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I simply brought up the NASCAR HOF because of how poorly the museum is doing and if they would have chosen Atlanta to build it would it be doing better? It seems like the Centennial Olympic Park area is a museum hotbed right now. Once the others open it could propel Atlanta even higher in the number of visitors.
Not trying to compare the 2 cities. Obviously Charlotte can't touch Atlanta.
I could easily the NASCAR hall of fame being moved to Atlanta. We've got plenty of room here and basically all you'd need to do is truck the cars and exhibits down here.
We've had deep connections with stock car racing from the get go, and if a few business deals gone the other way Atlanta would already be NASCAR headquarters.
Charlotte had problems with the NASCAR hall of fame and it had nothing to do with Charlotte being a NASCAR friendly city. It had everything to do with Charlotte's very small conventions. They don't have an overabundance of visitors with too much time on their hands needing to be entertained.
Inversely, that is why Charlotte has struggled with the NASCAR Museum. Most people aren't going up there for a NASCAR Museum... they're going to Charlotte for other reasons and the museum is there for those wanting to be entertained/amused.
Charlotte actually does pretty well with business travelers and conventions, and the convention industry in particular is definitely on the rise (hosting the DNC didn't hurt in that regard obviously). However, even for a business traveler/conventioneer who's staying in Uptown with some time to kill, the NASCARHOF is too niched to draw a large amount of visitors in and of itself. It would have been one thing if, like Atlanta, it was being added to other attractions in the same general area which have much broader appeal. As such, as a single attraction that appeals to a particular audience, it would have probably done better out by the speedway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cqholt
I simply brought up the NASCAR HOF because of how poorly the museum is doing and if they would have chosen Atlanta to build it would it be doing better? It seems like the Centennial Olympic Park area is a museum hotbed right now. Once the others open it could propel Atlanta even higher in the number of visitors.
Not trying to compare the 2 cities. Obviously Charlotte can't touch Atlanta.
Downtown to downtown, it would more than likely do better in Atlanta. But if it were out by the speedway in neighboring Concord, NC, that might not be the case. Location is everything.
At any rate, not sure why this comes up from time to time anyway. Even though Atlanta has higher numbers of tourists, some venues are just more appropriate for other places given their history and culture. The Rock 'n Soul Museum in Memphis gets even less annual visitors than the NASCAR HOF, but who would argue that Memphis is a less appropriate location for that museum than Atlanta?
For a city that "can't touch Atlanta," it seems to be brought up more than a couple times in the Atlanta subforum, and not by Charlotteans.
Sounds like a good price for a 15 minute ride. And usually I think many of these things are priced high but this sounds fair and like a great addition. Compared to other attractions it is less expensive - World of Coke $16, CNN Tours $15, Aquarium $30, Skyride at Stone Mountain $9, Fox Theatre Tours $18. Space Needle in Seattle is $19.
Was there any info on if this is a done deal and when it would be in place?
Uh.... NO! Space Needle can be up to $30 per person!
Charlotte actually does pretty well with business travelers and conventions, and the convention industry in particular is definitely on the rise (hosting the DNC didn't hurt in that regard obviously). However, even for a business traveler/conventioneer who's staying in Uptown with some time to kill, the NASCARHOF is too niched to draw a large amount of visitors in and of itself. It would have been one thing if, like Atlanta, it was being added to other attractions in the same general area which have much broader appeal. As such, as a single attraction that appeals to a particular audience, it would have probably done better out by the speedway.
Not in the context and scale that I'm talking about.
I'm not trying to put down Charlotte blindly. I've stuck up for them alot in the past and I really do consider them to be our sister city in the region. They might do really well for an average city their size and it might be growing, but they aren't a major player in the national scale.
Their covention/tradeshow industry isn't near as big as the major players (ie. Atlanta, Vegas, Chicago, Orlando).
They don't have any sizable mercantile exchanges, either. People forget these are just as large drivers bringing people here as the GWCC.
The difference is pretty large and it is a really important and relevant different to look at tourist potential, which is what their civic leaders publicly stated they didn't do when they create attendance estimates in Charlotte.
Not in the context and scale that I'm talking about.
I'm not trying to put down Charlotte blindly. I've stuck up for them alot in the past and I really do consider them to be our sister city in the region. They might do really well for an average city their size and it might be growing, but they aren't a major player in the national scale.
Their covention/tradeshow industry isn't near as big as the major players (ie. Atlanta, Vegas, Chicago, Orlando).
They don't have any sizable mercantile exchanges, either. People forget these are just as large drivers bringing people here as the GWCC.
The difference is pretty large and it is a really important and relevant different to look at tourist potential, which is what their civic leaders publicly stated they didn't do when they create attendance estimates in Charlotte.
Oh I certainly know that Charlotte isn't among the top convention cities in the country. It has a rising profile in that industry but is more like a 2nd/3rd tier city in that regard. Even so, as a stand-alone attraction without others in the vicinity to create some tourism synergy, the HOF is too niched to have broad appeal for conventioneers, business travelers, etc. The tourism numbers definitely play a role, but Charlotte is where it belongs from the standpoint of the history and culture of the area. I know stock-car racing is part of Atlanta's history too, but not to the extent of Charlotte and the surrounding region. Personally, I think NASCAR just pitted cities against each other to milk as much money out of Charlotte and NC as they could.
I'm looking forward to walking by there on my lunch break and seeing how they're going to hoist this thing.
Off topic, but have you taken the streetcar walking tour?
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