DNC impact on timing of color change, signage...Hello Johnson & Wales

[BlockParty]

Really good article (from Bonnell) that ties together a lot of the pieces on the timing of the Bobcats change in colors, the gutting of their old inventory of Team Store items and how it may impact the player development of Coach Dunlap. MJ makes the change when it will be funded by someone other than himself (DNC). MJ knows how to make money.

DNC takes over TWC Arena

Some Exerpts:

Gutting the arena

The Bobcats needed Johnson & Wales because nearly every basketball-related area – the practice court, the locker room, the weight room, etc. – will be off limits as of Aug. 16.

Workmen have already started gutting the arena bowl. Miles of new electrical cable is being installed weekly. All the usual signage has been removed and about half the suites have been stripped to the walls and repainted beige.

“They’re going to be (television) studios – the ones that face the stage, so that if a correspondent sits in a chair, you’ll see the stage behind him,” Whitfield said. “Now they’re basically just a shell of a suite, with no seats.”

The Bobcats lost their team store quickly after the season, since the DNC planned to use that space for its offices. It worked out well that the Bobcats were changing team colors, prodding them to discount inventory rather than store it for next season.

Impact on Dunlap's development approach during offseason

“Especially with Mike Dunlap’s player-development agenda and our players getting into the mindset of coming in every day (of the off-season), we wanted to have a system in place where it would be very easy for them to go through their normal regimen,” Whitfield said.

So the Bobcats arranged to use Johnson & Wales’ gymnasium on the edge of uptown as their temporary training facility. The college will turn over the gym, two locker rooms, their training room and a player lounge to the Bobcats’ exclusive use from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., until fall classes begin the second week of September.

For the rest of September, the Bobcats will get Johnson & Wales’ gym two hours each morning. As a perk, J&W students will be invited to watch pickup games from the gym’s bleachers.

[JGib23]

I thought the team was going to take advantage of this by getting rid of the ledge seating and putting in more lower bowl seating. I think we have the lowest lower bowl seating in the NBA.

[BlockParty]

Could be still in the plans, I'm not sure who Rick's source was besides Fred (or what questions were asked). I still can't figure out why the DNC needs the convention until Sept 26th. Convention is over weeks before that.

[captaincrunk]

Could be still in the plans, I'm not sure who Rick's source was besides Fred (or what questions were asked). I still can't figure out why the DNC needs the convention until Sept 26th. Convention is over weeks before that.

gonna be too hungover to clean up

Note: I have no idea what DNC is, unless it's the democratic national convention.

EDIT: Well look at that, it is the democratic national convention.