual calendar.
The ACC football championship game has been played at Bank of America Stadium every year since 2010, with the exception of 2016 when it was moved out of state in response to the controversial HB2 law. The ACC is contracted to play the game in Charlotte through 2030.
Using three different arenas over the years, the city has hosted the ACC popular men’s basketball tournament 13 times. Only Greensboro (28) has hosted it more.
Because ESPN has a production facility in Charlotte, the league also holds its preseason football and basketball media events in uptown Charlotte each year.
“The Atlantic Coast Conference is a tremendous brand with elite academic institutions and passionate fans across all of their sports,” Burkarth said. “The history and tradition of the ACC is widely known, well respected, and the City of Charlotte is proud to be a part of that today.”
As for a timeline or any details of what Charlotte could offer the ACC, Burkarth said he was “not authorized to discuss economic development related discussions.”
A spokesman for the Charlotte Sports Foundation declined to comment on a potential ACC move.
Even though the ACC was founded at Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club on May 8, 1953 and its headquarters have been in the city ever since, Phillips sent a letter to the league’s 15 schools this month saying he has a “fiduciary responsibility to ensure that remaining headquartered in Greensboro is what is in the best long-term interests of the Conference.”
Phillips made it clear he has no preconceived plan to move the headquarters and that no decision is imminent.
“We are simply doing our due diligence as we enter a new chapter in our storied history,” Phillips wrote in the letter. “This is part of our responsibility as we undertake a holistic review and assessment of the ACC.”
To that end, the ACC hired former Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg to examine the location of the conference office as part of a thorough review of the league’s finances and governance model. Phillips anticipates that review, which also includes how the league compares to other top conferences around the country, to take four months.
Other potential locations for the league office, located within the ACC’s footprint, include Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and New York.
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 3:02 PM.