I understand what Bob “It’s Not My Arena” Johnson is trying to get across when he says the new Uptown arena belongs to the people of Charlotte. Yes, they bought and paid $265 million for it, and Johnson intends to be a good steward of the place.
But the fact remains that it is totally up to Johnson and his Bobcat business folk to make the thing work. Everything has been set up for Johnson to succeed — the city is kicking in $250,000 a year in maintenance costs and finding up to $1 million a year to help pay for police to handle event traffic.
By this time next year if we are still debating who is responsible for the arena, watch out.
