The Atlantic Coast Conference officially announced its new home in Charlotte on Tuesday, raising the conference flag and flags of all 15 member institutions at a ceremony at the new office headquarters, Legacy Union’s Bank of America Tower in Uptown Charlotte.
On Sept. 20, 2022, the Atlantic Coast Conference Board of Directors, representing all 15 member institutions, announced that the conference office was relocating its headquarters to Charlotte in 2023.
The unanimous decision completed a comprehensive review and assessment, under the direction of the board of directors and executive committee, to ensure that the conference office was best positioned for the future and changing dynamics of intercollegiate athletics.
“I am proud to be the mayor of this wonderful city and I’m honored today to be able to raise the City of Charlotte’s flag in the ceremony. I want to say to each of you who are participating in this, on behalf of our entire community we welcome the ACC leadership, the staff, the coaches, the players, and fans,” Mayor of Charlotte Vi Lyles said. “We’re thrilled to have the following of the ACC and host the conference headquarters in our great city of Charlotte. Thank you for choosing Charlotte, thank you for choosing North Carolina, and we look forward to many years of partnership and memories.”
“It is a historical day for the ACC as we are welcomed to the Queen City,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “This has been a journey over the last 18 months, and we are thrilled to be joining the Charlotte community. We are honored and proud to call Charlotte the home of the ACC.”
Charlotte Regional Business Alliance President and CEO Janet LaBar was one of the dignitaries selected to raise a flag during the ceremony.
During the site selection process in late 2021 and 2022, the CLT Alliance was part of a united team working to retain the ACC in the state, hosting site visits with members of the ACC senior leadership team and facilitating meetings with city and regional partners. From the beginning of the process, the CLT Alliance collaborated enthusiastically, with the belief that the ACC choosing Charlotte would create opportunity, economic growth, and prosperity for all.
“Today’s announcement affirms the ACC’s commitment to a dynamic-growth future for its athletes and its universities, fuels Charlotte’s increasing prominence as a premier sports hub, and exemplifies our community’s strength in collaborating,” LaBar said at the time. “This was a true team effort, and we’re proud of the collective hustle that led to the ACC’s decision to call Charlotte home.”
“This city that we all call home is a place that has always opened its arms to the people that come here to better their community, to better their corporation or organization, or to better themselves. We always look forward to having a great addition, like the ACC, in Charlotte,” CEO and Chairman of Lincoln Harris Johnny Harris said at the flag raising ceremony Tuesday. “Few organizations have played a greater role in elevating our region’s presence than the Atlantic Coast Conference. We are excited that our city will be called home to the ACC moving forward.”
The ACC and Charlotte have enjoyed a longstanding partnership that includes the Queen City hosting a significant number of ACC events and championships. In April 2018, the ACC and the Charlotte Sports Foundation announced a 10-year agreement that keeps the ACC Football Championship Game in Charlotte through the 2030 season. The ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament has been played in Charlotte on 13 occasions, including in 2019 at the Spectrum Center. The 2021 and 2022 ACC Baseball Championships were played at Truist Field, and the league has participated in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl since its inception in 2002.
