It is known as the Mint City, because it was the home the earliest "branch mint" in the country, making gold coins for the United States from 1837 to 1873. That wasn't a long time, and it's even less when you consider that, from 1861 to 1865, they were making gold coins for the Confederate States of America. Today, when we think of cities with mints, we think of Philadelphia and Denver, and maybe San Francisco.
The city is about 45 percent white, 35 percent black, 13 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian, and 1 percent Native American. The suburbs and the south side of the city are mostly white, the north side of the city mostly black.
The street grid isn't north-south-east-west, at least not geographically. Rather, it's on a diagonal. However, Trade Street separates street addresses from north and south, and Tryon Street separates them from east and west. Their centerpoint intersection is sometimes known as "Trade & Tryon," "Independence Square" or just "The Square." Interstate 485 serves as a beltway.
The Charlotte Area Transportation System (CATS) runs buses, the LYNX Blue Line light rail system, and the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar service. The fare is $2.20.
The sales tax in North Carolina is 4.75 percent, but it rises to 7.25 percent in Charlotte. ZIP Codes for Charlotte start with the digits 280, 281 and 282. The Area Code is 704, overlaid with 980. Charlotte Utilities runs the electricity for Mecklenburg County.
In spite of Dean Smith's activism, and the apparent racial harmony on the Tar Heel and Blue Devil teams, the State of North Carolina is still Southern, and a former Confederate State, and has had its racial issues.
In 1870, 5 years after the war, the Ku Klux Klan used murder and intimidation to prevent recently freed slaves from exercising their right to vote, newly granted by the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Governor William Holden (no relation to the later actor of the same name) assigned Colonel George Washington Kirk, who went from Union Army to Confederate Army and back to the Union, to handle things imposing martial law in Caswell and Alamance Counties, in the north-central part of the State, on the Virginia line. This became known as the Kirk-Holden War. The Wilmington Insurrection was carried out on November 10, 1898, white supremacists burning down the office of a newspaper, The Daily Record.
The Battle of Hayes Pond took place near Maxton on January 18, 1958, when KKK members tried to attack members of the Lumbee tribe of Native Americans, and got their asses kicked. On February 1, 1960, the Greensboro Sit-In began when black students at North Carolina A&T sat at the lunch counter at a Woolworth's, and refused to leave until they were served. The site of the store is now home to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. On June 6, 1963, a group of black patrons was refused service in Lexington, and they fought back. One died, and it was one of the few times in the era when it wasn't the whites who started it.
North Carolina is known for its beaches on "The Outer Banks," or "OBX." This includes Kill Devil Hill, with the Wright Brothers National Memorial, on roughly the location where Orville Wright, with brother Wilbur Wright watching, took off in Flyer I on December 17, 1903, marking the 1st heavier-than-air human flight. The Outer Banks are centered on Nags Head, about 360 miles east of downtown Charlotte.
Going In. The official address of the Spectrum Center is 333 E. Trade Street, at Caldwell Street. If you drive in, parking can be had for as little as $5.00. If you're using public transportation, use the CTC/Arena stop. Most likely, you'll be going in through the arena's west or south gates.
The arena opened in 2005, and was named Charlotte Bobcats Arena until 2008. The expansion team was named after its 1st owner, Robert L. Johnson, the TV executive who became America's 1st black billionaire -- yes, before Oprah Winfrey -- and the 1st black majority owner of a major league sports franchise. But the name made sense for an additional reason, as the bobcat is indigenous to the Carolinas.
Johnson sold the team to Michael Jordan in 2010. Charter Communications recently bought Time Warner Cable from Time Warner, and renamed the arena for their cable service, Spectrum. This may confuse some of you who remember the old Philadelphia arena of 1967 to 1996, The Spectrum.
The Hornets name, which had also been used by a minor-league baseball team and the city's entry in the ill-fated World Football League of 1974-75, refers to the American Revolution, when the British commander Lord Cornwallis the Carolinas "a veritable hornet's nest of rebellion."
