From far-off Wilmington comes some insight into the $500,000 Speaker Jim Black (D-Matthews) slipped into the $17.2 billion state budget at the last minute, money destined for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The cover story is that the CIAA will use the money to promote the February basketball tourney Charlotte wrangled from Raleigh with the help of hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives from the city and county. The event is supposed to be a great “get” for Charlotte, destined to spin off a $10 million economic impact, or so we keep hearing. The $500,000 grant says otherwise.
If the tourney is destined to be such a great hit, why is $500,000 needed to promote it? Doesn’t make sense. And former speaker Dan Blue goes even further, calling the grant “stupid” and suggesting that there were far more pressing needs Speaker Black and the Meck delegation could’ve spent money on.
