o [Music] [Music] [Music] o o [Music] [Music] la [Music] no [Music] [Music] oh oh [Music] oh oh oh oh oh oh [Music] oh oh oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh oh oh [Music] la la la la la la [Music] [Music] [Music] and thank you for joining us for a special meeting for public comment on a project that we are working through and around and all kinds of ways for it so um I want to say thank you for taking out your time today to share your thoughts and perspectives with us we want to ensure that we have Community input at the Forefront of our decision for the process this afternoon I'd like to ask you to come down to the m microphone when your name is called each person will have 2 minutes to speak um and when your time is up you may leave additional remarks or anything else that you have written with our city clerk upon conclusion of our public comic session Council will have a break um prior to beginning our resoning meeting so those of you who are fortunate enough to sit with two meetings of us this afternoon we're really grateful that you show up at all so thank you on behalf of the city council I ask that all speakers and audience members members be civil and courteous in their use of language speakers are encouraged to address Council and should refrain from responding to each other in the audience um likewise our audience members I hope each of you will be courteous to the speaker and not yell out or interrupt them we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be heard so we're now going to introduce the council members who are joining us for the special meeting and that will follow with the beginning of our public comment period regarding the Bank of America Stadium improvements project so we'll start with our city clerky Kelly city clerk well Happy Father's Day to those that are fathers in the room I'm dle Aira Charlotte city councilwoman at large good afternoon everyone Tana Brown Charlotte City Council District 3 good afternoon everyone James Mitchell city council at large Sean Heath assistant city manager I'm vile Al and I serve as mayor good afternoon Dante Anderson mayor protim district one Malcolm GM District Two Cil member Mir I thank you for your Father's Day greeting I am Ed dggs from district 7 good afternoon Lana Mayfield city council at large happy Pride mon Patrick Baker City attorney all right I'm going to invite um we have two podiums downstairs so I'm going to invite two people to come down and speak at a time um you will again have two minutes to make make your remarks I do like to tell people be careful the Ste the stairs are steep so be careful as you walk down I'm our first two speakers are Joe Bost and Michael Smith good afternoon I'm Joe boss Chief advocacy officer at the Charlotte reg Regional business Alliance and we support the proposed investment in Bank of America Stadium a key economic driver for our city I want to thank each member of city council and the mayor thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this proposal which in our view would be a significant investment in one of our City's most powerful economic assets I also want to acknowledge the vision of teer sports and entertainment for their leadership and commitment to upgrading Bank of America Stadium this public private investment is a strategic move to modernize and Advance one of our foundational public Hospitality assets an upgraded Bank of America Stadium is a vital ingredient in any Economic Development formula and the CLT Alliance appreciates the public and private momentum in advancing this investment the stadium is uniquely seated in the heart of Uptown Charlotte and serves as an economic development Catalyst for this city and region this is the exact type of investment that the CLT Alliance supports because it adds to the high quality of life we all enjoy in Charlotte and a state-of-the-art stadium that hosts two professional sports teams and many other events and concerts it's critical to recruiting and retaining all the talent and businesses they call our region home and the stadium is critical not only to that but to our hospitality and tourism industry we know that billions of dollars of visitors spending come to Charlotte and North Carolina annually over 160,000 people are employed in Leisure and Hospitality in our Region Bank of America's stadium is a critical ingredient in this industry's growth and our Region's growth overall as the voice of business the Charlotte Regional business Alliance thanks terer sports and entertainment in the city of Charlotte for being willing to make such a critical investment in this community's future and encourages the city council to advance this proposal again thank you for your consideration in this important investment thank you Mr Smith uh mayor members of council thank you for having us today and thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this proposal to invest in the renovation of our Bank of America Stadium this is a wise city building strategic move to modernize and Advance one of the foundational public Hospitality Assets in the heart of Uptown Charlotte we've worked closely with small businesses over the last four years that have struggled mightily to recover from the implications of the global pandemic and we hear from them again and again the massive role that programming at Bank of America Stadium has played in their recovery and transformation to what's next for business in fact in 2023 nine of the 10 busiest days in uptown were connected to Stadium events this is a driver for us this is an exciting and defining time for Charlotte's next chapter Charlotte is a great sports city and we are maturing as a destination with Center City Charlotte transforming from a central business district to a central activity District a really a more balanced place our Stadium the Panthers Charlotte FC are key in driving that transformation they are defining assets for our city tourism Hospitality economy both locally and regionally the stadium District was identified as a top 10 Focus area in the 