Charlotte Bobcats

Perdue to hold economic roundtable

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:15:16 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will hold an economic roundtable in Charlotte Tuesday.

The event will be chaired by Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant and UNC-Charlotte Chancellor Dr. Phil Dubois. It will be moderated by UNC-Chapel Hill professor Ferrell Guillory.

It is the first in a series of roundtables Perdue has planned.

After an overview of current local, state and national economic conditions, the group will have a roundtable discussion with Perdue.

The roundtable will take place at 10 a.m. at UNC-Charlotte's Harris Alumni Center.

Johnson pushes Clinton for veep

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:54:59 -0400

Bob Johnson is pushing for Hillary Clinton as vice president.

The owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, an ardent Clinton supporter, advanced the idea in separate interviews with the Washington Post and CNN.

The Post reports the talks started more than a month ago:

Johnson said he began discussing the vice presidency with Clinton last month and that they talked about it at a dinner in Puerto Rico last Saturday and again by phone and e-mail on Tuesday. "Let me be clear," Johnson said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning. "She said if asked to do this, she must accept because she believes that it is in the best interest of the party that the party come together and win in November."

On CNN, meantime, Johnson said it was his idea.

"I talked with the senator, told her what I was doing," he said. "She didn't direct me to do it, but she certainly knows that I am doing it."

What McCrory said about arena in '06

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:37:55 -0400

In a 2006 interview, Pat McCrory said he did not know if illegal immigrants helped build the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

Bob Orr, a rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, cited the interview at a press conference today, arguing McCrory's record did not match his rhetoric on illegal immigration.

Here's what McCrory said in a June 4 interview with the Charlotte Observer:

Do you think illegal immigrants contributed to the construction of the Bobcats arena?
I don't know. I would make the assumption that they did. I don't know if the contractors that we hired would agree to that or not. Not all contractors are doing it.
How about the NASCAR Hall of Fame? Do you think the city can meet the $150 million budget without illegal immigrant workers?
I don't know. I would hope so. I think it could be. I'm making an assumption that the contractors we hire would be following the law.
What about you personally? Do you have any help around your home?
I have had a Hispanic worker who was born in the United States and is legal, speaks good English and Spanish, who went to the University of Texas and graduated in engineering, work at my house in the past. I'm not aware of any illegal work that has been done at my house.

McCrory to hold fundraiser

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:34:59 -0500

Pat McCrory will hold his first major fundraiser Wednesday.

The Republian gubernatorial candidate's new campaign manager, Jack Hawke, said the event has already drawn $400,000 in contributions, the Charlotte Observer reports.

That's roughly the amount of money that McCrory transferred from his mayoral campaign when he first announced his run for governor.

Among the headliners: Bank of America chief Ken Lewis, Duke Energy head Ellen Ruff, Charlotte Bobcats part-owner Skipper Beck; Showmars restaurants founder George Couchell; NASCAR driver Brian Vickers; and NASCAR team owners Ray Evernham, Rick Hendrick and Felix Sabates.

The event will be held at the home of developer Mel Graham, the nephew of the Rev. Billy Graham.

The campaign will not have to report its total contributions for two months.

What is the Bobcats Arena?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:35:51 -0500

Answer:

A sports and entertainment complex in uptown Charlotte.

The arena is home to a professional basketball team, the Charlotte Bobcats; and a minor league hockey team, the Charlotte Checkers. Major concerts are also held there regularly.

It has a total capacity of more than 20,000 seats.

Construction began on July 7, 2003, and the arena opened on Oct. 21, 2005, with a concert by the Rolling Stones. It was built by the city of Charlotte and is managed by Bobcats Sports & Entertainment, which is owned by Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson.

Construction costs were around $200 million. In addition, the city also paid about $59 million for the land the arena sits on, though it has since sold some of the unneeded land.

In a 2006 interview, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said he did not know if illegal immigrant laborers helped build the arena.

An earlier attempt to build an arena fell through after Charlotte voters rejected a $342 million funding package on June 5, 2001. The referendum failed, 57 to 43 percent.

The Bobcats Arena replaced the Charlotte Coliseum, which was west of downtown near the airport. The coliseum opened in 1988, closed in 2005 and was demolished in 2007.

Will transit hurt McCrory among GOP?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:02:01 -0500

Would Pat McCrory's advocacy for mass transit hurt him in the Republican gubernatorial primary?

Already, ~~conservative~~ libertarian blogger Max Borders has questioned whether the Charlotte mayor's support for a sales tax for transit and a light rail line means he is a "big government Republican."

If money fell like manna from heaven and central planning worked, it might be a ok. But Charlotte's light rail is a massive error IMHO, where that shiny new toy obscures the tremendous costs spread out over the state and even the rest of the country (onto people who will likely never see it or ride it).

Borders also questions McCrory's involvement in the Charlotte Bobcats arena, arguing that the mayor is going to have to "prove his credentials" as a fiscal conservative.

Of course, this is all assuming that McCrory is actually going to run.

Horseplay

bkrueger — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:07:31 -0400

It looks like John Edwards is not above talking a little trash about his basketball skills.

A cover story in the August issue of Esquire includes a passage about Edwards boasting to Kwame Asante, the state director of the Louisiana NAACP, about beating former UNC star Raymond Felton, now a point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats, in a game of H-O-R-S-E.

"You haven't heard this story, have you, Kwame?" Edwards asked.
"Never," Kwame confirmed, smiling broadly, both hands on the wheel.
Edwards rubbed his own hands together with exaggerated delight. "I loooove finding people who never heard this story!"

Edwards then told Asante about his moment of basketball glory, when he beat Felton at H-O-R-S-E.