Who We Are & What We Do

I am so grateful for the remarkable involvement of our HTA members in our meetings, activities and events and appreciate the over 400 attendees at our recent HTA General Meeting and follow up networking event on Thursday, August 27th at our beautiful Charlotte Convention Center.

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Our agenda for this meeting included presentations by Charlotte’s new Mayor, Rob Harrington, Charlotte’s Mayor Pro Tem, James Mitchell, Eric Sudol with Tepper Sports Entertainment covering upcoming $1.3B upgrades at the Bank of America Stadium, Steve Bagwell, CEO of CRVA, providing us with updates regarding most recent and upcoming major events and conventions in Charlotte, and Jack Christine, Chief Infrastructure Officer at our phenomenal Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), covering the latest and upcoming developments at CLT.

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Charlotte’s Airport is the absolute #1 economic development catalyst for our community and the region. According to Jack Christine’s presentation, our international airport plans to spend more than $1B over the next seven years to add 12 to 16 gates, contingent upon the airport’s extension of contract with American Airlines since they will be mainly paying for this expansion. Charlotte Douglas currently has 124 gates within its five terminals.

CLT is building a $1B fourth parallel runway which is expected to open in September of 2027. Currently, 60% of this project is done.

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American Airlines operates its second largest hub in Charlotte, and it accounts for 90% of traffic. In 2025, the airport served 53.6M passengers.

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American Airlines will have an international direct flight from charlotte to Barcelona starting in the summer of 2027. This addition will provide Charlotte with direct access to nine European destinations including Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Rome, Athens, and Barcelona.

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It is important to mention that not a single penny of Charlotte’s property taxes goes to support the airport as our amazing airports, which for so many years has been recognized as the most economically efficient airport in North America, is self-funded through a mix of federal grants, passenger fees, airline leases and revenues from parking, advertising and retail sales.

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Working on finalizing a lease extension between American Airlines and Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the most critical economic development initiative for our city and for our region’s continued prosperity.

Allow me to cover the following items:

1. Bank of America Stadium, NFL, MLS

We are fortunate to have David and Nicole Tepper whose massive personal investment in the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC, and Bank of America Stadium is allowing our region to enjoy NFL games, MLS games, mega concerts, major college football games and a variety of other fun and major tourism and economic revenue generating events. Aside from their major contributions to different great causes in our community, I am grateful for their recent personal contribution of over $650M to raise the bar for a total upgrade of $1.3B at Bank of America Stadium.

At a recent event to showcase these upgrades, what I heard from NFL commissioner was “upon finishing this upgrade (2030), Charlotte is ready for an NFL Draft and ultimately, hosting a Super Bowl.” Let the journey begin.

• Our MLS team, Charlotte FC, had a great game in Georgia last Saturday, defeating rival Atlanta United 2-0. (click here for Charlotte FC schedule)

• Our NFL team, Carolina Panthers, are gearing up for their 2026 regular season and will play their first game against the Chicago Bears on September 13th (click here for Carolina Panthers schedule.)

• Bank of America Stadium will host a major college football game on Saturday, September 19th (7:30pm) featuring University of Virginia vs West Virginia University.

• Bank of America Stadium will be hosting Ed Sherran for a concert on October 17th (5:30pm)

1. Events at zMAX Dragway/Charlotte Motor Speedway

   • Breakaway Carolina Music Festival at zMAX Dragway September 25-26 (five stages)

   • Bank of America 400 NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 3pm (click here for a schedule of events at the speedway).

   • I love NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Marcus Smith’s family for being the pioneers for putting Charlotte region on the map as a great destination for mega sporting events. We must do more to enhance Charlotte Motor Speedway to make this major asset more multifunctional to generate more events and more tourism and economic revenue for Cabarrus County and the region.

2. Charlotte Hornets will open their $190M Performance Center (practice facilities +) next spring.

3. Congratulations to Charlotte’s Women’s Professional Basketball Team (Charlotte Crown) for defeating Jacksonville Waves 81-76 to win the inaugural Upshot League Championship on Saturday, August 29, 2026.

4. Congratulations to Charlotte’s Professional Women’s Soccer Team (Carolina Ascent) for defeating DC Power FC to start their 2026 season (click here for Carolina Ascent’s schedule).

5. Charlotte Knights AAA Baseball Team will play their next home game against the Buffalo Bisons on September 8th at 6:35pm (click here for Charlotte Knights schedule).

6. Charlotte Checkers Hockey Team will start their season on October 3rd and will play their first home game of the 2026 season on October 16th vs. Hartford Wolf Pack at 7pm at Bojangles Coliseum. (click here for Charlotte Checkers schedule).

7. James Taylor and his all-star band will be performing at Truliant Amphitheater (click here for schedule) on Sunday, September 13th at 7:30pm.

8. Charlotte shined in hosting the 2026 Stellar Gospel Music Awards on August 15th at Spectrum Center.

9. Peak Time Pickleball, Charlotte’s premier sports and social destination, is hosting the PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) Challenger Tournament on September 25-27 at their location in Charlotte (1515 Clarkson St.). To purchase tickets, click here (HTA members get 35% off tickets by using code “PT35”). See attached for additional information.

Are you ready for the best business party of 2027?

We are rolling out tables/ticket sales for the extraordinary HTA’s Annual Dinner & Gala Event for 2027, scheduled for Thursday, April 27, 2027. This very fun and popular event was sold out 4 months in advance last year. For more information and to purchase tables/tickets, please see attached.

I thank all HTA members for allowing us to work with and for you and your business as a member and ask you all to be grateful to have the opportunity of living and working in our vibrant region.

Please visit www.charlottehta.com for information about HTA, our upcoming events, and special promotions from our Corporate Members.