Dear Friends of Baseball:

The Bases are loaded and this is the top of the 9th, our last chance to bring the Knights  home and build a AAA Ballpark in Uptown Charlotte. Charlotte City Council votes on the third and final proposal (details below) on Monday, June 11, and we need your help in these final days to get this done.

Here are the details of this new deal:

• $54MM to build the stadium.
• Knights will fund $38MM towards construction.
• $7.25million from the Hospitality fund (hotel/motel taxes) paid over 20 years.
• $750,000 from Charlotte Center City Partners also paid over 20 years.
• The County, the City nor CCCP funding is paid until the stadium is built, the first pitch is thrown and funding continues only as long as the Knights play baseball in the stadium.
• Mecklenburg County has offered a lease on 7.8 acres of land in the Third Ward and an $8MM economic development grant.
• The Knights have secured the Title Sponsor (BB&T Ballpark) and Founding level Sponsor
• (Piedmont Natural Gas). This demonstrates private sector confidence in this project.
• The Knights are responsible for all operating costs, legal costs and any construction overruns.

The new BB&T Ballpark will bring affordable family fun to the most convenient location in our region. The new ballpark will provide a facility for youth and amateur sports tournaments that support the hospitality industry. We also know this AAA Stadium will bring jobs of all types, including youth employment. This public investment will be super catalyst for private investment and redevelopment of 36 acres of vacant land and surface parking lots. This stadium will bring life to Romare Bearden Park and will spur the creation of restaurants and retail as well as a hotel, office and residential development.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 30, 2012) – Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) and the Charlotte Knights have signed a long-term agreement for Piedmont to become the first founding  partner of the Triple-A baseball club’s proposed new stadium in uptown Charlotte.

“We believe this agreement provides a unique opportunity for Piedmont Natural Gas to make a positive and lasting impact on the city of Charlotte,” said Thomas E. Skains, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Piedmont Natural Gas. “A new ballpark in uptown Charlotte will create new jobs, fuel additional business activity and add a great family-friendly option to Center City’s entertainment mix.”

“We understand important decisions still need to be made, but Piedmont looks forward to supporting what we believe will be an economic development home run for Charlotte and the region,” Skains said.

“We are extremely proud to announce Piedmont Natural Gas as our first founding partner for the Knights’ proposed uptown stadium,” said Don Beaver, managing partner for the Charlotte Knights. “This agreement and our previously announced naming-rights agreement with BB&T clearly show how much the community wants Knights baseball in uptown Charlotte, and we look forward to sharing news of additional partnerships soon.”

Under the sponsorship agreement, Piedmont will receive a package of signage and other promotional opportunities, starting with the Knights’ inaugural season in the new stadium, scheduled to open in April 2014.

About Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 53,000 customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available at http://www.piedmontng.com.

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) and the Charlotte Knights and have signed a long-term agreement for BB&T to become the naming-rights sponsor for the Triple-A baseball team’s proposed new stadium in uptown Charlotte.

“BB&T is committed to supporting the communities in which we work and live,” said Wes Beckner, regional president of BB&T’s Charlotte metro region. “We believe a new baseball stadium in a spectacular setting in uptown Charlotte will create jobs and attract business investment with new restaurants and other businesses. It also will draw crowds to a family-friendly, affordable environment.

“We understand approval of the stadium is a process and critical decisions still need to be made. If those decisions are positive, we are delighted to support what we believe will be a tremendous economic catalyst for Charlotte and the region,” Beckner said.

Don Beaver, managing partner of the Charlotte Knights, added, “We are excited to have BB&T join our team as we create a vibrant new entertainment center in uptown Charlotte. With its strong track record of community support and commitment to family entertainment, BB&T is the perfect partner. Our partnership significantly increases the excitement, credibility and economic feasibility of our proposed uptown stadium. We couldn’t be prouder to have the BB&T name atop what will be a magnificent addition to the Charlotte landscape.”

In addition to becoming the Knights’ new home field, the planned 10,000-seat stadium in Third Ward near the future Romare Bearden Park in the heart of uptown Charlotte is expected to attract high school and college championship tournaments, concerts and many other entertainment options.

Under the agreement, the stadium would carry the BB&T name and include signage and other promotional opportunities, starting when the Knights are scheduled to begin play in April 2014. The team, now an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, has been playing at a stadium in Fort Mill, S.C., since 1990. Previously, a popular former minor league team, the Charlotte O’s, played its games near uptown Charlotte in the South End area.

“The proposed stadium is a compelling opportunity for us to extend the BB&T brand in Charlotte, an important market for BB&T,” said Pete Zifchak, BB&T senior vice president of corporate sports marketing and event planning. “We carefully select our sports marketing partnerships to ensure that they have a positive impact on the community and elevate the profile of BB&T in the region. Triple-A baseball in the attractive setting of uptown Charlotte will enhance the area’s vibrancy and raise the awareness of BB&T and our commitment to the communities we serve.”

Since 2007, BB&T has widened its sports marketing scope with high-profile partnerships, including the Atlantic Coast Conference, Richard Childress Racing, Wake Forest football, the Winston-Salem Dash and the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro.

With its agreement with the Knights, BB&T joins the Charlotte Chamber, Charlotte Center City Partners, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority and other groups in supporting the team’s planned new stadium on land it is leasing from Mecklenburg County.

About BB&T

BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $174.8 billion in assets and market capitalization of $21.9 billion, as of March 31, 2012. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates approximately 1,800 financial centers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is consistently recognized for outstanding client satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates and others. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at www.BBT.com.

SOURCE BB&T Corporation

Published Wednesday, April 11, 2012 by Frank Emory and Bob Morgan

The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce is throwing its support behind the effort to move minor league baseball to the center city.

On Tuesday, Charlotte Chamber President Bob Morgan and Chair Frank Emory penned an endorsement letter urging City Council members to do the same after Deputy City Manager Ron Kimble presented the proposal to the chamber’s Executive Committee.

The letter read in part:

“We are grateful that Deputy City Manager Ron Kimble, at our request, took the time to meet with members of our Executive Committee earlier this week to present the current proposal that is now before the Charlotte City Council. Based on his presentation we are confident that the proposal under consideration has substantial merit. It is our opinion that this proposal is a creative public private partnership opportunity that would: (i) leverage the city’s $9 million investment with a combined $65 million from the Knights ownership and Mecklenburg County; and, (ii) create minimal risk to Charlotte taxpayers while providing a reasonable opportunity to help grow jobs and the tax base for benefit of the entire community.

Because this proposal is advantageous to the taxpayers of Charlotte, and for the quality of life benefits/options that will result from the presence of Triple A baseball in the center city of Charlotte, we encourage your favorable consideration.”

The chamber is also joining the Bring Baseball Home campaign begun by Charlotte Center City Partners urging members to speak out in support of the proposal by:

• contacting their city council representatives
• writing to the local newspapers
• encouraging friends and family to do the same

“The Charlotte Chamber has long supported efforts to build a new baseball stadium in the center city in order to bring the Charlotte Knights back to Charlotte. We continue to support this objective,” wrote Morgan and Emory.

Read the chamber endorsement letter in its entirety