Despite a less-than-stellar performance from Mother Nature, Charlotte appeared to pull off the long weekend of uptown events for the NBA All-Star game without any huge hitches. Charlotte business and tourism leaders will now go about the more-detailed work of sizing-up the city’s All-Star success.
Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tom Murray said he did wish the sun had come out a bit more last weekend, but didn’t think that stopped visitors from exploring the city.
“The good news is that people were still able to get out on our streets and enjoy our city,” Murray said, “And we received lots of compliments about the amounts of things there were to do in our community, how active the city was, how beautiful the skyline was and then particularly, about how friendly our people were.”
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Murray also added that the weekend’s events were focused on the NBA All-Star Game, and not on the previous controversy over North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which delayed by two years the city’s plans to host the game. The NBA pulled the 2017 contest from Charlotte because of the now-repealed state law that included a requirement that transgender people use restrooms matching the sex on their birth certificate.
He said he felt the city did a good job of showing that Charlotte is a “diverse community.”
“I’m well aware of our history and certainly I’m excited and proud of who we are as a community, and I think we put that on our best display,” he said. “I think everyone that came through our community this week felt welcome.”
Murray also added that the benefits for Charlotte from hosting the NBA’s All-Star game include increased international awareness, as last night’s game was aired in 215 countries and 49 languages.
