Inside Charlotte's world of professional video gaming (free version)
Plus: Why won't light rail chug into airport terminal?; The latest on whether tunnels could solve traffic woes; Is the new med school headed to Midtown — or Dilworth?; Axios-Athletic merger?
Good morning! Today is Friday, March 26, 2021. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying subscribers went out 30 minutes ago. It included:
An insider’s view to a Charlotte place you probably didn’t know existed — an esports hub in South End that’s home to the Charlotte Phoenix esports team and a business that helps super-skilled gamers connect with colleges for esports scholarships.
The answer to one of the most-asked questions about Charlotte’s planned LYNX Silver Line — why won’t it cruise right into the airport terminal at Charlotte Douglas?
An update on a talker of a story from last week about whether Charlotte could solve its traffic problems by calling on Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. to build underground tunnels.
The elusive question that surfaced during the hullabaloo over the official announcement of the location for Charlotte’s new medical school — where does the boundary for Dilworth end and Midtown begin?
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From an office in South End, 18-year-old ‘CosmicFlippy’ masters shooting a soccer ball with cars; full college scholarship
Kai Hickey, 18, landed a 4-year esports scholarship to Columbia College in Missouri. The Indian Trail high school senior is known as “CosmicFlippy” to those who play the popular game Rocket League.
by David Griffith
Kai Hickey works his fingers along the buttons of a gold-colored PlayStation controller, willing the car on his computer screen to careen into a large soccer ball, which soars into the air. Then, with the press of a button, he sends the car blasting skyward.
The high schooler senior is sitting in a South End co-working space that is the hub of Charlotte’s professional video game scene. He’s transfixed as he practices Rocket League, a popular video game where players maneuver rocket-propelled cars to play soccer in a virtual arena.
As Hickey’s car hurdles through the air, the ball loses momentum and starts to fall. He flicks the left thumbstick on his controller in an attempt to shoot the ball into the net, but the ball plummets to the ground.
Hickey mutters to himself, pops open a menu on his computer, and fixes an input error. Then he tries the same shot again. Success.
For the next several minutes, he repeats this motion over and over. To the novice viewer, it looks easy. But in the video game world, this is high-level stuff, and his skills and connections within the Charlotte esports scene are about to pay off big-time.
You Ask, We Answer: Trains, planes and automobiles
Welcome to the latest installment of “You Ask, We Answer,” The Ledger’s effort to help satisfy your burning🔥 development questions.
As we always say, there’s no rezoning request we can’t track down; no land sale we can’t sniff out. Have a question? Ask us here.
Here’s today’s question:
My question is about the new silver line and the connection into the airport. Or rather: the lack thereof. What on earth is stopping them to do it proper? And with proper I mean a walking distance connection from the train platform into the terminal. Why can other countries/airports do this and do we fail so miserably? The fact that we are building a completely new line is clearly the time to do it. If we don't tunnel our way under the terminal or parking garage now we will never do it.
We took the question to Ajonelle Poole, public and community relations specialist with Charlotte Area Transit System, who said she gets asked this very question about the LYNX Silver Line “a lot.”
Update: Council member speaks with Elon Musk representative on traffic tunneling
Following up on our article last week (🔒) about the idea to burrow beneath intersections to solve traffic congestion — City Council member Tariq Bokhari told us this week he had a productive meeting with a representative of Elon Musk’s The Boring Co.
Bokhari says he
Territory dispute: Is Atrium’s new med school in Dilworth? Or Midtown?
Atrium Health’s Wednesday news conference about the new Charlotte campus of the Wake Forest School of Medicine was hardly over when a key question popped up: What neighborhood is it in?
Atrium CEO Gene Woods referred to the school as being in “the heart of Midtown.” The Ledger and Business North Carolina referred to it as “Dilworth.” Axios Charlotte called it “Midtown,” and the Observer referred to it as the “Midtown area.”
Elevation Church inspired Instagram account that tracks ministers’ designer threads
The Washington Post this week profiled the man behind the popular PreachersNSneakers Instagram account. The account documents the expensive shoes and clothes work by celebrity pastors and now has 215,000 followers. And the person behind the account just wrote a book.