In addition to the Bobcats/new Hornets, it also hosted the WNBA's Charlotte Sting in their last season, 2006; and minor-league hockey's Charlotte Checkers from 2005 until 2015, when they moved to the Bojangles Coliseum. It also hosted the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which renominated President Barack Obama. It will host the 2020 Republican Convention, but whether Donald Trump will be renominated -- or even be available -- is getting less certain by the day.
The court is aligned north-to-south -- or, more precisely from a literal geographic standpoint, northeast-to-southwest. In keeping with the "hive" theme, it has a honeycomb pattern.
Food. This is the South, tailgate party country, and North Carolina is among the places in this country particularly known for good barbecue. Tailgating is usually not done before NBA games, but the arena website is a little vague on concessions. Here's what they have to say about food options:
Spectrum Center partnered with industry-leader Levy Restaurants to develop food offerings unlike anything the community has experienced before. We created an incredibly diverse menu with something for everyone; from unexpected items to fan favorites on the concourses to restaurants and social areas for premium seatholders. To find out more about our fan favorites on the concourse and our restaurants and lounges for premium seat holders, click here
Throughout the arena, guests will find traditional event-goer favorites such as char-grilled hamburgers, hot dogs with regional toppings and chicken sandwiches along with more unique items such as house made veggie burgers, Niman ranch sausages, house braised short rib sandwiches and homemade ice cream shakes.
And we thought about the Little Sports Fan too – A kids' menu offers hot dog or crispy chicken in a combination meal that includes chips and a choice of drink.
In addition to the permanent eating areas on the Club and Uptown Concourses, Spectrum Center also offers several portable stands where guests can feast on everything from carved meat sandwiches to bratwurst and flavored popcorn.
Team History Displays. Of all 30 NBA teams, only 2 have never won at least a Division title: The Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies. (The New Orleans Pelicans have won one under the New Orleans Hornets name). Therefore, the Hornets don't have any title banners.
The old version (the one that's now the Pelicans) won 5 Playoff series, but the furthest they got in the Playoffs was losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2001. And the Bobcats/new Hornets have made the Playoffs only 3 times, in 2010, 2014 and 2016. It took until 2016 for them to win a Playoff game for the 1st time.
The Hornets have 1 retired number, 13, for guard Bobby Phills, who played for the original version of the Hornets from 1997 until 2000, when he was killed in a car crash. Only 3 Hornets players have yet been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, all centers: Robert Parish and Vlade Divac, each of whom played only 2 seasons for them; and Alonzo Mourning, who played only 3. (Dave Cowens coached them from 1996 to 1999, and Larry Brown from 2008 to 2010, but both were already in the Hall before they got to the Bobcats.)
Parish was the only Hornet player named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players, and the only one named to its 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players.
Geographically, the Hornets' chief rivals should be the Atlanta Falcons, or maybe the Washington Wizards, or the Memphis Grizzlies. But they don't really have a rivalry with any team.
The February 22 game against the Nets will be Miles Bridges Bobblehead Night. The games against the Knicks are not promotional nights.
In March 2022, Bank of America Stadium will begin hosting the expansion Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer. 800 S. Mint Street at W. Stonewall Street. Number 2 bus from downtown.
* American Legion Memorial Stadium. It doesn't look like much, just a concrete horseshoe seating 21,000 people. But this relic is the city's leading high school football stadium, and, in 1974 and '75, was the home of the city's 1st pro football team, the World Football League version of the Charlotte Hornets.
Despite its age (it opened in 1936), it still hosts high school sports, and the Charlotte Hounds of Major League Lacrosse. It is the last home of the Charlotte Independence, who will give way to Charlotte FC this coming Spring. 310 N. Kings Drive at Armory Drive. Number 27 bus from downtown.
* Bojangles' Coliseum. Previously known as the original Charlotte Coliseum, the Independence Arena and the Cricket Arena, this arena went up in 1955, and is now named after the fast-food fried chicken franchise. When it opened, it had the world's largest dome, but didn't hold that title for long.
