Nelly Tours Charlotte

The NBA expansion franchise Charlotte Bobcats held their inaugural season opener Nov. 4, 2004, with a sell-out crowd of 23,319, including Grammy Award Winning Artist Nelly. Nelly and other national touring acts will look to visit the City of Charlotte more once the New Charlotte Arena opens in November 2005.

Nelly, a member of the ownership group of the Charlotte Bobcats, was in Charlotte, N.C., last week to meet with Bobcats majority owner and BET founder Bob Johnson as well as NBA Commissioner David Stern, to watch the team’s first-ever game, and to receive an update on construction of the New Charlotte Arena.

“The New Charlotte Arena will have everything needed to host first-class sports and entertainment productions, with a facilities design and details that assure this will be an ideal venue for all entertainment events for fans, artists and event producers,” said Marty Bechtold, senior vice president event booking and marketing for the New Charlotte Arena, which will host professional and college sporting events, family entertainment and a variety of concert tours.

Also at the Charlotte Bobcats inaugural game verses the Washington Wizards game was comedian Mark Curry, professional wrestler Ric Flair, and R&B star Anthony Hamilton, who sang the national anthem during the pre-game ceremony at the Charlotte Coliseum, where the team will play for one season before moving to its new arena.

The New Charlotte Arena opens in November 2005 and will be home to the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting. The state-of-the-art facility is located in the heart of Charlotte, N.C., with more than 4,000 hotel rooms within walking distance. The arena, which will have seating configurations for audiences ranging from 6,000 to 18,500, will feature restaurants, retail and a range of visitor-friendly amenities. It is adjacent to the city’s planned light rail corridor and is just a few miles from Interstates 77 and 85. For booking information contact Marty Bechtold of the New Charlotte Arena at (704) 329-4909 or mbechtold@bobcatsbasketball.com.