Uptown Magazine: Charlotte Center City and Downtown

It wasn’t until a calamitous and embarrassing accident that Steve Luquire really started to hit his stride. It was the summer of 1988, and just hours after Charlotte proudly unveiled its new state-of-the-art coliseum as the “finest in America,” the facility’s 34,000-pound, $1.2 million scoreboard fell 55 feet and crashed to the coliseum floor. Even worse, the U.S. Olympic basketball team was scheduled to face off against an NBA all-star team at the new coliseum that very night. For Luquire, president of LGA, the marketing and PR firm managing the high-profile event, it was one of those worst-case scenarios come to life. But, as usual, timing and luck seemed to be on his side. Against the odds, work crews managed to clear all the debris and replace the damaged playing floor with the one from the old Charlotte Coliseum. And that night, promptly at 9 p.m., the game got underway as scheduled.

What starts with a Kiss and ends with a Fist? A Jerry Springer episode? Plenty of them. A bad date? I hope not.

“The Charlotte Music Awards? It sounds like a good idea, but what exactly is it?” That was a typical response when Jeffrey Cheen and I began floating the concept almost a year ago.

“Our goal is to up the profile of the music community in this area while supporting local music and local artists,” says Cheen. “The region has a rich musical tradition, and we want to build on that.”

After a grueling, hard-fought battle, the Blue Ballerz bested Just the Tip 5 - 4, and the tenacious Off In Public eviscerated Last Call 2 - 0. At the end of the thrilling, two-hour nail biter—with all four teams muddy and worn—there was just one thing left to do: head down to the corner bar and chug some oat water! And therein lies the basic philosophy of the World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA), which launched its inaugural season in Charlotte this summer. It’s the perfect excuse to get together with friends after work for some good-natured athletic competition and social networking afterwards. The matches are held Wednesday nights at Pearle Street Park near Uptown, where teams face off in back-to-back games.