Final structural beam in place for Hornets’ new practice facility

From Charlotte Hornets leaders and staff, to the construction crews themselves, all were there to mark a pivotal step in the future of the franchise.

“We’ve gone from kind of a forgotten team without a clear path and culture to a team with a really strong foundation,” said Hornets Co-Chairman Gabe Plotkin.

Monday morning, the Hornets and Novant Health raised the final beam on the Novant Health Performance Center. It’s set to open in spring of 2027 and features more than 160,000 square feet for training, office space, shops, and an orthopedic and sports medicine clinic that’s open to the public.

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“I do believe that there is just a process to showing up everyday, and kind of like this building, it’s unfinished,” Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee said. “And that’s how I feel about our team.”

“To see it actually manifest is special. Special to be a part of it,” said Hornets forward Grant Williams. “It’s been an honor to represent the city and I’m excited to hopefully be one of the first to step into the practice facility too because I know what the top of my mind whenever it opens, I’m going to be spending a lot of time there.”

Much like the crews currently constructing the performance center, the Hornets are also building.

“We were ahead of expectations,” said Hornets Co-Chairman Rick Schnall. “The team came together more quickly. We had expectations that we would be competitive, but obviously from the beginning of the year when we started winning, we were among the best teams in the league.”

“We’re one of the youngest teams in the league,” Plotkin said. “We have a ton of picks and it’s our job to figure out how we go from here to take it to the next level.”