2040 Vision Vision plan for targeted investment and Improvement creating a more lively mixed use District around Bank of America state that will seamlessly connect to the Gateway station area the West End neighborhoods the gold and iron districts and the core of Uptown this wise deal structure has been negotiated uh with many benefits uh but one of the most dramatic is certainty for our Stadium our Panthers and our CLT FC certainty is one of the most powerful tools of economic development that government has thank you very very much Mr Smith our next speakers are V Patel and Daniel Morrison Danny okay Mr Patel good good afternoon everybody my name is vet Patel I'm the principal at stre hotels and the ex a hotel development and management company based right here in Charlotte and the executive committee chair for the crva board of directors the hospitality and tourism industry is an integral to charlott's thriving economy our hotels restaurants and attractions welcome millions of visitors each year specifically enhancing our Local Economic Vitality one in nine residents works in the Leisure and hospitality industry which employs a sign significant portion of our community and supports a wide array of local business Sports and events have been a major driver of record revenue for the industry as we grow as we continue to emerge from the pandemic highlighting the vital role these activities play in our economic recovery and growth Hospitality taxes that we the industry self-imposed support infrastructure cultural assets high-profile events which further enhance our City's appeal many of the community's most recognizable assets would develop with and continue to be supported by revenue generated by visitor spending and the hospitality industry proposed Renovations at the stadium will be made possible through Hospitality tracks which is generated from hotel motel taxes and prepared food and beverage taxes these are these funds are specifically earmarked for Hospitality related Pro projects ensuring that our investment directly benefits our community just last year the general assembly extended the tax toight to 2060 These funds are designated exclusively by legislation for improvement and construction of sports facilities the convention center further boosting our City's infrastructure and attractiveness I want to thank the general assembly for approving the extension thus allowing us the opportunity to retain this great destinational asset on behalf of the tourism industry and the Charlotte Regional visits Authority we're thank you proud to support the renovation thank you Mr Morrison good afternoon I'm Danny Morrison with the Charlotte Sports foundation so appreciate the opportunity to be here to speak in favor of the stadium renovation uh our mission with the Charlotte Sports foundation's pretty simple uh bring high-profile event sporting events to Charlotte that have economic impact and add to the quality of life so Georgia Clemson a few years ago highest Hotel uh night ever in Charlotte and then uh to have the HBCU game the 100th anniversary of the AG Eagle classic a couple of years ago uh was another important event for Charlotte so uh as we're working on all of this harmony in Charlotte always comes into play City County crva and the venues and as we compete with cities all across America the venues are critical uh we're seeing the renovation of the spectrum Center now which again has impact on several of our events uh like the Jumpman Invitational the Ally tip off and then for all of our other events at Bank of America Stadium this is a wonderful Stadium classic American Stadium the bones are great the renovations plan will make it the very best outdoor stadium in America so we have this wonderful asset uh I love the word classic American stadium and we have the opportunity now to make it the best outdoor stadium in America which will have tremendous impact as we compete with these other cities thank you thank you our next two speakers are Christian Pon and Thomas Neil careful please and if you'll give us your name uh thank you for allowing me to speak in favor of the Bank of America Stadium project um my name is Christian Peterson I'm a local business owner I own uh restaurants and bars on bravard court um I sign my first lease there in 2009 uh and I've seen all the growth that's happened around there um over the last few years since soccer came to town we have seen an amazing growth when it comes to our businesses uh which which has now allowed us to open more businesses in our area where we are and we're hoping to continue to do so as we go along here with the with this project uh and also I want to kind of make a side note also since we're going to if we're making this large investment to the stadium itself we need to think about the infrastructure surrounding the stadium as well too uh I'm located on what's called an abandoned Street which is bravard Court uh therefore we get no support when it comes to pretty much anything um we now have to um fix the streets ourself fix the bottles fix the lighting fix everything that's around us um just simply because it's a an abandoned street now hoping that uh when you guys considered Bank of America Stadium that everything around you guys also matters too um and it matters a lot we're we we live off the stadium at the end of the day when you got soccer you got uh football you have concerts you have any event that they they come up with it's a great great deal for us but at the same time we have to worry about our customers we have to worry about our people um we are right in front ofir Burton Park you guys know what's going on down there sometimes we need help also so please consider that as well but I am definitely for the project yes thank you yeah all right all right Miss Peterson Pon Thomas Neil okay Thomas Neil Thomas Neil EXC it's okay hi this is Thomas Neil I'm his wife Sher Neil we are the owner of Southern Charm rides I'm speaking in favor of the proposal uh for investing these restricted hospitality and tourism funds into the Bank