'Historically bad:' ACC pulls championships from NC

Greensboro, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Wednesday that it will move 10 scheduled conference championships, including the Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship, out of the state of North Carolina.

The ACC's decision comes in the same week that the NCAA pulled seven events, including a men's basketball regional scheduled in Greensboro, from the state for the same reason – the state law, known as HB2, which bars cities and counties from passing laws that protect gay and transgender people from discrimination and which requires transgender people to use bathrooms in schools and other public buildings that correspond to their birth gender.

Since the passage of HB2, performers, businesses and sports entities have protested by canceling events in the Tar Heel State.

"For the sports event industry in North Carolina, this week has been unprecedented and historically bad, probably the worst ever in terms of lost business and damage to our brand," said Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.

"Once the NCAA made its announcement on Monday, this ACC decision was inevitable. Looking ahead, I am very concerned about other sports organizations that may be next in line."

10 events to move from North Carolina

The ACC council of presidents met Wednesday and voted to move championships held at neutral sites to locations out of state. That list includes both men's and women's events held across the state.

During the 2016-17 school year, the ACC had scheduled 10 championship events at neutral sites across North Carolina.

They are:

• Women’s soccer: Nov. 4-6 in Cary at WakeMed Soccer Park
• Football: Dec. 3, at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium
• Men’s swimming and diving: Feb. 15-18 at Greensboro Aquatic Center
• Women’s swimming and diving: Feb. 22-25 at Greensboro Aquatic Center
• Women’s basketball: March 1-5 at Greensboro Coliseum
• Men’s and women’s tennis: April 26-30 at Cary Tennis Park
• Women’s golf: April 21-23 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro
• Men’s golf: April 21-23 at the Old North State Club in New London, NC
• Baseball: May 23-28, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park

The ACC men's basketball tournament, long North Carolina's annual crown jewel of sporting events, is on a rotating list of venues, with New York City's Barclay's Center to host in 2017 and 2018. But the 2019 and 2020 tournaments are promised to Greensboro.

The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority estimated the lost income from December's football championship at more than $30 million.

"The cancellation of the 2016 ACC Football Championship is a blow to Charlotte’s visitor economy and is irreplaceable at this late date," said CRVA CEO Tom Murray. "We’ve proven to be a welcoming host city for these events and hope we’ll have the opportunity to bring the championship back to Charlotte in future years."

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said decisions for 2017-18 had not yet been made.

"Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships," he said.

Universities, ACC share emphasis on diversity

In statements to the media, the chancellors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, along with Bubba Cunningham, director of athletics at UNC-CH, regretted the cost to student-athletes and fans.

"We are disappointed that 10 ACC neutral-site events will be moved out of state because of the negative effects those decisions have on student-athletes, fans and numerous host communities," Cunningham wrote.

The joint statement from chancellors Carol L. Folt and Randy Woodson emphasized support for diversity.

"We appreciate the Council of Presidents’ reaffirmation of the ACC’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion," they wrote. "Our policies protect students, faculty and staff from discrimination, regardless of age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status. As such, we remain dedicated to providing and promoting equal opportunity and non-discrimination to everyone who participates in athletic events on our campuses."

The ACC Council of Presidents emphasized the commitment of the 15 universities to "equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination," saying, "Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC Championships at campus sites. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office."

The ACC Baseball Tournament meant about $5 million in 2015 for Durham, where the Bulls were two years into a four-year contract to host the games.

George Habel, vice president of Capitol Sports, a division of Capitol Broadcasting Company which owns the Bulls, said the team had held off any negotiation of a contract extension with the ACC after the passage of HB2.

"We are disappointed, but the Bulls support the ACC," Habel said. "They are our partner, and our partner had to make a tough decision. The team is on the record opposing HB2, so we understand and support the ACC’s position."

Capitol Broadcasting is also the parent company of WRAL-TV and WRALSportsFan.com.

The Bulls were among the first teams to call for the repeal of HB2, in a tweet on April 12.

"HB2 is unnecessary, ill-conceived and furthers discrimination. We encourage the full repeal of HB2. The Durham Bulls are proud to be part of this diverse, inclusive community," it read.

HB2 political battle costs NC 10s of millions

Since that time, the NBA has pulled the 2017 All-Star Weekend from Charlotte and performers ranging from the violinist Itzhak Perlman to Cirque du Soleil to rock legend Bruce Springsteen canceled concerts in protest against the law.

On Wednesday, the NC Values Coalition, a vocal supporter of HB2, equated attempts at economic pressure with mere political correctness.

“The ACC and NCAA announcements are an attempt to force the State of North Carolina to sacrifice our children’s safety on the altar of political correctness,” Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said in a statement.

"North Carolina has stopped a dangerous local government trend to sacrifice the safety, dignity, and privacy of our children in public bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers just to advance a progressive sexual agenda."

Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, said, "It has never been more clear than it is right now – HB2 is hurting our state every minute that it remains law."

Clemson University President James Clements said, "The decision to move the neutral site championships out of North Carolina while HB 2 remains the law was not an easy one but it is consistent with the shared values of inclusion and non-discrimination at all of our institutions.”

Also this fall, the NCAA is considering bids for future championships to be held from 2018 through 2022. According to the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, Wake County venues have bid on 57 of those events, ranging from Division III tennis to the popular men's basketball regional. Those 57 bids equate to nearly $30 million over a four-year span.

The decision on those sites, scheduled to be made in December, will be delayed into next year, NCAA president Mark Emmert said, as the NCAA reads through applications that required each venue to provide information about any local anti-discrimination laws, provisions for refusal of services and other facility-specific information.