This Coliseum was the home base of the Carolinas' 1st team that could have been called major league: The Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association, from 1969 to 1974. At the time, none of the Carolinas' cities were large enough to support a team by itself so, management used several home courts, including this one, Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, and the Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum. This path would be followed by the ABA's Virginia Squires (Norfolk, Hampton, Richmond and Roanoke) and Texas Chaparrals (the forerunners of the San Antonio Spurs played in Dallas, Fort Worth and Lubbock).
In 1973, with Larry Brown -- who would later be named to the ABA's All-Time Team -- in his 1st season as a head coach anywhere, the Cougars, led by Billy Cunningham, Joe Caldwell, Gene Littles, Roger Brown and Steve "Snapper" Jones, reached the ABA Finals, but lost them to the Indiana Pacers.
Despite some success on the court and at the box office -- both rare for ABA teams -- it was thought that a "regional franchise" could not succeed in the NBA, with whom merger talks were ongoing, so the team was moved to what was then a larger market, St. Louis. On occasion, the Hornets will wearing Cougars "throwback" uniforms.
The Charlotte Checkers brought minor-league hockey there in 1956, left in 1977, returned in 1993, left for the larger new Bobcats (Time Warner Cable) Arena in 2005, and this fall they returned, and are now the major tenant in the Carolinas' 1st major sports building. Elvis Presley sang there on June 26, 1956; April 13, 1972; March 9, 1974; March 20, 1976; and February 20 and 21, 1977. (The Beatles never performed in the Carolinas.)
2700 E. Independence Blvd. Number 27 bus to Chipley Avenue, then walk 3 blocks up Chipley.
* Site of Charlotte Coliseum. When "The Hive" (a nickname now transferred to the new arena) opened in 1988, it seated just under 23,000, making it the largest arena in the NBA. (The Detroit Pistons played many years at the Silverdome and the Seattle SuperSonics many home games at the Kingdome, but neither was meant to be a permanent facility.) And the Hornets filled it, getting 364 consecutive home sellouts -- just under 9 full seasons.
With this photo, you can see how far it was from the heart of Charlotte.
Founding owner George Shinn -- whose son Chris Shinn is lead singer of the rock band Live -- moved the team to New Orleans in 2002, because he thought he could no longer live in the Carolinas due to the local anger over his sex scandals, as fans stopped going to games, just to spite him. He ended up selling the team in 2010, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that the Hornets name wasn't given to the replacement team until after that. He also owned the Charlotte Knights baseball team, and the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the short-lived World League of American Football. (Playing at N.C. State's stadium, they've been called the worst team in pro football history.) He also tried and failed to get an NHL expansion team for the Norfolk area in 1997.
This Coliseum hosted the NCAA Final Four in 1994, with Arkansas winning the title, beating Duke, despite Durham-based Duke having (for all intents and purposes) home-court advantage. The only other time a Final Four has been held in the Carolinas, a "home team" did win: Raleigh-based North Carolina State over Milwaukee's Marquette at the Greensboro Coliseum in 1974.
The WNBA's Charlotte Sting played home games there. They won the WNBA's Eastern Conference in 2001. Dawn Staley was named to the league's 15th Anniversary 15 Greatest Players, and Andrea Stinson had her Number 32 retired. The Coliseum was used for the basketball-themed films
Eddie, He Got Game and
Juwanna Mann.
A new arena, downtown (as the Coliseum and the Coliseum before it most definitely were not) with better luxury boxes was seen as a prerequisite for getting a replacement franchise, and so the Bobcats only played their 1st season there, 2004-05. Ironically, the Coliseum's last major use was as a refugee center for people made homeless by Hurricane Katrina's near-destruction of New Orleans in 2005. It was demolished in 2007 -- after only 19 years, a disgraceful waste, but Camden Yards really did change the game in 1992 when it came to stadium and arena construction -- and mixed-use development is currently under construction on the site.
