‘Bolsters our reputation.’ Charlotte leaders call ACC relocation a public relations boon
Having the ACC conference headquartered in Charlotte “bolsters our reputation nationally,” Mayor Vi Lyles said Tuesday after the 15-member conference announced plans to move from Greensboro to uptown next year.
The ACC’s 50 employees and headquarters will operate in the Legacy Union complex, with a “state-of-the-art gameday operations studio and modern production studio,” city officials said in a news release. The development includes the world headquarters of Honeywell and major corporate offices for Bank of America, Deloitte, JLL, Robinson Bradshaw and Parker Poe.
Charlotte already “is one of the best sports towns in the country and a growing destination for sports events,” Lyles said.
Combined with Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the city’s central location in the region makes it “the perfect place for the ACC to call home and continue its great legacy,” Lyles said.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Pat Cotham said the recognition that Charlotte is the headquarters of the ACC will be particularly beneficial.
“You can’t pay for advertising like that,” Cotham told The Charlotte Observer.
The 2012 Democratic Convention in Charlotte helped put the city on the map, Cotham said.
“Ten years later, this announcement secures our city as a destination and a threat to other cities who competed for it,” she said.
City council member Dimple Ajmera called the announcement “a boon to our $7.8 billion visitor economy.”
The announcement “validates my belief in the strength of Charlotte as a major economic engine for our state and region,” Ajmera said in a statement.
Mecklenburg County commissioner Laura Meier said she expects the ACC’s move to generate more revenue for the county.
“As a fan of the ACC, I’m very excited,” Meier told the Observer in a phone interview. “I think it’s great for our city.”
Luring the ACC to Charlotte “is something that’s been worked on for quite a while,” City Council member Ed Driggs said. “I was very excited to hear we were successful.”
“It’s not huge in economic terms, but it has an impact with the way Charlotte loves sports,” Driggs told the Observer. “It’s a big win for us.”
The move will help the conference continue growing its brand “by tapping into the talent, partnerships, and innovative spirit that make Charlotte’s thriving urban core such a dynamic place,” said Michael Smith, president of Charlotte Center City Partners.
Janet LaBar, president and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, said the move “fuels Charlotte’s increasing prominence as a premier sports hub, and exemplifies our community’s strength in collaborating.”
In a statement, LaBar called the work to get the ACC here “a true team effort, and we’re proud of the collective hustle that led to the ACC’s decision to call Charlotte home.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 2:17 PM.
