Basketball

City official: 2017 NBA All-Star game investment worth it

By Jenna Deery
By Jenna Deery

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's going to take close to $6 million for Charlotte to host the NBA All-Star game in 2017.

On Monday, city leaders will decide if they are going to write part of the check.

They sold a piece of land the city owns off of Stonewall Street to pay for police and sanitation services during the game. Those services alone have a price tag of $600,000 but city leaders said they will get that back 10-fold and possibly more.   
   
The announcement of Charlotte hosting the game came as the city navigated through a nearly $22 million financial crisis.

The city is still moving forward paying nearly $30 million on upgrades to Time Warner Cable Arena in uptown Charlotte where the game will be held.

Mayor pro tem Michael Barnes believes the cost will be worth it.

"It's a decent investment in terms of the size of it but the return of it is going to be outstanding," Barnes said.

Hospitality taxes totaling $1.5 million and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority will fork over $1.25 million to the event.

In addition, the Charlotte Hornet agreed to contribute $150,000 with the promise to help raise $1.5 million in sponsorship funds.

"Taxpayers want to know is, is it going to be worthwhile for them to offer up those kind of services?" Barnes said. "Every time we put our city on the global stage we get people wanting to start new businesses here, people wanting to relocate here."

Charlotte resident and NFL running back Leon Washington said the sports investment is worth it.

"It has to happen some type of way," Washington said. "We all have to be involved with it."

City leaders expect the event to have a $100 million economic impact with at least a $200,000 profit on sales taxes. The state and county will also be asked to chip in.

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