100 Paul Buck Blvd. Number 501 bus to Tyvola Station, then transfer to Number 60 bus to N. Falls Drive, then walk up Tyvola Parkway and Yorkmont Road. The street leading to the arena site is still named Hive Drive.
* UNC-Charlotte. The Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina plays at Jerry Richardson Stadium, named for the Panthers' founder. The Charlotte 49ers (when referring to the school, it's usually "UNC-Charlotte") didn't have a football team from 1949 to 2012, then started up again, and joined Conference USA in 2015.
Richardson Stadium, which opened with the 2013 restart of the football program, isn't much: It seats just 15,314, less than the Hornets' arena and only a little bit more than the Knights' ballpark. 8701 Phillips Road, just off Tryon Road/U.S. Route 29, 9 miles northeast of downtown. Light Rail route 501 to J.W. Clay Blvd. Station, then a 10-minute walk.
* Charlotte ballparks. The original Charlotte Hornets were a minor-league baseball team, on and off from 1892 to 1973. Prior to the building of their most familiar ballpark, they won the Southern League Pennant in 1902, 1916, 1923, 1931 and 1938.
From 1937 to 1972, they were owned by the Griffith family as a farm team of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise. In 1940, they opened a new ballpark, named Griffith Park after team owner Clark Griffith. When he died in 1955, his nephew Calvin Griffith inherited the franchise. He wasn't willing to stick his own name on the Senators' D.C. ballpark, but renamed the Charlotte facility Calvin Griffith Park. At this stadium, they won the South Atlantic League Pennant in 1946, 1947, 1952 and 1957, and the Southern League Pennant in 1969 and 1971.
Founded in 1976 as a Class AA team, the Charlotte Knights have been a Class AAA team since 1993, and a Chicago White Sox farm team since 1990. They won Pennants at Griffith Park, renamed Jim Crockett Sr. Park, after the new owner, and won SL Pennants in 1980 and 1984, before the park burned down in 1985 -- due to arson, although not an insurance scam. George Shinn bought the team in 1987, and moved them after the 1989 season. 400 Magnolia Avenue, in the Dilworth section of the city, about 2 miles south of downtown. Number 10 bus to East Blvd., then a half-mile walk down South Blvd. and Magnolia.
Shinn built Knights Castle, later renamed Knights Stadium across the State Line, 16 miles south of downtown Charlotte. A stadium seating 10,002, it was intended to showcase the Charlotte area as a future site for a Major League Baseball team, either expansion or moved. And the Knights did do well there, getting as many as 15,427 fans for a 2007 game with the Durham Bulls. They won International League Pennants there in 1993 and 1999, and a Division title as recently as 2012.
In 1990, MLB chose Charlotte as 1 of the 10 Semifinalists for the 2 new teams they wanted for the 1993 season. But, in spite of a decent ballpark by Triple-A standards and a growing fanbase, MLB did not choose Charlotte as 1 of the 6 finalists, also eliminating Nashville, Phoenix and Sacramento. In mid-1991, they rejected Buffalo, Orlando, Tampa Bay and Washington, and chose Denver and Miami. Charlotte did not even submit an application in 1994 for the 1998 expansion that went to Phoenix and Tampa Bay.
Knights Stadium closed after the 2013 season, and will soon be demolished. 2280 Deerfield Drive, Fort Mill, South Carolina. Not reachable by public transportation, unless you want to take a train to a bus and then walk 4 miles from the closest bus stop.
BB&T Ballpark opened in 2014. It was renamed Truist Park in 2019, after BB&T was bought out by another bank. It seats 10,200, slightly more than Knights Stadium, and has a nice view of downtown Charlotte, which is actually called Uptown. However, there is no room to expand it to 35,000 or more seats, as a major league ballpark would need, so, despite the inabilities of the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics to get new ballparks thus far, the new Uptown Charlotte ballpark pretty much eliminates the Carolinas from future contention, unless MLB expands again in the next few years. 324 South Mint Street at W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 2 blocks north of the Panthers' stadium.
