ED TAPSCOTT
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS And
 CHARLOTTE STING
By Marilynn Bowler

      No wonder City Manager Pam Syfert was smiling so broadly today. She had the pleasure of introducing our speaker who just happens to be Charlotte’s newest NBA star. His name is Ed Tapscott, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Charlotte Bobcats and the Charlotte Sting who comes with a long history of qualifications that led to his current position on Owner Bob Johnson’s roster. Ed has both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Tufts University and a law degree from American University. His resume reads like Sports Illustrated’s guide to “How to Become an NBA Team Executive.” Between college coaching (head coach most of those years), serving as a player agent at Advantage International, a long stint with the New York Knicks (including a role as interim general manager), a consultant to the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks, and then a broadcaster on Comcast and Fox Sports covering the Washington Wizards, Ed Tapscott has tasted it all.

And today, Charlotte Rotary got a taste of Ed. With his signature warmth and charisma, our speaker spoke the words that Charlotte has waited so long to hear. Words like “commitment to this city, county and state;” phrases like “generation of economic opportunity for businesses in Charlotte;” catchy slogans like “driveway to driveway experience;” and - best of all – a pledge to focus on implementation of plans in a sensible, professional and effective way via his quote “We want to be quick but we don’t want to hurry.”

Beginning his remarks with a comment that his father made when he learned that Ed would be heading up the new NBA franchise – “It’s about time you settled down” – and sharing the conversation he had with Bob Johnson about “why Charlotte and not Cleveland, Miami or other cities who were in the hunt for new ownership” – Ed set the tone for the meeting. He was gregarious, unpretentious and funny. He talked about liking Charlotte’s “Can Do” attitude and he talked about the whys and wherefores of the naming of the team. He grinned when he snuck in a name that had gotten two votes but was quickly rejected by the management team – “the Shinnkickers” - and his own grin was matched with delighted laughter from the audience. The general consensus was that “this is one heck-of-a-nice-guy and, by gosh, he knows his business.”

Ed spoke with affection of the city’s WNBA team, relating that it was not in Bob Johnson’s original plan to own a women’s professional basketball team, however, by the time the Bobcats’ owner signed on the dotted line he owned both the men’s and the women’s teams. Ed paused before announcing that the Sting is now not only the sister team to the Bobcats, but for the first time in the women’s team’s history, the Sting is in first place in the WNBA. Ed told us that sponsorships were up 175% over last year and ticket sales had risen 78%.

The Bobcats rolled out the team’s new name and logo on June 11th at the corner of our Center City’s Trade and Tryon Streets and 7,000 fans came to celebrate. Now, however, it’s time to build and to continue to build. To date one-third of the suites in the new arena have been sold to a community that is increasingly receptive to Charlotte’s newest sports team. The first season will be played in the “old Coliseum,” said Ed. But in the second season and for many years to come, the Charlotte Bobcats will play in the “crown jewel” of Charlotte … the new Arena.

Ed spoke glowingly of the plans for the new building. It is to be a place where people go to meet-and-greet, he said. There will be a wide array of events other than the 60 NBA and WNBA games. The time for ideas for the building is growing to a close; the construction phase will soon begin with the groundbreaking set for July 29th of this year. The team will use contractors, suppliers and employees from our city, county and state in a strong show of economic support for our own area. Once built and open, Ed plans to have the building “lit” for 150-200 nights per year or more which translates to “more entertainment events than sports ones.”

He used a power point presentation to show us the drawings for the new arena and used the term “basketball geometry” to explain that whatever is done in the lower bowl sets the design for the building. Our venue will have fans closer to the action and will provide a more intimate experience.

Following his comments on the pros and cons of being an expansion team and addressing the issue of how the NBA will support the birth of this new team, Ed pledged to build our basketball team incrementally. Closing his remarks with a comparison of his experience with what the birth of the MCI Arena in Washington did to drive the economic engine for northwest Washington, D.C. – and turn it into a new entertainment hub – Ed sees the same opportunity for Charlotte. To use an old baseball quote, “Build it and they will come.”

A warm Charlotte welcome to Ed, his wife Janis and their daughter Logan, “y’all!”

Head Table:
Tom Robertson, Marilynn Bowler, Jim Adams, Pam Syfert, Bob Freeman, Darrell Holland; Invocation: Steve Byrum
Visitors & Guests:
Gene Bratak; Health & Happiness: Randall Groves; Song: David Erdman

2003-04 RI Theme

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Letter of Thanks to the Membership
David Anderson, Past President

“I would like to thank the board and members of the Rotary club for their kindness in presenting me with the Jim Harrison print. Harrison has been a favorite of mine since my mother first introduced me to his work more than fifteen years ago. He just has a way with those old and vanishing landmarks populating the countryside in rural South Carolina where I grew up. Then for me to have such an unexpected, but much appreciated, leg up on my next Paul Harris Fellowship was a big surprise. As we all know, The Foundation is Rotary’s signature program and I’m just delighted to receive the honorarium. Being the club’s president is an honor I will always remember, but it would not have been memorable, even to me, if it had not been for the “Service Above Self” offered so routinely by all of you.”

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Attendance Record   7/15/03 7/16/02 vistors & guests 18 20 club members 184 170 total attendance 202 190	Wedding Anniversaries 22 Mary Catherine &   Bobby Chesney 26 Debbie & Bruce Darden   Roaming Rotarians John Layne, Georgetown, SC Tom Burgess, Bloomington, MN
Birthdays 25 Tom Hutchins, Brooklyn, NY 26 Bill Nichols, Norfolk, VA 26 Tim Saunders, Winston Sal., NC 26 Frank Watson, Red Bluff, CA 27 Jim Adams, Salisbury, NC 27 Sadler Barnhardt, Charlotte, NC 27 Charlie Briley, Greenville, NC 27 Randy Minter, Martinsville, VA 27 Worth Williamson, Salisbury, NC

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