Sports pumped millions into Charlotte's economy in 2024
Sports continue to boost Charlotte's economy, with Charlotte Sports Foundation's seven 2024 events generating $90.6 million in economic impact, per Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority data.
Why it matters: Charlotte is gearing up for several major sporting events and hoping to woo even more. While some of these events are run by different entities, they all feed into the narrative Charlotte has been chasing for years — that this is a world class city capable of attracting and hosting top-tier events.
By the numbers: In 2024, CSF events drew 211,100 fans who booked 65,300 hotel rooms. Direct visitor spending was up from $42.9 million in 2023 to $48.5 last year. College football was the major draw:
The Duke's Mayo Classic brought in more than 72,000 fans to watch N.C. State play Tennessee and generated $26.1 million in economic impact.
The ACC Championship between Clemson and SMU also brought in $26.1 million and more than 53,000 fans.
Catch up quick: Two new events took place in 2024: the Meck Mile and the Charlotte Invitational.
The inaugural Meck Mile drew 1,100 participants. The event focuses on runners and walkers of all ages, and will return to American Legion Memorial Stadium on May 10.
The Charlotte Invitational featured some of the biggest names in tennis.
What we're watching: CSF plans to host nine events this year, including a new men's college basketball event this fall. Announcements about the new event, another tennis event and the teams for the Ally Tipoff are expected later this year.
What's next: After the Meck Mile in May, the popular Savannah Bananas will play the Party Animals June 6-7 at Bank of America Stadium. Other 2025 CSF events include:
Ally Tipoff: Elite women's college basketball teams meet at Spectrum Center. Date TBD.
Duke's Mayo Classic: Charlotte 49ers play Appalachian State on Aug. 29 at Bank of America Stadium.
TBA men's basketball and tennis.
College football with the ACC Championship and the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Miami Herald
Miami Football Preview 2025: Can Mario Cristobal's Hurricanes Win Everything?
X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFNMiami Offense BreakdownMiami Defense Breakdown Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season Can Mario Cristobal finally become a College Football Playoff head coach?Everyone likes to dog the coaches who "can't win the big one" - James Franklin has, ridiculously, been a regular in that discussion. Even more insane is that Ryan Day is, in some circles, still in that mix when it comes to Michigan. But to get to the "big one," you have to beat everyone 13 full seasons as a head coach at FIU, Oregon, and Miami, Cristobal has been underappreciated as a builder of programs. It's lost in history, but Oregon went 11-14 before Cristobal turned everything back around. The Ducks went 35-12 with two Pac-12 Championships and another appearance in his four seasons. But there was always the one strange loss that messed everything 2021, it was to a 3-9 Stanford. In 2019, it was against a mediocre Arizona State. In 2018, it was at now at Miami, he's done a wonderful job of recruiting and developing talent. It took two seasons to push past the mediocrity and into a 2024 season that should've finished with an ACC Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, but … Syracuse 42, Miami 38. And just like that, it was all Ward pulled a few games out of the fire, the Hurricanes caught a whopper of a break to survive Virginia Tech, and they finished the season No. 1 in total and scoring offense, but it wasn't enough thanks to that date in year's team might be too good to let that happen talent level remains as strong as any in the ACC, the depth is strong, and Cristobal has the program humming. This is when the payoff should be coming, but the Hurricanes need to be amazing again on …Miami Offense BreakdownMiami Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
MLB prospect analyst rips Boston College coaches for allowing pitcher to throw nearly 240 pitches during ACC tournament
A top MLB prospect analyst is blasting Boston College baseball coaches for allowing a pitcher to throw nearly 240 pitches in a week during the ACC tournament. Junior A.J. Colarusso threw 237 pitches, including 109 in six innings during the Eagles' elimination game 7-2 loss to Notre Dame last Friday. The 109-pitch outing came just two days after Colarusso went four innings and 72 pitches in BC's 12-8 win over Virginia. Advertisement 'Colarusso doesn't throw very hard — he sits 87-89, and it's not a high-effort delivery — but the issue with overuse is fatigue, and that affects everyone,' notes The Athletic's Keith Law. 'The usage blew past the MLB PitchSmart recommendations for a pitcher his age when working on two days of rest (maximum of 60 pitches), even though 'numerous studies have shown that … pitching too deep into games, violating pitch count recommendations, and acute spikes in workload significantly increase the risk of injury,' according to the PitchSmart site. They also recommend a maximum of 120 pitches in any game for any pitcher aged 19-22.' The ACC Baseball X account even celebrated Colarusso's performance on social media, posting: '109 pitches on the night. 237 pitches on the week. An incredible ACC Championship performance from No. 48.' 'It was an outstanding performance by Colarusso, but the coaches and the people running the conference are supposed to be the adults in the room here, and 181 pitches over four days is not something to cheer,' states Law. '(He'd thrown another 56 pitches the prior Thursday, hence the 237 pitches figure in their tweet.)' Advertisement Law called it incredibly irresponsible for college coaches to allow pitchers like Colarusso, who might not have a professional future, to risk a traumatic arm or shoulder injury that could affect them beyond baseball. The Athletic's senior baseball writer added that it's a 'terrible idea' for MLB to be 'farming out some of their player development to college programs.' 'College coaches can not be trusted,' Law said succinctly. With BC's loss in the ACC tournament, the Eagles will not advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Merck KGaA (MKGAF) Files for Global Approval of Pimicotinib After Positive Phase III TGCT Results
Merck KGaA (OTC:MKGAF) is seeking worldwide regulatory approval for its CSF-1R inhibitor pimicotinib following robust Phase III results in tenosynovial giant cell tumour (TGCT). The MANEUVER trial, conducted with Abbisko Therapeutics, showed a 61.9% overall response rate (ORR) by tumour volume score (TVS) after 25 weeks, far surpassing placebo (3.2%). This efficacy outperformed Daiichi Sankyo's Turalio (56% ORR) and was just behind Ono Pharmaceutical's Romvimza (67% ORR), which received FDA approval in February 2025. Quality of life improvements were notable, with significant gains in range of movement, stiffness, and pain reduction. Importantly, pimicotinib demonstrated a favorable safety profile: while all patients experienced some adverse events, only 4.8% were serious, and there were no signs of liver toxicity, a key differentiator from other therapies. TGCT, a rare non-cancerous joint tumour, often recurs after surgery, making effective drug options crucial. Merck KGaA (OTC:MKGAF), having secured global rights from Abbisko in March 2025, has filed for approval in China and plans an FDA submission by year-end. Full results will be presented at ASCO 2025 in Chicago. While we acknowledge the potential of MKGAF to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MKGAF and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
