How the ACC headquarters landed in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — The Atlantic Coast Conference made a big move into Uptown Charlotte earlier this week.

It was a relocation nearly two years in the making.

Investigative Reporter Madison Carter spent the past six months digging through more than 200 emails from North Carolina State, the City of Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County to see exactly what happened during negotiations.

In October of 2021, the newly appointed ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips announced the conference would be expanding its search for new headquarters. It had been in Greensboro, North Carolina, since the conference’s inception 70 years ago.

“Well, there was an opportunity,” said Danny Morrison, executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation. “The main thing was to keep the ACC in the state.”

While the organization didn’t play a financial role in recruiting, it was a major player in working to woo the conference to the Queen City.

“Our mission is to bring high-profile sporting events to Charlotte that have economic impact and add to the quality of life,” Morrison said.

Carter learned it was the offer from the state that seemed to convince the conference to stay in North Carolina.

The Department of Commerce offered to put up $15 million in incentives from the economic development reserve if the conference chose a location in North Carolina.

Channel 9 reviewed several emails showing the offer captured the interest of the conference’s chief financial officer, Ben Tario.

In at least one email, state officials noted a request from Tario asking to negotiate the terms of the grant ahead of the state budget passing.

In September 2022, weeks before the decision was finalized, there was correspondence showing the ACC wanted to get the full amount upfront. The conference cited moving costs and the need to outfit its new headquarters in Uptown Charlotte.

Anything over $100,000 from the economic reserve fund is typically issued in installments, but after getting support from the North Carolina General Assembly, the exemption was issued.

“Economic development, business recruitment is a team sport,” said Tracy Dodson, assistant city manager for the City of Charlotte.

After the state’s offer, it was time for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to sweeten the pot.

The county kicked in an extra $40,282 in grant money over three years from the business investment program.

The city put forth similar grant incentives in the amount of $40,282, although the Charlotte City Council hadn’t voted to approve the funds at the time of this article’s publication.

“It was a pretty long negotiation. I know that we were competitive, and I know that the ACC was looking at other locations besides Charlotte,” Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio told Channel 9, speaking on the work to bring the conference to the city.

Phillips told Carter about the final decision, saying, “In the end, the vibrancy of Charlotte, the ability to have a world-class airport, the media presence of people like you and others for us to tell our story, the recruitment and retention of talent, staffing, etc. was really high on a list and a city that was growing and headed in a direction that we felt matched with all of those other things.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to have this conference that was coming in 1953, now being here in Charlotte,” said Morrison.

With all the taxpayer money being put up, all parties that spoke to Channel 9 about the deal say the return on investment will be tenfold for residents.

“The economic impact every year is significant. We’ve been somewhere from 70 to $90 million over the years and we think we’ll have a significant number again this year,” Morrison said.

Mecklenburg County leaders project the ACC will create an additional 86 jobs and net the county nearly $300,000 in tax revenue by the end of its three-year grant allocation.

Right now, the conference is moving a staff of just over 50 people to Charlotte.

General Assembly leaders pointed to added jobs, taxable property, and economic activity as reasons for putting up so much state money.

But the ACC made several promises in exchange for receiving the $15 million it agreed to host several high-profile championships in the state.

Contract language promises that by the end of 2032, it will hold five men’s basketball championships (with at least three in Greensboro), five women’s basketball championships, four baseball championships, and 53 Olympic sport championships at various locations in the Tar Heel State.

That’s on top of already established ones like the conference football championship game at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium each year.

The ACC will report annually on its progress toward those goals.

If it fails to uphold its commitment, there are penalties that will kick in up to one million dollars per unfulfilled championship game.

But, in the end, Commissioner Phillips tells Carter it is his intention for the conference to contribute to more than just the economic footprint in the Queen City.

“We take very seriously our responsibility in the communities that we’ve been in, to give back to those less fortunate, to lend a helping hand to those in need,” Phillips said. “And so, this won’t be a one-sided affair where the ACC is looking for people to help the ACC. The ACC wants to go out and be an active member [of the community].”

A primetime ACC matchup with the SEC is slated for this weekend with the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium. You can watch the game on Channel 9 starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

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