According to
an April 23, 2014 article in The New York Times, the Yankees are actually the most popular MLB team in Charlotte, a little bit ahead of the Atlanta Braves, the closest team at 246 miles away. (The Washington Nationals are the next-closest, 402 miles.) The closest NHL team is the Carolina Hurricanes, 160 miles away.
Due to population as much as to the size of the ballpark, I wouldn't count on Charlotte getting an MLB team anytime soon: It would rank 28th among MLB markets. And, unless the 'Canes want to become a "regional team," as was experimented with in pro basketball in the 1970s and '80s (most recently with the Boston Celtics in Hartford in 1995), Charlotte won't get an NHL team either, as they'd rank 22nd -- 3 places ahead of where Raleigh is now. Combining the 2 markets would jump it to 15th, but the logistics of alternating between Charlotte and Raleigh would make the move too risky.
The U.S. national soccer team has never played a game in Charlotte. There have been 6 such games played in North Carolina: 3 in High Point, and 1 each in Greensboro, Cary and Davidson.
In 2017, the Western New York Flash of the National Women's Soccer League moved, and became the North Carolina Courage. WakeMed Soccer Park, 201 Soccer Park in Cary, 8 miles west of downtown Raleigh. Bus 300.
Auto racing is
not a sport. But, if you think it is, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is at Brevard & Stonewall Streets. Stonewall station on LYNX.
Charlotte has the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as a "mid-major" college basketball team, but in terms of college football, here's the distances to the closest Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly "Division I-A") teams: Wake Forest University, 82 miles away in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; University of South Carolina, 99 in Columbia; Clemson University, 139 in Clemson, South Carolina; University of North Carolina, 140 in Chapel Hill; Duke, 141 in Durham; North Carolina State, 160 in Raleigh; Virginia Tech, 173 in Blacksburg; University of Tennessee, 231 in Knoxville; and East Carolina, 247 in Greenville, North Carolina. (Wake Forest's Wait Chapel hosted Presidential Debates in 1988, between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, and in 2000, between George W. Bush and Al Gore.)
North Carolina A&T, in Greensboro, about 92 miles northeast of Charlotte and 76 miles west of Raleigh, has won "the National Championship of black college football" 6 times: 1951, 1968, 1990, 1999, 2015 and 2017. Winston-Salem State University, in the city of the same name, 75 miles northeast of Charlotte and 104 miles west of Raleigh, has won it 4 times, all recently: 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. North Carolina Central, in Durham, has won it 3 times: 1954, 2005 and 2006.
Fayetteville State University, in the city of the same name, 136 miles east of Charlotte and 57 miles south of Raleigh, won it in 2002, although they compete in NCAA Division II. And Shaw University, in Raleigh, won it in 1947, and also now competes in Division II.
In addition to the old Charlotte Coliseum in 1956, Elvis Presley sang in Charlotte earlier in the year, doing (believe it) 4 shows at the Carolina Theater on February 10, 1956: 2:30, 4:30, 7:00 and 9:00. 224 N. Tryon Street, downtown.
In addition to Charlotte -- and Raleigh, which I've covered in my guide for the Hurricanes -- Elvis sang at the following North Carolina locations: In New Bern, at the Shrine Auditorium in New Bern on May 14 and September 13, 1955; in Asheville, at the City Auditorium on May 17 and September 16, 1955, and at the Asheville Civic Center on July 22, 23 and 24, 1975; in Thomasville at the High School Auditorium on September 17, 1955; in Wilson at Fleming Stadium on September 14, 1955, and 3 shows at the Charles L. Coon Auditorium on February 14, 1956; in Greensboro, 4 shows in 1 day at the National Theater on February 6, 1956, and at the Greensboro Coliseum on April 14, 1972; March 13, 1974; July 21, 1975; June 30, 1976; and April 21, 1977; in High Point, 4 shows in 1 day at the Convention Center on February 7, 1956; in Williams, at the High School Auditorium on February 15, 1956; in Winston-Salem, 3 shows in 1 day at the Carolina Theater on February 16, 1956; in Lexington, at the YMCA Gym on March 21, 1956; and in Fayetteville, at the Cumberland County Memorial Arena in Fayetteville on August 3, 4 and 5, 1976.