And just who inspired him to start such an Instagram? None other than the Charlotte area’s Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. Here’s the start of the Post’s article:
From his couch in Dallas, Ben Kirby began asking questions about the lifestyles of the rich and famous pastors when he was watching some worship songs on YouTube on a Sunday morning in 2019. While listening to a song by Elevation Worship, a megachurch based in Charlotte, the evangelical churchgoer noticed the lead singer’s Yeezy sneakers were worth nearly the amount of his first rent check.
Kirby posted to his 400 followers on Instagram, “Hey Elevation Worship, how much you paying your musicians that they can afford $800 kicks? Let me get on the payroll!”
Plus, Kirby wondered, how could the church’s pastor, Steven Furtick, one of the most popular preachers in the country, afford a new designer outfit nearly every week?
With a friend’s encouragement, Kirby started a new Instagram account @PreachersNSneakers posting screenshots of pastors next to price tags and the street value of shoes they were wearing. Within a month, the account had attracted 100,000 followers.
In brief
Vaccination timeline: Gov. Roy Cooper altered the timetable for vaccinations again, saying all North Carolina adults will be eligible April 7. Additional essential workers and people living in congregate settings such as student dorms are eligible as of March 31. (WSOC)
Judy Blume movie: Actresses Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates will start filming a movie in Charlotte next month based on the 1970 Judy Blume novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” (Axios Charlotte)
South End office building: Marsh Properties and Aston Properties announced they plan to break ground in September on a 5-story office building with ground-level retail on South Boulevard to be called 2825 South. It’s between Marsh and Elmhurst roads on the site of the old Sedgefield Shopping Center, close to the Harris Teeter and The Waterman Fish Bar restaurant. It’s expected to be complete by the end of 2022. The Ledger disclosed the project last month based on city filings (🔒). (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
Increased private school subsidy debated: The General Assembly is considering a bill that would increase the amount of public money to help pay for low- and moderate-income students attending private schools. (WFAE)
Atrium rezoning: Atrium Health has filed a rezoning application for two parcels totaling 3.4 acres along Kings Drive near the main entrance to Carolinas Medical Center. It’s seeking to rezone the site, now home to a surface parking lot, to O-3. We’re told plans appear to include a parking deck and a small park with a playground.
Robinhood headed uptown? After we reported the other day that financial technology company Robinhood is scouting sites in Charlotte (🔒), it now appears the California-based company might be honing in on an uptown location. Mecklenburg County’s permitting system shows there’s a permit requested for “Robinhood — Office Upfit” at 650 South Tryon St. That’s the address of Legacy Union’s new 18-story office tower called, appropriately, 650 South Tryon. Representatives for Lincoln Harris, which leases space in the tower, didn’t return an email from The Ledger seeking comment. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
Casino moves forward: Plans for a casino in Kings Mountain took a step forward this week, with the federal government approving a gaming compact that allows the Catawba Indian Nation to offer slot machines and table games. The first phase of construction on the Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort is expected to be complete by the end of the year. (Biz Journal)
Restaurant labor crunch: Charlotte restaurants say they’re having a hard time finding enough workers to be fully staffed as Covid restrictions are eased. “It’s amazing how few applications we get,” said the co-owner of Queen City Craft and Gourmet restaurant in south Charlotte. It has 14 workers, down from the 24 it had before the pandemic. (WBTV)
Taproom to open: Asheville’s Burial Beer Co. plans to open a taproom in Plaza-Midwood. (Team coverage: Axios Charlotte, Queen City Nerve, CharlotteFive, Biz Journal, Charlotte magazine)
Media merger talks: The Athletic and Axios are in talks about a possible merger, The Wall Street Journal reported, a move that could consolidate media outlets that each have a Charlotte presence. The Athletic is a subscription service that provides information about sports teams including the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets. Axios is ad-supported and bought Charlotte Agenda last year, now known locally as Axios Charlotte. “The Athletic and Axios already have complementary footprints in some local markets … The companies could use their combined reach in those markets to attract additional advertisers and subscribers,” the Journal reported.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith