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The ACC men’s basketball tournament returns to Spectrum Center in Uptown this month.
Why it matters: Thousands of people will make their way to Charlotte for the tournament, staying in hotels, eating at restaurants and traveling through the city’s airport.
By the numbers: The tournament generated $35.6 million in economic impact for the Charlotte region when it was last here in 2019, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
- More than 24,000 people came to Charlotte for the 2019 tournament, which resulted in roughly 30,000 hotel room nights, per CRVA.
What to expect: Fourteen games will take place at Spectrum Center March 11-15, culminating in the championship on March 15 at 8:30pm.
- Find the full schedule here.
Tickets are sold per session rather than per game, meaning your ticket for Tuesday gets you into all three games.
- Wednesday and Thursday require two tickets if you want to see all four games each day, meaning you’ll need a ticket for the noon and 2:30pm games (these are considered one session) and a ticket for the 7pm and 9:30pm games.
- Your ticket gets you into both games on Friday. Saturday is just one game.
- Tickets are available here.
- The arena opens 60 minutes prior to each session for everything except the championship game, when gates open 90 minutes before tipoff.
Between the lines: Major events in Uptown bring pricey parking and traffic congestion. The CityLYNX Gold Line Streetcar and the Lynx Blue Line include stops right outside Spectrum Center.
- The Gold Line, which is currently free, runs east and west from the Elizabeth neighborhood just over the Hawthorne Lane bridge to west Charlotte near Johnson C. Smith University.
- The Blue Line runs north and south from UNC Charlotte to I-485. Weekly unlimited rides cost $30.80. One-way fare costs $2.20 for adults and $1.10 for kids and those ages 62 and older.
What’s next: Charlotte will also host the ACC men’s basketball tournament in 2026 and 2028 and the ACC women’s basketball tournament in 2027.
What we’re watching: Spectrum Center closed for several months last year for the first round of a $245 million facelift.
- The arena will close during the upcoming NBA offseason for the second and final round of renovations, which will include adding more seats to the lower level, brand-new seats for the entire bowl, plus updates to the main concourse and founders’ level.
- Charlotte also hopes to host the CIAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments for 2027, 2028 and 2029. The city is also the CIAA’s headquarters and previously hosted the tournament from 2006 to 2020. The tournament generated tens of millions in economic impact annually.
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