Now that the CIAA Tournament has come and gone, from what I've read and heard, everything went well. Almost everyone that attended the CIAA Tournament gave Charlotte excellent reviews and praised Charlotte for being very hospitable for the entire week. With that in mind, does anyone out there feel that Charlotte has turned the corner and will eventually start opening more establishments that will cater to black and other minority patrons uptown or will Charlotte go back to business as usual until the CIAA comes back to town next year? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Well, renaming the portion of Stonewall that will run beside several notable attractions Uptown is already a good start as far as capitalizing on diversity from an African American perspective in Charlotte. I also think that now that the city sees what all the hoopla is about concerning CIAA, next year it will REALLY roll out the red carpet for the event. I don't think it's a stretch to say that it will be Charlotte's single largest tourist event of this year and possibly every year thereafter it will be in the city.

I would say that NASCAR will always hold the title for 'single largest tourist event.'

however, i think the event (like other very large events) expose the problem we are now finding in uptown - a lack of parking that is close to the action. There is tons of parking in Uptown. Gateway Village area has tons, surface lots and the areas around Uptown have tons, however there is not the transportation network in place to move people around, and when there is, people are not always aware about it like in Gateway Village. I think that light rail will really allow people (esp. people from the south) to drive to one of the stations for an event, pay the fare for their train in, and then not have to bother with parking.

other than parking and ease of finding parking, i believe the event went rather smoothly. the entire uptown area was full with people that were ready to have a good time in a new city. i just hope the city can pull it off again next year. i think that with something like the CIAA (and NASCAR), we should devote a section of Uptown to them for entertainment at night and during the day (lunch hour). Closing off a block or something near the core. It does not have to be as big as Speed Street in May but something that gets people out and about while concentrating the things going on would be ideal.

With that in mind, does anyone out there feel that Charlotte has turned the corner and will eventually start opening more establishments that will cater to black and other minority patrons uptown or will Charlotte go back to business as usual until the CIAA comes back to town next year?

I didn't realize Charlotte's current establishments did not allow minority patrons...

:dunno:

I had a good time at the CIAA and the people around me seemed to be having a good time as well. Considering this was the first time that Charlotte hosted the event I think it went extremely well. There were some kinks that will be hopefully worked out for next year. Parking being the main concern. As style said earlier its not a lack of parking, but that people didn't necesarily know where to go to park. There is not any dedicated parking for the Arena so its not blatently obvious where to park if you have not been there before. I think the city can do a better job of educating people where the parking is located along with the free shuttles to educate the people before they come downtown. Also I think next year it will go smoother because people will know where to park and where everything is located since most of them have done it before.

I spoke with our local CMPD officer in First Ward and he showed me the stats that show the crime rate actually DECREASED from its usual level uptown during the CIAA. His theory was that having all those extra eyes of people walking around detered the usual car theifs.

The trolley will be running for the CIAA tourney next year so that will help, and the LRT will be running for the 2008 tourney.

As for more black restarants downtown I would welcome them, I have always liked
Mert's, Coffee Cup, and the House of Jazz.

Oh and one note for krazeeboi...it is 2nd St they will be renaming to MLK Blvd...not Stonewall.

I didn't realize Charlotte's current establishments did not allow minority patrons...

:dunno:
Well there is a perception that uptown isn't that welcoming to blacks. I often read the Tonya Jameson blogs on charlotte.com and most of the black posters often complain that uptown establishments aren't that welcoming or accommodating to them, it's like the business leaders are intentionally trying to keep blacks out of uptown because they don't want a certain element uptown. I guess what I'm trying to ask is if you think there will be more black owned restaurants and clubs, ie. hip hop clubs that will open up in the near future based on the success of the CIAA Tournament.

Well there is a perception that uptown isn't that welcoming to blacks. I often read the Tonya Jameson blogs on charlotte.com and most of the black posters often complain that uptown establishments aren't that welcoming or accommodating to them, it's like the business leaders are intentionally trying to keep blacks out of uptown because they don't want a certain element uptown. I guess what I'm trying to ask is if you think there will be more black owned restaurants and clubs, ie. hip hop clubs that will open up in the near future based on the success of the CIAA Tournament.
Don’t take Tonya Jameson’s articles and blogs too seriously. She’s a journalist, so its her job to “stir stuff up”. You’re probably referring to that whole mess with Menege. That whole thing was blown completely out of proportion. Remember there are always two sides to a story. Fact is, she’s a personal friend of the promoter who had that incident. And truth is, Menege is managed by a black guy. There was no discrimination with that incident, the promoter simply misrepresented themselves. That’s why we’ve yet to hear anything come of this so-called “city investigation”. Personally, considering how small Charlotte is, I find it hard to imagine “more” establishments in Uptown that would cater to African-Americans. Right now there’s at least three clubs, Time, Crush and the Gold Pepper Grill. This is honestly about half of the “total” number of clubs in town that cater to African-Americans. As mentioned, there are also at least three restaurants Uptown, Merts, The House of Jazz and Simmons. I think there’s a good mix now. Again, I really don’t see room for more.

