City: Charlotte, NC

Category: Spectator Sports

Telephone: (704) 688-9000

Address: 333 East Trade St.

Description: The Carolinas have long been basketball country, and in 2004 the city’s new NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats, brought big-league play back to town. The Bobcats have had their ups and downs since this franchise debuted in the wake of the Charlotte Hornets departure to New Orleans. Original Bobcats owner, Bob Johnson, founder of BET and the first African-American team owner in NBA history, didn’t spend much time in Charlotte and alienated many fans and members of the business community. Johnson, who paid $300 million for the franchise, grew tired of ownership after losing tens of millions each year, and sold the team to a group led by North Carolina native Michael Jordan in the spring of 2010. Jordan had been a minority owner and director of basketball operations for the Bobcats, and he’s now the second African-American team owner in league history.The good news for Jordan—and the city—is the Bobcats have a solid base for the future with legendary coach Larry Brown at the helm and a reasonably young nucleus of talent in Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Raymond Felton, and D. J. Augustin. Season tickets are readily available for games at Time Warner Arena, while single-game seats are normally available as well. Sellouts are usually only against big-name teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Ticket prices range from $10 to $300. The arena is a great venue for watching basketball, with a huge scoreboard and video screen suspended over the floor and all the modern amenities fans come to expect these days. The team mascot, Rufus, does a good job with his routines and the cheerleaders are quite popular, especially with male fans. Concessions are a little pricey.If you can’t attend the games in person, many are televised locally on Fox Sports Carolinas and Fox Sports South.