Opening Day 2014 Is Getting Closer

The Charlotte Business Journal is reporting this morning that BB&T has come to an agreement with the Charlotte Knights for naming rights to the proposed Third Ward Stadium.  Go here to see the article.

This is Home Plate for the new stadium

You don't have to go too far to see that I am a big supporter of downtown baseball, and that I have been predicting that it will become a reality.  This latest news is no guarantee that it will happen, but it sure makes the likelihood of it happening pretty good.

Charlotte City Council is voting tonight on the staff recommendation that the city supports the stadiums efforts with an $8.5 million dollar investment in the future growth of the near Third Ward area.  A huge emphasis is being placed on the additional investments that should be following the construction of the stadium and the completion of the park, in fact, most of the money the city will commit will come from future incremental tax revenues coming from the surrounding properties.

For anyone who has been in Charlotte as long as I have, since 1996, the area where the ballpark will be erected has been a barren wasteland, with little interest for growth potential.  That is all about to change.  See my previous posts about not only baseball, but also the Romare Bearden Park.  This will jump start other projects in that entire area.

The economy is definitely heating up, and the investments in the downtown area continue to grow.  All this activity will raise existing property values.

Again, it is not a done deal, but it sure feels good.