of America Stadium I started Southern Charm rides a historical tour Cart Company uh on limo golf carts educating residents and visitors to the rich history of Charlotte all the way up to the modern days we were concerned when we started because it's hard for a small business to get off the ground the growth of our company was fairly quickly our our profit and our business from July to December in 2023 increased 149% a lot of this increase was credited to the events at the Bank of America Stadium actually those events kept us a float many times by increas in visitors to the city that were looking for other entertainment as well the Bank of America Stadium events gives us quite a positive effect on a lot of the decisions made by those visitors even considering to move to Charlotte and becoming permanent residents this large increase has helped us a great deal and I do speak on behalf of several small businesses as I stand here today this renovation will certainly bring in more events as well as attract even more customers to the area making a huge positive impact on our economy here in Charlotte and allowing us to continue to thrive this will secure a multi-decade commitment between our city and two of our major sports franchises which gives us a level of certainty in the fast changing environment for small business allowing us to feel more secure about investing and building into our Dream as a business the renovation is focused on enhancing guest and visitor experiences inside and outside of the new stadium which will help help attract new and repeat visitors in Charlotte without a doubt more potential customers the investment by the city and temper Sports will help create new opportunities for our city in the future and existing small businesses will certainly benefit I want to thank all of you for your thoughtful consideration of this proposal and voting yes to help all of us in the success of continuing the upward economical momentum thank you I'm always glad to see you when you pass the government center and stop so oh yeah and we tell about you every [Laughter] time thank you all right our next two speakers are shaie Tony Shae and Bobby Lord good afternoon and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in favor of Bank of America Stadium I'm Tony sahani Charlotte Area resident for nearly 40 years during this period Charlotte has grown beautifully in many ways to become one of the top most desirable cities to live and to move in our Coliseum amenities attract businesses to relocate invite tourists to visit Charlotte and offer options and activities for the existing residents my company owns and operates holiday Express in South End our business opened in November of 2019 just before the pandemic our business was revived by return of leisure travel and especially the events at Bank of America Stadium return of panthers addition of Charlotte football club college bowl games and football championships concerts from many mega music Sports superstars in Queen City including the Rolling Stones Beyonce Elton John George straet these events at the stadium bring in hordes of excited fans and visitors that create a festive vibe that is priceless and our guests love taking the light Trail to these events they spend their time and money enjoying Charlotte while providing a huge financial stimulus for local hotels restaurants breweries shops boutiques that support so many of their jobs in this industry Hospital M taxes charged to the visitors provide us the funding to grow and expand to remain nationally and globally competitive Charlotte must be able to provide worldclass Coliseum facilities for all the top shelf events it should be Coliseum that is very modern field and designed which can carry us forward for the next couple of decades let us face our stadium is nearly 30 years old and it was the best in the league then but now it's time to upgrade thank you mayor thank you council members thank you Tanny all right Mr Lord hi good afternoon I'm Bobby Lord a Charlotte City resident I'd like to start by thanking city council for allowing us to speak today I will be speaking in opposition because someone has to start for that side um the city is preparing to pay 80% of the cost of this renovation we're told that no new taxes are going towards this renovation yet the fund for this project was slated to sunset in 31 and was extended for 30 additional years at the beest of City officials and the local hospitality industry as has been repeated many many times the tax revenue can only be spent on a limited number of projects primarily the convention center and stadium seating 60,000 people given the lack of major upcoming projects to renovate the convention center the purpose of this extension can reasonably be assumed to be for the stadium as was noted in the Press at the time of the extension a vast majority of these taxes come from the food and beverage tax paid for primarily by County residents the proposals put forward by both the city and tsse imply that the two are Partners in maintaining a Community Asset in fact the asset is wholly owned by tsse and any increase in the value goes straight to TSC the city does not receive an ownership interest in the building the city does not receive any portion of ticket revenue from games or concerts we don't even have public access to the park-like atmosphere we're paying to build outside the stadium the only real benefit is knowledge that neither the Panthers nor Charlotte FC can relocate for 15 years we're told that this kind of investment is necessary and expected other cities do the same to avoid the fate of towns like St Louis Oakland and San Diego the sad reality is that tsse can decide to leave at any time that makes Financial sense to them St Louis is a perfect example of a city negotiating in good faith with an owner only to be left without a team anyway if our investment does not come with any kind of tangible Financial benefit it's not truly an investment it's a Shakedown in 15 years another bill will come due and that bill will be for