If you're paying attention, you saw that he did 4 shows in 1 day on February 6, 7, 8 and 10, 1956. That's 16 shows in a span of 5 days. He was 21. It was easier to do that than to do 2 in 1 day when he was packing on the pounds in his early 40s in 1975, '76 and '77.
Charlotte features some downtown museums. The Levine Museum of the New South is about Southern life since the American Civil War, and it doesn't shy away from racial issues. 200 E. 7th Street at College Street. Discovery Place, a child-oriented science museum, is 2 blocks away at 301 N. Tryon Street at 6th Street.
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art is at 420 S. Tryon Street at 1st Street. The Mint Museum Uptown is not, as its name might suggest, a museum dedicated to money. Rather, it's a former mint converted into an art museum. 500 S. Tryon Street, across 1st Street from the Bechtler Museum.
Bank of America Corporate Center, at 871 feet, is not only the tallest building in town, but the tallest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta. 100 N. Tryon Street at 5th Street.
Charlotte has never produced a President. The Carolinas have produced 3. No one is precisely sure where Andrew Jackson was born -- not even whether it happened in North or South Carolina, only that it was in the Waxhaw region along the State Line. He was the 1st President born in a log cabin, but that cabin is long-gone. Andrew Jackson State Park, at 196 Andrew Jackson Park Road in Lancaster, South Carolina, is considered the likeliest place. It's about 33 miles south of Charlotte and not reachable by public transportation.
James K. Polk State Historical Site is in Pineville, which, like Charlotte, is in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. It's about 12 miles south, at 12031 Lancaster Highway. It's easier to reach without a car: The Number 20 bus can get you to within half a mile.
Andrew Johnson was born in the State capital of Raleigh, 167 miles to the northeast. His birthplace was a log cabin (which didn't help him as much as it helped his predecessor, Abraham Lincoln) on the grounds of Casso's Inn, where his father worked, at Morgan Street and Fayetteville Street, across from the State House. It was moved to Mordecai Historic Park at 1 Mimosa Street, a mile north of downtown. Number 1 Bus.
All 3 Carolina-born Presidents have their main historical sites in Tennessee: Polk is buried on the State House grounds in Nashville; Jackson's home, The Hermitage, is in the Nashville suburbs; and Johnson's Museum is in Greeneville.
Yankee Legend Jim "Catfish" Hunter was from Hertford, North Carolina, 315 miles east of Charlotte, in the coastal Inner Banks region, and is buried in Cedarwood Cemetery there, on Hyde Park Road. Another major baseball legend, though not a New York one, Willie Stargell, is buried at Oleander Memorial Gardens, at 306 Bradley Drive, in Wilmington, 206 miles east of Charlotte. (Wilmington is also the hometown of Michael Jordan and David Brinkley.) And, considerably closer to Charlotte, about 25 miles north, football legend Reggie White is buried at Glenwood Memorial Park in Mooresville.
A few TV shows have been filmed in North Carolina, most notably
Dawson's Creek in Wilmington.
The Andy Griffith Show, of course, was set in the fictional North Carolina town of Mayberry and based on Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, but was filmed in Southern California.
Shows set in Charlotte are few and far between. Currently,
The Carmichael Show, based on the standup comedy of Jerrod Carmichael, is airing on NBC.
Homeland has had scenes shot in Charlotte. Scenes from the
Hunger Games films, whose "District 12" includes the Carolinas, have been shot in Charlotte.
*
Charlotte had no major league sports teams as recently as the Summer of 1988. By the Fall of 1996, it had the NBA and the NFL, and MLB in the future is not yet out of the question.
It's true that North Carolina isn't the hotbed of professional basketball that it is for the college game. But a Knicks vs. Hornets or Nets vs. Hornets game could be a fun experience.
