CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – The Charlotte City Council voted 10-1 to approve a new plan that will renovate Spectrum Center and extend the Charlotte Hornets’ lease of the building through 2045.
Under the city’s current contract with the Hornets, the city is obligated to pay $173 million for renovations. The current lease expires at the end of the 2029-2030 NBA season.
The renovations will total $215 million and $60 million will be provided for a new Hornets practice facility.
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The city would contribute $60 million to the performance center, paid for by new revenues generated by naming rights and other opportunities, not from tourism taxes. Money to pay for the upgrades to Spectrum Center would come from rental car and hotel sales taxes that, by law, must be spent on projects to support the city’s tourism economy.
According to city documents, the tourism fund would not have any money for projects until 2027.
The Hornets will pay a total of $32 million in rent through 2045 and continue its annual $1.1 million capital fund contribution through 2045.
Work on this could start as early as this summer.
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