Renovation of a stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Completed plans call for the renovation of a stadium.

Much work needs to be done before a formal proposal and decision from city government can be made on renovating Bojangles Coliseum, the city's top two economic development leaders said yesterday. Tracy Dodson, the assistant city manager in charge of economic development, and Malcolm Graham, head of City Council's economic development committee, told CBJ in separate interviews that the 69-year-old arena remains an important asset for the city and the east side. But both of them said many aspects need to be vetted and researched to determine a likely budget, sequence of projects and assess how upgrades help the city and its tourism arm, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. The Charlotte Checkers, an American Hockey League team, are the anchor tenant at the 8,300-seat arena. Team executives told CBJ this week that they are counting on renovations, including more VIP seating areas, to help the club become a consistently profitable business. Checkers Chief Operating Officer Tera Black told CBJ that the team turned its first profit in at least 18 years last season. She believes the hockey team is in position to repeat that performance but also said that margins will remain razor-thin until Bojangles Coliseum undergoes renovations that provide more high-end seating and hospitality options. City government owns the arena and the visitors authority manages the building, with responsibility for maintenance and repairs. City Council must vote to approve major improvements such as the ones being contemplated. Bojangles Coliseum and 2,400-seat Ovens Auditorium both opened in 1955. They sit next to each other on Independence Boulevard. Ovens, too, is owned by city government. "This is a treasured asset in our community," Dodson said. "It's on the east side and we definitely want to continue to make investments (in that part of the city)." She added that the Checkers are important for the city, too. At the same time, Dodson pointed to available tourism tax revenue and balancing improvements at Bojangles Coliseum with other future needs as well as existing commitments. Those existing commitments include spending $275 million over the next few years on a $245 million makeover of Spectrum Center and $30 million to help pay for a new practice center for the NBA Charlotte Hornets. City government has several tourism funds - generated from taxes and fees on hotel rooms, restaurant meals, bar tabs and rental cars - that are allocated to various venues, tourism event recruiting and travel advertising. Dodson said that her department and council will have to analyze available funding and the benefits for Bojangles Coliseum beyond the hockey team. Since the Checkers returned in 2015, and building renovations were completed two years later, the coliseum and the auditorium - known as the Bojangles Entertainment Complex - have generated record attendance, concessions and catering sales, according to visitors authority financial analysis. The Checkers increased attendance by 6% last season to 6,979 fans per game. The team plays 36 home games each season. Average attendance in 2023-24 was the Checkers' best since 1996-97, when it was 7,188 fans per game. "The more we can invest in that facility, the more we can keep it modern, the more we can bring in concerts, the more we can wrap that around our other investments in east Charlotte," Graham said. He mentioned nearby Eastland Yards, an 80-acre former mall property bought by city government in 2012. City and county government have committed a combined $140 million - mostly from the city - to redevelop the property into a mix of housing, shops and restaurant, offices and a sports and recreational complex. The Bojangles Entertainment Complex will be included as a transit stop as part of the Silver Line, too. The Silver Line was originally planned as a 29-mile, east-west light rail line but now seems likely to be split between light rail to the west and Bus Rapid Transit Service to the east, including the portion expected to pass by the arena-auditorium complex. Figuring out how those projects fit together must also be figured out as coliseum renovations are considered, Dodson and Graham said. Referring to coliseum renovations, Graham added, "Obviously, it's on my radar." During the past decade, city government has invested a combined $36 million into the arena. First came renovations totaling $16 million to bring back the Checkers, who had relocated to Spectrum Center uptown from 2005 through 2015. In 2020, the city-funded connector project opened, linking the arena and auditorium with a $20 million, 35,000-square-foot space that is accessible to both venues and houses additional restrooms, concession stands, a catering kitchen and hospitality areas. Black, the Checkers executive, praised the visitors authority for being willing to work with the team to upgrade fans' experiences at the arena. This season, the visitors authority will open the coliseum's first grab-and-go market, speeding up concessions transactions for fans and allowing them to return faster to their seats to watch the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2024/10/16/downtown-raleigh-skyline-wells-fargo-center.html Upgrades for Charlotte arena Significant upgrades could be in line for the Bojangles Coliseum. The Charlotte Checkers minor league hockey team will soon finalize a lease extensions to stay at the stadium where the team has played since 2015 after a run at the NBA stadium in uptown. Bojangles Coliseum opened in 1955 and has capacity for 8,300 fans. But it has no suites or premium club areas, as do most peer arenas. So, it appears upgrades are on the way to help the team remain profitable -- and stay in Charlotte, where the Checkers have a long history that dates to the 1950s. As the Charlotte Business Journal notes, an example that illustrates the difference between playing in a modern arena and one that's 70 years old is this: the Checkers generate a little over $100,000 per home game from ticket sales, or roughly 25 percent of the rival Coachella Valley (Calif.) Firebirds, who generate ticket revenue of $350,000 to $450,000 at their 10,100-seat arena. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Roof Repairs and Coating at the Bojangles Coliseum Question Deadline 08/23/2024 at 5:00 PM ET Submission of Written Questions. Contractors are permitted to submit to Doug Tober written questions, but only for purposes of clarifying the Proposal Documents Questions about the RFP Documents should also be addressed to Jeff Doerr. Contract and Vendor Diversity Manager CRVA 501 S. College St. Charlotte, NC 28202 Office-704-414-4159 jeff.doerr@crva.com The CRVA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any or all bids, to waive any irregularities or informalities in a bid, and to enter into any agreement deemed by the CRVA to be in the best interest of the CRVA, with one or more of the Vendors responding. The CRVA reserves the right to discuss and negotiate with selected Vendor(s) any terms and conditions in the bid including but not limited to financial terms. Bojangles Coliseum has played host to entertainment icons, rock legends, sporting greats, political leaders, graduates, convention-goers and even rodeo stars. The landmark dome opened in 1955 as Charlotte's first coliseum. At the time, it was the largest unsupported steel dome coliseum in the world and the first free-spanning dome in the U.S.--an architectural marvel and beacon of modern design. The coliseum served as the region's major sports and entertainment facility for over 30 years. The CRVA is seeking a qualified roofing contractor for repairs to the roof of the historic facility. Qualified contractors must demonstrate knowledge, experience, skill, expertise, and capacity to perform certain work as described herein, and prove they have successfully performed similar work. It should be noted that, in order to be considered, the Proposer must be certified by the Sika Corporation for the installation of its Siklastic Roofpro system.