Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) management has pitched Atlantic Coast Conference officials on hosting the annual baseball tourney at BB&T Ballpark, as conference officials decide on venues for 2015 and beyond.
BB&T Ballpark opens this season, while this year’s ACC tourney is set for NewBridge Bank Park, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Low Class A; Sally League). In past years Greensboro and the Durham Bulls (Class AAA; International League) have alternated hosted the tourney, both to great success (in fact, a single-game record was set in 2012 in Greensboro).
Still, it will be awfully tempting for ACC officials to rotate the tourney and include one of the largest cities in the conference footprint, and there’s the potential the tourney could be offered rent-free to the ACC. The Knights lease calls for 15 tourism days to be available to the city, which can then either give them away or sell them to a private outfit.
From the Charlotte Business Journal:
This year, the ACC tournament will be played in Greensboro, hometown of the conference headquarters. [Knights COO Dan] Rajkowski said Knights GM Scotty Brown and reps from the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority outlined their plans for hosting the ACC during a meeting last week in Greensboro.
The Charlotte Sports Foundation, a nonprofit that runs the ACC football championship and the Belk Bowl, is also part of the baseball bid.
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