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Charlotte to host ACC football championship games through 2030

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

CHARLOTTE, NC — The Atlantic Coast Conference has found a long-term home for its football championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina, through 2030,

ACC Commissioner John Swofford announced a 10-year contract extension with the Charlotte Sports Foundation to continue hosting the game in Charlotte at a news conference Thursday.

It's good news for business owners. The 2017 game pulled $39.4 million into the city.

"This past ACC championship game was our best,” Baryn Spry, with Draught restaurant, said. “We broke a lot of sales records that day."

Swofford cited solid game attendance as a big reason to stay.

The game has been played at Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, seven of the past eight seasons. The previous contract was set to expire in 2020.

The ACC championship game has sold out four of the previous seven times it has been held in Charlotte, including last year when 74,372 fans watched No. 1 Clemson defeat No. 7 Miami.

Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority officials said that about 58,000 visitors traveled to Charlotte for the game.

Swofford said in a release that Charlotte has been "a tremendous home" for the game.

"With the outstanding efforts by the Charlotte Sports Foundation, Carolina Panthers and city of Charlotte, our game has grown into one of the premier sporting events in the country," Swofford said. "We look forward every year to this annual celebration of ACC football."

The seven previous ACC championship games in Charlotte have averaged more than 70,000 fans per game, with a record attendance of 74,514 in 2015 when Clemson played North Carolina.

Over the last eight years, the ACC championship game ranks second among all conferences in attendance for its football title games.

The game is "a cornerstone of our foundation," said Johnny Harris, chairman of the board of directors of the Charlotte Sports Foundation. "We are thrilled the community has proven to embrace the game and events surrounding it. The ACC has truly found a home in Charlotte."

The ACC pulled the game out of North Carolina in 2016 because of House Bill 2. The law is known as the "bathroom bill" wouldn't let transgender people use the bathroom of their choice.
After it was repealed, the conference brought the game back to Charlotte.

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