a heck of a lot more than $650 million thank you thank you very much all right our next two speakers are if our next two speakers are Welch LS and Allison Somerville [Applause] would you like to go first Mr La good afternoon city council thank you for letting me speak today I want to reach out in support of the um Stadium Renovations and all of your efforts that you've done to help Ensure that um Bank of America Stadium is renovated and stays as a vital asset to Uptown Charlotte as you guys know I mean St Louis was just referenced CBDs Central Business districts around the country are seeing major um blight and concern right now with office vacancy and the lack of return to work and other security concerns and the last thing that Charlotte needs is to add another major obsolete building um to our Central Business this district and I think you know by working and partnering with Tupper Sports we're going to ensure that this remains a viable asset uh for the future so I I'm with Thea Partners you know we focus on retail Investments uh both in Charlotte and throughout the United States and one of the things that we see is most important to those Investments and to the retailers and restaurants and other businesses that we work with is foot traffic and visitors and it's already been alluded to today but I just wanted to point out that you know our studies and research show that Bank of America Stadium last year brought in nearly 1.8 million visitors to Uptown Charlotte that is the equivalent of the spectrum Center the Night Stadium all of our museums and theaters and the convention center combined and so by removing that from Uptown and turning our back on that building and that investment we're going to see a major major hit to our um businesses and revenues and some of these small business owners who were speaking earlier today so again thank you for your support um and we look forward to the new stadium all right thank you very much Miss Somerville good afternoon I'm Ally Somerville business administration executive at Ali financial and chair of the Charlotte Regional business Alliance thank you for your time today it's great to be talking about such a transformational opportunity for the City Bank of America Stadium is an incredible asset for the city and the region making upgrades to the stadium will ensure it continues to be an e a critical Economic Development asset for charlot I do want to thank you all for considering this investment and the positive benefit it will have on this city and I appreciate the temper sports team for working to make this a reality Ally is a proud sponsor of Charlotte FC as you know we have been their lead sponsor since Inception our name being on the kit signals our strong support for Charlotte FC and soccer in the Charlotte region we have appreciated being able to see Charlotte FC play in Bank of America Stadium and the fan support has been better than imagined the upgrades already made to the stadium to make it more soccer friendly have made The Fan Experience incredible if you all support the additional upgrade we know the Fan Experience and increased support will be that much greater just like our support for FC goes well beyond the jerseys and extends into the community the impact of a worldclass stadium is more than just game day the stadium hosts concerts and other events throughout the year those events with thousands of people attending each one are critical to the small businesses around the stadium the hotels restaurants and shops see an infl an incredible influx of business when stadium is hosting the events an upgraded modern Stadium will be even more attractive to event organizers and fans in the coming years I encourage you to support this critical investment for the city our residents and the businesses who rely on customers and fans utilizing the stadium this is the right time to make this investment thank you thank you our next two speakers are Grace fendrick and Josh Lynch fendrick correct Miss fendrick yes um Josh Lynch is Mr Lynch here okay Mr Stevens Douglas Stevens Gilberto rarel barrero well we'll go ahead and have you speak and we'll keep looking down the list thank you Miss Vendrick hi my name is Grace fendrick I am a Charlotte resident and I am here to express both an opposition to this plan as well as a deep disappointment with the lack of transparency shown by this very Council as a Charlotte citizen we have the right to be informed and involved in decisions that impact our community however your handling of this has made it clear transparency is anything but a priority just over two years ago I sat at this I stood at this very dis and told you guys it was against a different Stadium subsidy and one by one each of you along the dis said that you were not happy with how it was handled and the fact that there was very little time to give public comment yet again two years later we stand here today despite those concerns by each and every one of you I would like to another thing that I find very troubling when it comes to this deal not only is this not a public asset despite what everyone in crba and tsse and boa say it is a teer sports and entertainment asset but additionally there has been public insistence by tsse that any delay in this vote will affect construction timelines and that raises further questions could this certainty of when this vote will be passed and the demand on those timelines stem from behind the scenes dealings where public meetings serve as mere facades to justify predetermined decisions today I speak as the author of a petition opposing this plan which has quickly garnered over 491 signatures its widespread skepticism underscores the community's concern about the proposal's precedent the track record of tsse and its owner just look at Mint Hill and the lack of economic benefits for Charlotte it is crucial that this Council listens to voices that are and engage meaningfully with the community before proceeding $650 million is a significant public investment that demands thorough scrutiny and ures it serves