Charlotte Sports and Concert Events

Charlotte

Charlotte, located near the border of North Carolina and South Carolina, is the Carolinas' largest city and provides the region's economic and cultural heartbeat. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte constitutes most of Mecklenburg County in the Carolina Piedmont. Uptown Charlotte was built on the gunnies of the St. Catherine's and Rudisill gold mines and today is a major financial center, with Bank of America, Wachovia and other national banks headquartered there. The Charlotte skyline has mushroomed in recent years and features the Bank of America Corporate Center, designed by Caeser Pelli. At 871 feet it is the tallest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta. Charlotte is the second biggest banking center in the country, after New York City. Charlotte was founded in the 1750s at the intersection of two Indian trading paths, including a north-south route termed the Great Wagon Road and followed closely today by U.S. Route 21. In the 18th century, the Great Wagon Road brought settlers of Scotch-Irish and German descent from Pennsylvania into the Carolina foothills. This crossroads, which sat atop a long rise in the Piedmont landscape, would become the heart of modern downtown Charlotte. Charlotte played a critical role during the Revolutionary War, site of encampment for both the American and British main armies. Charlotte has been home to the NFL's Carolina Panthers since 1996. The NBA's Charlotte Bobcats began play in 2004. (The NBA's Charlotte Hornets played in Charlotte from 1988 until 2002, when the troubled franchise relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana). The WNBA Charlotte Sting have played in Charlotte since 1997. Charlotte is the de facto hub of stock car racing, with two major Nascar events (the Coca-Cola 600 and the Quality 500) held annually at nearby Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly the Charlotte Motor Speedway). Many of Nascar's top teams are headquartered in the Charlotte area.