Time Warner Cable Arena

About Time Warner Cable Arena

The Time Warner Cable Arena (also known locally as "TWC Arena", "St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice" for Charlotte Checkers hockey games) is an entertainment and sports venue located in the Uptown (downtown) area of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Its primary use is as the home court of the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA. It made its grand opening in October of 2005 for a concert by The Rolling Stones and hosted its first Bobcats game on November 5, 2005. The arena's center-hung Daktronics video screens measure 16 feet by 28 feet, making them the largest of any indoor arena. The arena is owned by the city of Charlotte, but operated by the Bobcats.

The arena opened in 2005 as the Charlotte Bobcats Arena. On April 8, 2008, the Bobcats announced a naming rights deal with Time Warner Cable, the area's largest cable television provider, to rename the arena. As part of the deal, the Bobcats ended a somewhat restrictive deal that kept them off satellite and regional cable television. The change became effective immediately, with printed tickets for the Bobcats' April 8, 2008 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves reflecting the arena's new name and the game airing on FSN South. Time Warner Cable will also get a dedicated concourse gallery to showcase its products. It is believed to be the first simultaneous naming rights/broadcast rights deal in the history of North American professional sports.

The arena seats 19,026 for most NBA games, but can be expanded to seat up to 20,200 for college basketball games (and presumably NBA playoff games).