the best interest of all Charlotte residents not just those who stand to profit from it making pivotal decisions behind closed doors thank you very much all right our next speaker is Jen diaa and Brian Pasco Jen deia come down she said she see all right please go ahead and start mayor and Council members my name is Brian Pascal I'm with Pascal Vince a corporate event planner and small business owner here in Charlotte thank you so much for this opportunity to speak to you today I am for the proposal for the following four reasons Bank of America is a Community Asset investment is needed to keep Bank of America Stadium competitive and drive future growth the stadium is an economic Powerhouse hosting nearly 40 major events each year and 80 to 100 corporate and community events drawing visitors worldwide and benefiting local businesses second reason is for the investment this City's investment is a fixed $650 million funded by restricted hospitality and tourism tax resources the investment will enhance our City's infrastructure and boost its attractiveness third reason is the community impact Bank of America Stadium has been interal in transforming Charlotte into a top metro area for near 30 years hosting valued events and driving Urban growth the fourth and final reason is the economic benefits the Stadium's prime location in uptown has a significant impact major sports events and concerts have driven many of Charlotte's highest Hotel occupancy nights underscoring their influence on tourism and economic growth I'm proud to say that I am a employe of Tepper sports and entertainment for Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC thank you very much thank you all right our next speakers are Charles hell and missan Muhammad oh I'm sorry I'm sorry Lucy I'm sorry excuse me that's okay thank you please you have two minutes so um I'm Lucia Griffith I've been in Charlotte since 1985 and I remember the excitement when we had this new brand wonderful Community Asset come to Charlotte for football I inan support of the renovations I think it's uh no different than renovating any other facility you have that serves the community but it also the fact that it's funded with the visitor tax we travel to other cities we pay taxes in other cities and they invest them however they please to have their Community offer assets like stadiums and parks and whatever else there is so I think it's it's valid and the points that the pr the person that spoke before Miss made were right on my list it's a Community Asset it in pay with those taxes but it also I think is more than football I think the fact that soccer is an international follow sport has allowed us to have uh games with Mexico Cuba uh Guatemala and then the British teams I wrote that light rail packed where I knew all the songs they were singing all in Spanish in support of Mexico when they played only a few weeks later I came and everybody was singing for the British team so there's more than just football I also think that um entertainment that comes to it I saw the Rolling Stones to go for the bridges of Babylon and I didn't even know how the football games go but I thought it was a fun thing to do so I think it's more than just football I think that's where we get close into I think it's an asset that cannot be moved it's a stadium that's going to stay here and it keeps the team here longer which allows us to Market Charlotte in much better ways and just not having the assets we have right now uh we used to have an erres where the corporate Bank of America building is a little store and then it changed to become what it was and attracted a lot of professionals here I think the stadium in the baseball field and having the arena and having all these things together make Charlotte what Charlotte is where you can have a charlot Asian festival with people from all countries in Asia or Latin American Coalition hosting the symphony and people are listening to the symphony and then having Mexican authors performs thank you thank you very much all right I'm going to go back and check is Scott Brian in the room okay that was 28 I'm sorry that was 28 she was 28 no she was um she was 28 but um I got um Lucia confused with Jen diaa okay no problem that was basically my fault so yes please if you'll give us your name so that yes good afternoon my name is Scott Brian thank you city council Madame mayor um for the opportunity to express my concern concern regarding the $650 million commitment to David peer's organization out of our tourism tax fund I just have two points two simple points I'd like to make and that is please disclose more of the real details of this investment to Citizens and second extend the period of the public input Beyond a mere three weeks so first what are the safeguards in place to protect our investment of such an enormous magnitude some of you have said it's the largest one Charlotte has ever made how do we avoid the failed partnership that teer and Rock Hill experienced and before that the experience with the Eastland Mall Redevelopment so there is a history here you should understand our concerns so a few questions on the details that have been made public the 20-year non reloc relocation Clause Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans just negotiated 30 years I really don't even know if it's 20 I've heard 15 and on that same subject are there Provisions in this Stadium deal that he cannot tear down the stadium and demolish it in five 10 years I haven't heard any comments on can he demolish it in five or 10 years um also you know what are the breakdown of some of these costs you do not owe us every little detail but you do owe us some detail what does it cost or we do these bathrooms and remove the seats um also you know what's going to happen um to the the tens of thousands of thermoplastic seats that are being removed where are they going I mean that's an environmental question are they going to a landfill um and so also you some more numbers here I mean how much of the tourism tax fund is left over for our