Submit a Question to Barry

Barry Silberman is one of the most innovative and respected arena executives in the United States with more than 30 years in the sports facilities industry. He was easily the choice for Robert L. Johnson and Ed Tapscott when the Charlotte ownership group sought out a leader for the new Uptown Charlotte Arena. Silberman previously supervised all stadium-related projects in Central and South America for Pan American Sports Stadiums, Inc. Prior to that he founded and served 15 years with Centre Management in Washington, DC, where as president he was responsible for assisting in the building of MCI Center, home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, and managing, developing and marketing MCI Center, U.S. Airways Arena (Capital Centre), Baltimore Arena and other arenas around the country. Barry has enjoyed many successful "start-ups" and "turnarounds" such as arena football, indoor soccer, Cirque du Soleil and others.

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I am frequently asked by Charlotteans about the features of the new arena that will make our arena distinctive. We are fortunate to be designing at a point in time where we can choose from the "best of the best" of existing sports facilities and to learn from past mistakes as well.

Outside of the arena, guests will greet and meet friends, family and associates in an outdoor plaza area before entering the arena itself. From there, a four-story atrium is the entrance to the facility and home to a grand lobby. The box office and team store will both be accessed from this grand lobby.

Let's tour the building's seating types and amenities by starting on the event floor level and working our way up. The event floor is the level of the arena that houses the team's locker rooms, media interview areas and a television studio.

The event level is also the location for our Inner Circle seatholders. These are the people that, as they say in LA, will be sitting in the "Jack Nicholson" seats - feet right on the basketball floor and close enough to listen as the coach talks to the players. A terrific amenity for these seatholders is the courtside lounge that will enable patrons to enjoy a restaurant/bar experience right next to the path Bobcats players will travel to and from the court. It will also be a popular post-game spot because the players will, undoubtedly, drop in before they leave the building.

Seatholders positioned from baseline-to-baseline in the lower bowl are our Courtside Club members. This is one area where we benefited from the mistakes of others.

In most arenas and stadia, club seats are located on mezzanine levels, higher up in the facility. But those customers were more interested in being closer to the action. Our solution was to take our best seats - lower bowl, baseline to baseline - and make our "beachfront" property our club seats and still deliver great food and beverage experiences. We will have two lounges dedicated to these seatholders, right behind their seating sections on the main concourse. While being able to sit at a bar in the club lounge, guests can watch the game and dine on a variety of foods - including Mexican, Italian, barbeque, sushi and hamburgers.

The rest of the lower bowl seatholders will enjoy the same legroom as the Courtside Club holders and have a plethora of food and beverage options - pizza, fries, hamburgers, nachos, popcorn, desserts, and beverages. Also located on the lower concourse will be a sports bar/restaurant adjacent to and overlooking the Bobcats Practice Facility. This themed restaurant will be a great pre-game or post-game destination and allow guests to see where the team practices daily.

Let's move to the premium seat levels - we have two - the Founders Level and the Uptown Suite Level. The best way to explain these seating types is to actually experience them. Seeing is believing, so we created models of our suites, royal boxes and terrace tables inside our marketing center in the Hearst Tower on Tryon St. I invite all of you to visit the marketing center for a brief walk-through. I am sure you will enjoy getting a sample of the new arena.

On the Founders Level, we will have a two-story fine dining restaurant with views right into the arena. One of our premium seating options is four rows of "ledge seating" in which a guest can eat a full dinner while watching the game. It will feel like a live NBA game is taking place in a four-star restaurant. On the Uptown Suite Level we are also developing four Party Suites. These suites can be leased out in their entirety on an event-by-event basis or people can buy individual seats within a large suite. All of the premium seating patrons, including Courtside Club, will enjoy in-seat food and beverage service.

The upper concourse seatholders will enjoy great levels of comfort and convenience too. In addition to the same type of amenities as on the lower concourse, these seatholders will have the added benefit of two great food and beverage emporiums - one on each end of the arena. The west side will have food courts, bars, an outdoor terrace with panoramic views of the Uptown skyline and an interactive children's area where basketball skills can be practiced in a fun environment. On the opposite end, the east side, the upper level fans will have a "party zone" where fans will experience an array of food and drink choices while being able to congregate with others and watch the game from the party zone.

As you can tell, we have plenty to offer and that is the answer to the question about what makes our building unique. I believe we have the most thorough and uniform level of amenities offered in a variety of ways for all of our fans. The greatest feature of the building is that wherever you are sitting, you will have a comfortable seat, great sightlines, proximity to the performers and amenities that provide great value.

I can't wait for Opening Night in 2005.