CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NBA All-Star Game festivities don’t officially get underway until Friday morning, but over the next 48 hours, up to 150,000 people will arrive in Charlotte.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is getting ready for the influx of drivers on the roads and people packing into uptown.
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Starting Thursday, Trade Street will be closed from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., as will other streets around the Spectrum Center.
Police said there may be as many as 300 parties and events through All-Star weekend.
Danisha Bobien works at the hotel next to the arena and is dreading the security rules.
“You got to have, like, clear containers,” Bobien said. “They're checking everything.”
“There are a significant number of events. We are always ready to handle the unexpected. From a law enforcement perspective, we have officers strategically located throughout the city, and we will have the lead if that happens,” Lt. Brad Koch with CMPD said.
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CMPD said it will have its command center set up at police headquarters over the weekend and officers will be calling a lot of the shots from there.