great City's museums and and art institutions I haven't heard any numbers what's left over for them so last just please explain why we're spending two3 of a billion dollars on this investment please do your duty our next speaker Charles hell and the M muham name Scott was it Scott Scott I know I'm not gonna do that though you're not going to do that she's there he did it I did not do it welcome H favor yes thank you um Charles what about Charles hell is Charles not here not here okay thank you and then we'll have antoanet mango yes sir Miss mango okay go ahead Mr Muhammad you have the two minutes uh good evening um uh mayor V City Council Members um I'm here in support of uh the stadium Renovations and and um just wanted to offer a different perspective I think that we've all heard about the economic impact um that Charlotte um the the Panthers have had on this city um over $ 1.1 billion dollar uh of annual impact to our County but um I just want to say this I I was drafted here in 1996 um landed in Charlotte um beautiful city um there was no 485 here I don't know if you guys remember this but there was no 485 here um there was no transit system there was no light rail uh the Charlotte dma was around 500,000 people I remember going to trade and Tron and I could walk across the street without a traffic signal I remember those days um and so I've watched this city grow and and and I've grown with this city um as as a matter of fact we were spoiled in 1996 because um the Carolina Panthers in my first year as a rookie we went to the NFC Championship Game and there was such an excitement around this city there was such an excitement around this team um and from that point I watched this city grow exponentially did to where we're 3 million in our dma now okay I'm sure everyone who owned the house at that time has seen and felt the impact of their home values increasing regardless if you have a business here or not um I watched the transit system grow I watched 485 loop around the city um I watched the skyline downtown Blossom and Bloom and many vibrant businesses move here and I just want to applaud city council for making the right decision of continuing to invest and keep our Panthers here for another 20 years thank you okay we appreciate it I I'm never quite happy about having to cut off someone that's played in football inl I'm never quite sure if you'll throw something at me or not thank you thank you very much our next two speakers are aah Stevens and Craig rushing are you here is Anette now here oh H did you call Charles held M yes I yeah that's okay want make sure everybody can how would mingle okay yes are you Mr rushing Mr rushing yes yes you have two minutes C uh mayor and mayor Lyles and council members uh thank you for the opportunity to speak and offer train Technology support for the proposal to make investments in Bank of America Stadium my name is Craig rushing I'm a senior director of government relations for train Technologies so train Technologies employs approximately 350 residents at our locations in Charlotte more than 2,000 people within the greater Charlotte region which includes our North American headquarters in Davidson uh sustainability is core to who we are and what we do we value working with like-minded organizations that understand it's possible for business environmental and Community goals to work hand inand our company has worked with teer sports and entertainment in the Carol Panthers Organization for many years in that time they have consistently demonstrated a commitment to forward-looking Innovative Investments that yield positive outcomes for their business operations the environment and our greater Charlotte Community I'd like to share a few examples teer sports and entertainment Carolina Panthers prioritized sustainability and Energy Efficiency in their infrastructure investments in 2018 Bank of America Stadium cooling system upgrades from train reduced the Stadium's energy used by 1.7 million kilowatt hours and helps the stadium avoid 521 million 500 I'm sorry 521 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year as a result of these efforts train leaders recognized Bank of America Stadium with an Energy Efficiency leader award for outstanding commitment to energy conservation those 2018 improvements are still a model for how large facilities should operate less than a month ago the getting to zero Forum was hosted in Charlotte by the new buildings Institute as part of the programming participants toward Bank of America Stadium to learn from the facility's successes in partnering with train Technologies the past few years train Technologies has been proud to collaborate with the Carolina Panthers to host the stadium of the future stem challenge thank you very much for your comments and so if we can get a train from Davidson down here we'll be in better even better shape thank you mayor fingers crossed all right thank you did Miss Stevens come in aah Stevens did you come in all right um Thomas Templeton and Kim Aly ma'am in the middle in the Miss the sign if if you could keep the signs we' no longer we do not allow signs in the front row for that purpose okay thank you great BL okay good afternoon uh Madame mayor council members my name is Thomas tolton I am actually a lifelong resident of Charlotte let's just say for a few decades now I want to thank all of you first of all for allowing me to speak on this issue and especially the members who actually managed to get this extra meeting held uh in order for the people to speak I really appreciate that first let me say about this proposal I think it should be treated as a business deal and in any business deal you have benefits and costs on the benefit side this city seems to be relying Upon A study that shows huge dollar and large employment impact for the city of Charlotte but my questions would be who initiated and paid for that study where is it published so that we can see and analyze the findings and see the assumptions that were used to arrive at those numbers just like when we were all in