The Knights Who Say “No”
The Charlotte Knights, last seen hitting the city council up for a cool $11 million to help build their vaunted uptown stadium, recently told county officials that the team had secured sponsorship deals, to include stadium naming rights, required by the economic grant agreement being pondered by Mecklenburg County, which has already pledged $8 million in infrastructure and upwards of $26 million in prime, taxpayer-funded uptown property for the stadium.
But when a few commissioners, who are still looking for detailed financials from the Knights, asked for specifics behind the sponsorship deals, the Knights said – in a word – No. As related in a memo to commissioners from county general manager Bobbie Shields:
… the Charlotte Knights provided for review written copies of executed agreements with two Founding Level Sponsors and/or one Founding Level Sponsor and the naming Rights Sponsor. They also provided summary documents of these agreements for review subject to NCGS 132-1.2 as outlined in the document attached to this e-mail. Board members will have an opportunity to review the summary document during your April 3rd Board meeting.
HOWEVER, all of the information provided by the Knights is classified as “trade secret” and “confidential” and as provided by NCGS 132-1.2 (see statute printed below), the County is not authorized to release the documents or any of the information contained in those documents.
So give us the money now, thanks very much, and we’ll answer any and all questions when the check has cleared. Or maybe commissioners will get at least some semblance of an inkling of at least a clue about the mystery, trade secret-protected sponsors when they head into a cloak-and-dagger closed session that’s slated for the board’s meeting tonight. Until then:
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