North Carolina Venue Lost over $72,000 on ACC Swimming Relocation

CNN is reporting that North Carolina’s Greensboro Coliseum Complex lost over $72,000 when the Atlantic Coast Conference decided to relocate the 2017 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships. The decision to move the meet to Atlanta came in protest of North Carolina’s House Bill 2 (known colloquially to many as HB2 or the “bathroom bill”) passed in 2016.

Polifact is estimating that the law cost the economy of North Carolina somewhere between $450 to $630 million. For comparison, other events cancelled at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex include a concert from Bruce Springsteen ($100,000), a Cirque du Soleil performance ($68,000), and early-round NCAA men’s basketball games ($493,124).

North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill yesterday to repeal the law, which, among other things, required people in public spaces (including children) to use the bathroom consistent with the sex on their birth certificate and nullified local legal protections for the LBGT community. However, LBGT rights groups and critics are calling today’s bill a “repeal” in name only.

According to CNN, the new bill “effectively maintains a key feature of HB2 by leaving regulation of bathroom access solely in control of the Legislature” and “prevents local governments, until December 2020, from passing or amending their own nondiscrimination ordinances relating to private employment and public accommodation.”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is calling the new bill a “compromise,” and North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican backer of the legislation, says he is “95% happy” with the bill.

Now, the NCAA and the ACC will have decide whether the new bill  justifies scheduling top-level competitions in North Carolina for the 2017-2018 season.

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Swimclh
7 years ago

What are the NCAA’s rules pertaining to FTMs’ (female to male) and MTFs’ (male to female) participation in sports? Which sports team would each respective athelete compete for?

G.I.N.A
7 years ago

NC is the best run state in the USA so whatever they are doing is right for them . NC is behind only Wyoming in its debts levels though NC has an expandi g population which usually requires borrowing . Debt is not all bad but unless there is long term infrastructure that it has been invested in , it is passing down your lifestyle to the next generation .

NC total State & County debt is under 10% of GDP as compared to NY at 19% . Only NC & Wy managed this ( which itself is high by traditional economics) . So maybe NC will build bathrooms for all personal desires eg ones which have enough light for… Read more »

G.I.N.A
Reply to  G.I.N.A
7 years ago

‘passing down your lifestyle for the next generation ‘ TO PAY FOR . Live your dreams , crush your descendent’s.

Dan
7 years ago

Have not followed what this bill really included, does it mean that guys can go into the girls bathrooms and girls can go into the boys bathrooms?

Scoobysnak
Reply to  Dan
7 years ago

No

Captain Awesome
Reply to  Dan
7 years ago

I believe the bill meant that transgender persons were required to use the toilet pertaining to their gender at birth. Which means for example that someone who now identifies fully as a man, could be made to use the female toilets.

Leclave
7 years ago

But why is the headline picture the pool in Berlin, Germany ?

BarryA
Reply to  Leclave
7 years ago

It appears to be a stock photo. Getting a photo specifically relevant to every article is difficult and/or costly. Stock photos are an affordable way to maintain the style of the website. Also, a photo from the Greensboro pool might be misleading if it was from some other event. The story is about a meet not happening there, so a photo from the meet in Atlanta might also be misleading. It’s just a picture of swimming.

ORRDU1
7 years ago

I come to this site frequently because it’s one of the few places I don’t get unsolicited political commentary shoved down my throat. I hope you can continue to keep it that way. Thanks in advance.

IMER
Reply to  ORRDU1
7 years ago

And yet, no one forced you to click on this article… didn’t realize basic human rights make people so sensitive.

Scoobysnak
Reply to  ORRDU1
7 years ago

This is a swimming news website writing an article about a political event pertaining to swimming. It doesn’t give any opinions on the matter whatsoever. I’m really not sure what your complaint is here?

anarobic
Reply to  ORRDU1
7 years ago

hi orrdu. this is not commentary. the entire post is simple, objective, and factual.

ORRDU1
Reply to  anarobic
7 years ago

And at no point in my post did I ever say it was anything but that. The article is fine. Just don’t want it to turn into another kind of monster… and I’m sure most other readers would agree. At no point did I accuse the site of doing that.

Carry on.

About Hannah Hecht

Hannah Hecht

Hannah Hecht grew up in Kansas and spent most of her childhood trying to convince coaches to let her swim backstroke in freestyle sets. She took her passion to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and swam at NAIA Nationals all four years. After graduating in 2015, she moved to …

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