school it's time to show your work on the cost side of things the city says we have $650 million that we can spend on this project how much of the money get do we get from Hospitality taxes how much is it generated each year uh if we want to make the people believe that we can actually afford this you need to publish those details once again please show your work and lastly if we truly have that kind of money and you're determined to spend it on this project at least get something real and tangible for our money own a portion of the stadium or stake in the teams start acting like a business investor who is coming to the table with $650 million to invest that ladies and gentlemen is power use it terer wants free money without sacrificing anything don't just hand it to him he's I don't think he's looking for a partner he's looking for a py thank you Miss Kim Ally's that Kim Ally okay our next speakers are Douglas Wilson and Stephanie jiner Douglas Wilson and Stephanie J is the first speak Stephanie thank you um good afternoon everyone I'm excited to be here with you today and just want to express my appreciation for the opportunity to address you so my name is Stephanie Joiner I'm in District 1 I'm the founder and CEO of diverse city services we are a local consulting company that develops and implements minority and women small business programs across North Carolina and also right here in Charlotte in mecklinburg county for more than 16 years I have been an advocate for minority businesses having served as the president of the metr minority contractors Association as well as the chair of the Charlotte business inclusion advisory committee I'm here today to express my support for the Panthers and the renovations to the Bank of America Stadium a project of this size and nature can be very beneficial to the total Community for every dollar spent with local businesses it turns over five times by the ways of jobs livable wages nonprofit support housing and taxes which support Public Safety and more I want to share a few things with you for your consideration as you decide to move forward diversity equity and inclusion goals are very important for a project of this size my colleagues and I believe that the 27% that you've established is an achievable goal through intention strategy follow through and accountability we recommend the following develop a full MW SBE inclusion strategy both for construction and non- construction Community engagement and Workforce Development create a dedicated oversight committee to ensure transparency establish Workforce Development goals and I'd be happy to discuss with you um in more detail I'll leave you with this attract what you expect thank you Stephanie track what you expecting thank you thank you thank you very much this Mr Wilson here Douglas Wilson okay then we'll go to T I'm sorry um teris Arnold and John Clifton good afternoon mayor flows and councilman my name is tus or ta Interiors I am a division 7 construction company minority and I'm also the current president of Metro L minority contract Association mmca I'm in favor of the renovation of the Panther Stadium um to see the growth but also we need to have some more transparency to make sure that we can reach that 27% it can be even greater we at Metro minority contract Association the minority business owners here who live in Charlotte pay taxes in Charlotte um and has actually worked on some of the renovation before but I think the $630 million can be brought out to make sure everybody at the table get a chance to have some work and where they pay taxes and live looking forward to the renovations I would like to see that make sure you work with minority contractors uh minority business owners Charlotte's got the fastest growing minority U participation in businesses on here can we also make sure that we be highlighted and shown and worked on the stadium that's all I got said Thank you thank you thank you so much I hope that you're getting your members to talk to rise about for the capital um that we need to start these businesses because they are going to continue to grow thank you so much um the last the next speaker is John Clifton and I don't think I saw Mr Clifton responds so we'll now go to Sylvia cob and Sebastian feel look check we didn't have those two subtitute list text John I said where are you please go ahead and you have two minutes thank you so much uh my name is Sebastian fetlock I'm here with the iron workers Association and actually on behalf of all Alo the other local Building Trades representing iron workers electricians plumbers and pipe fitters Operating Engineers our trades have several uh apprentiship schools in the region who hire from CMS and other uh local nonprofits here in Charlotte however when construction of the uh Panther's practice facility unexpectedly shut down hundreds of our members lost their jobs um including apprentices and Journeymen and we had to work overtime to find them new jobs I asked for commitments on this uh new project the taper sports and entertainment rehire our Tradesmen work with contractors who were on the previous project and work with uh our apprenticeship schools uh to help uh hire locally I've emailed and have asked uh for some of these commitments and I've reached out to staff and council members that we haven't yet uh actually sat down to set these sort of goals that's why I think that setting up a vote for June 24th before we actually have those conversations is a little too soon uh I've worked on these kind of projects with our trades our apprenticeship programs in other cities in places like enrichment we just finished discussion over their Minor League Stadium and we've reached 40% commitment for local uh apprenticeship programs I think we can reach those similar goals for hiring locally as well uh we have uh a couple schools on the uh West Side by the airport Iron Work iron workers Hall electricians I think some folks are also aware of the Carpenters Hall off of the uh WT Harris I think a lot of folks have visited those schools those