On another note, the CIAA was “off the chain”. I just hate I didn't take pictures. I had a ball. The “reviews” have been extremely favorable from everyone. Next year will be even better. I recall when the CIAA first came to Raleigh, I didn’t know my way around completely and everything was new. By the second year I was a pro. The same will happen with people coming to Charlotte. They’ll know exactly where to park, where to eat, what parties are the best, etc.

BTW, shouldn't this be in the other forum?

Right now there’s at least three clubs, Time, Crush and the Gold Pepper Grill. This is honestly about half of the “total” number of clubs in town that cater to African-Americans.
Oops, I forgot The V-Lounge. Make that four total.

I did not know Menage was managed by a black person. Thanks for sharing that with me, Carolina Blue!

I would say that NASCAR will always hold the title for 'single largest tourist event.'

True; I meant the largest single event centered Uptown. NASCAR doesn't come up on my radar at all.

Oh and one note for krazeeboi...it is 2nd St they will be renaming to MLK Blvd...not Stonewall.

Thanks for the correction; I'd actually forgotten that.

I agree with what Carolina Blue says: there are already about as many "black establishments" uptown as it can realistically handle. Mert's and Simmons are both well-known to the black community, and House of Jazz has done very well. And I don't see any shortage of options for clubbers of any color in the city.

I think the parking issue is overblown, to tell you the truth. I think a lot of people came in expecting to see what they saw in Raleigh (arena surrounded by 15,000 parking spaces) and were unprepared to simply have to go find a parking deck. From what I understand, there was not a "shortage" of parking (as frequently reported by the media), but rather a shortage of people aware that they needed to go more than a couple of blocks away to find it. With the free Gold Rush trolleys running, this should not have been much of an issue... maybe people will know next year.

In any case, parking is a relatively minor issue, so having it as the number-one concern is probably a good thing. There was no violence, no racial tension, no cancellations, no facility problems. All in all, a big success for the city and the CIAA.

As far as uptown establishments catering to the Black community, I think that what pwfromnc was referring to is the cluster located along the Tryon corridor. I don't really know much about Mert's and Simmons (much less where they're located), but most of the activity uptown is along Tryon and College. House of Jazz and the V Lounge aren't exactly located along corridors that are considered active or pedestrian-friendly; they're pretty isolated from the hub of the uptown activity. Let's face it, the uptown nightlife basically caters to the demographic that works uptown, which is largely White. Sometimes you can pretty much feel that you don't belong if you aren't wearing a blazer and some wingtips. And then you had the whole increased police presence thing uptown last year, which frankly made a lot of Blacks pretty uncomfortable, especially when some establishments talked about enforcing dress codes; that definitely isolated some people who tend to sport a particular style but have nothing to do with some of the activities that stereotypically accompany the dress. I guess we'll see how it all pans out shortly, since it's starting to get warm again and people will once again converge upon uptown in larger numbers at night.

Mert's is right on College St., next to Hearst. Though it's black-owned and caters largely to a black crowd, it also sees a lot of white traffic, especially on game nights. You're right that Simmons and HoJ are not as close to the pedestrian corridor, but that will change as new developments go up in 3rd and 4th Ward. I don't go to clubs as much, so I can't say a whole lot about them. But from what I've seen, it seems that V Lounge does pretty good business.

I know about Mert's, that was one of the places that I used to take my ex-girlfriend to when we would come to Charlotte regularly. I don't know anything about Simmons. Where is that located?

Simmons is on Graham St in 4th Ward.

Does anyone happen to know how the temporary Nordstrom did Uptown?

City Council on Monday will be receiving a report with the official numbers from the CIAA tournement. Stay tuned for details...

Looks like the numbers came in higher than expected.
$15.4M economic impact
$320,000 in city and county tax revenue.

What concerns me is that the local taxpayers are shelling out $400K for this tourney and only getting $320K back. I love the CIAA as much as the next person, but I think that Meck Co should at least break even on this event.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/14257178.htm