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Business owners look to shift focus after losing ACC championship game

When Clemson and Virginia Tech faced off in the ACC football championship in Orlando, Florida, bar and restaurant managers in Charlotte were left facing the reality one of their biggest moneymakers of the season, was gone.

"It trickles down to everything," said Reid Clayton, general manager of uptown bar, Draught.

"You lose (the game) and you lose a lot," he said.

Clayton, whose bar sits directly behind Bank of America Stadium, said last year's ACC title game brought in the most business of the entire year.

"It's not just us, it's everyone," he said.

In September, Atlantic Coast Conference officials announced it was pulling all of its championship games from North Carolina for the 2016-17 academic year, citing House Bill 2, as the reason why.

The controversial law, known as the  "bathroom bill" requires someone use the bathroom based on biological sex, rather than their gender identity.

According to figures released by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the ACC championship pulled in $30.9 million in economic impact for Charlotte in 2014, only to surpass that total in 2015, with $32.4 million.

Jack Doeler opened Coaltrane's restaurant in the Epicentre in July and had already started planning staff and inventory for the game, when he learned officials were pulling the championship from Charlotte.

Doeler said he's encouraging his staff to focus on the events that remain in Charlotte, like the Belk Bowl, Dec. 29, or the CIAA Basketball Tournament next year.

"You have your Charlotte aspects that still are attractive to Charlotte people, but when a big event gets taken from you, it's tough," Doeler said.