programs hire locally we have uh Pathways uh and pipelines with local schools let's make those commitments let's work with the apprenticeship uh programs so let's sit down and create a solution for uh local hiring thank you thank you for the information and and the question thank you very much um our next speaker is syia cob yes there you are here miss cob yes I wanted to mention to everyone that I am a landscape architect I have worked in Charlotte since 1984 I'm probably one of the only professional planners in the room I'm here to represent the middle class I personally can't afford to go to any events at the Panther Stadium can't afford to go to concerts but I've lived here for decades I think this is wrong you're giving David Tipper who has a net worth of 20 billion with a B why are you giving someone that has that kind of money $650 million I think it's criminal what what do you think the middle class in Charlotte they they aren't they're not here they're working they're working hard some of them two and three jobs this isn't right and I've heard from my friends that you've already decided I don't think and I want to know how that is legal that you've already decided I've been involved in other projects where I've seen um Tariq Bahari give uh the South Park developers $15 million from the neighborhood bond fund it's probably illegal I I don't see how you keep giving corporate ations and these rich people money why yeah it benefits all these businesses all these businesses have been doing fine Beyonce thought the stadium was okay if it's good enough for Beyonce it's good enough for half half the city what do you guys think about the middle class here very much um for that your remarks thank you all right our next speaker are horatius green and Joseph margolus mayor can we get a list of the waight list speakers after I she just the clerk these are people that signed up so she would have to be add they would have to be added to the list and the clerk can do that thank you all right Mr ratio Mr yes uh I'm horatius green and uh mayor council I'm very happy to be here as a resident of Charlotte for over 15 years actually Excuse me yes no you're fine oh okay I think I I think that the stadium is a very good uh opportunity for the city and I'll tell you why Charlotte is not a local city it's not a National City Charlotte is an international City a stadium is an intrical and important part of that presentation not only to the International Community but to the local residents and I say that because local residents have a pride in pointing to their Stadium even though they may not go to it it's still their stadium and they have a pride in it now the question becomes what happens when you have a person who has as much money as Mr Tapper you're going to get blowback it's normal and Mr Tapper is probably aware of that and has to take steps with regard to it to satisfy the citizens that they are happy with his work I'm a graduate of Ohio State I know about stadiums I know what they do and how they help out and there's a lot that can be done as a result of having the income from a stadium the question becomes whether or not Mr Tapper has the internal for itude to do right by the city and thank you very much thank you um Mr Joseph margaros good afternoon Council thank you for making this opportunity for uh the public to speak um I'm going to make a reference it's going to seem indelicate but uh I I'm you don't have to do it if it's indelicate I want to some different a little difference to clarify because I don't think there's any bad intentions but it may seem like it at first okay so there's if anybody's watched the movie The Sting the the the group running the gang they always do this when they when they're when they're pointing out when they're pointing out that the mark that they've just work with the mark and so one of the things that uh I want Charlotte this Council to look at is just I don't think anybody in here is committing fraud okay any of the people any of the interests in here that are supporting the statement staum outside of this body are committing fraud but my concern is that the council as a whole is being put in a position as the mark for uh for interests that may uh that may not represent what's going to be best for the city and so uh so I just want to go through there's a tool that's used um in fraud to It's called The fraud triangle and there's three qualities motivation opportunity and rationalization so the motivation would be things like we need to protect our investment and for the the restaurant workers here and there there's some the I heard a lot of people speak today and that's it's and this there there it's undeniable that this has helped a lot of businesses and so it's something worth considering and trying to protect so it's a great motivation opportunity uh there's a massive pot of money $650 million that taxpayers have been putting in uh to make this available for opportunities like this and so let's get into some of the rationalizations like one I have that I tweeted about a few weeks ago um if we don't do this they'll leave thank you very much for your comments feel free that if you'd like to give any leave comments or send them to the city clerk's office there with certainly welcome to do that um Madam Madam clerk do we have any other speakers signed up so thank you all for coming out um the array of um comments we greatly appreciate you've given us a lot to think about and um we'll um go ahead and now adjourn this meeting we will have a 20 minute break for um before the zoning meeting begins and so if you have we'll come back for the zoning meeting meeting I'm sorry um did his plan 5:00 so we can do we can come back at 5:00 for the um zoning meeting and if anyone would yes that'll be good all right so be thank you again for being here thank you especially for those of you who have taken the time to leave your offices your businesses and to make this a availability for us to learn more about how you feel so this meeting is is [Music] [Music] adjourned e e