The Bobcats and the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority have submitted a $41.9M "list of improvements to the city of Charlotte" in order to keep Time Warner Cable Arena "among the NBA’s most modern buildings," according to a front-page piece by Steve Harrison of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The request includes "suite improvements, restaurant renovations and moving the ticket office at the 8 1/2-year-old facility." When the city and Bobcats signed a 25-year arena lease, a provision called for the Bobcats and the CRVA, which "together manage the city-owned facility, to conduct a review" of the $260M arena’s needs seven years after its opening. The CRVA said that the arena needs $7.8M in "work over the next five years." The Bobcats’ list adds $34.1M in "improvements over the next four years." But Deputy City Manager Ron Kimble said that there will "likely be negotiations between the team and the city as to what is needed and what isn’t, and what the city is obligated to pay for." For the coming fiscal year, the projects request by the Bobcats include $1.27M "for 'event-level' restaurant refurbishment," $1.42M to "move the ticket office" and $2.5M for floor repairs. For FY '16, the team's requests include $1.6M to "improve hospitality space," $5.9M to improve suites and $2.3M to "remake the Founders Level restaurant." For '17 and '18, the team’s list includes $7.7M for "scoring and video equipment update," $1.3M for HD broadcast infrastructure, $2.5M for "a youth activity area in the upper concourse" and $3.5M for "exterior digital equipment" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/21).
