Homeowners near French Quarter closely monitor stadium vote

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Store owners near Bank of America Stadium are planning to find out what Charlotte City Council leaders decide Monday regarding the proposal to finance renovations at 800 Mint Street.

Before the stadium funding vote, how are hospitality tax revenues working in Charlotte?

Some have asked city leaders to also consider a plan to improve the infrastructure surrounding the stadium, where many of those restaurants, bars and stores have been located for decades.

Kristian Pedersen owns several restaurants and pubs along Brevard Court, about 0.3 miles from the stadium.

At Monday afternoon's public hearing on the stadium renovation, he told city leaders he supports the renovations.

However, he also requested that they consider further infrastructure improvements in areas where foot traffic will be felt due to continued events at the stadium.

He said: “Think about the infrastructure surrounding the stadium. . . everything around Bank of America Stadium also counts. And that matters a lot. At the end of the day, we live from the stadium.[BankofAmericastadiumalsomatterstooAnditmattersalotWeliveoffthestadiumattheendoftheday”[BankofAmericastadiumalsomatterstoo Anditmattersalot Weliveoffthestadiumattheendoftheday”

He called that part of town an “abandoned road” and said restorers have had to fund and perform routine maintenance on the large cracks and potholes that have appeared.

On Wednesday afternoon, he showed Queen City News some of those issues.

Our cameras captured a large number of repainted cracks and potholes that caused the ground in this historic part of the city to shift.

There was also a small seven-inch hole in the ground just outside the Valhalla Pub and Eatery, owned by Pedersen.

“It’s right outside my front door. It’s my only door,” he stressed. “That means there’s water flowing underneath and that means it could collapse at any time.”

Several business owners told Queen City News they had similar concerns and saw several people trip and hurt themselves on the uneven ground.

They also had to add all the street lights and maintain them because the city did not respond to their request for street lights along their yard.

The owners said they spent a few thousand dollars over the year on touch-ups, but asked city leaders to help them make improvements to the stadium.

“When you build something this big and this glamorous, we get busier and therefore our responsibilities become higher,” Pederson explained. “I mean, we're more than happy to pay for some of these things, but it's not our street, we don't own it.”

Pederson said he tried to get a permit or advice on how to go about applying, but was told there was little he could do.

A city employee allegedly told him: “There’s nothing you can do. The street does not belong to you. You have to go to town. Well, the city abandoned the street.

He said since Wednesday he hasn't heard from anyone in town.