Issue link: http://businessnc.epubxp.com/i/611454
78 North Carolina Economic Development Guide Facts of life CHARLOTTE REGION Big-city culture abounds here T he Charlotte region is home to the state's largest city. Sports reign in the Queen City. The NFL's Carolina Panthers, NBA's Hornets and the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers, farm team for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, play here along with professional lacrosse and soccer teams. Northeast of downtown you'll fi nd Charlotte Motor Speedway, which includes a 1.5-mile paved oval, half-mile dirt track and a four- lane dragway. There are plenty of contemplative activities, too. Museums, including the Levine Museum of the New South and NASCAR Hall of Fame, restaurants and shopping are plentiful. The region is home to Lake Norman, the largest body of water within the state, Lake Wylie and several other Catawba River reservoirs. They, along with Crowders Mountain State Park in Gaston County, can be explored all year, thanks to a climate that sees little snow, spectacular springs and falls, and many warm summer days. Main industries Counties Anson Cabarrus Catawba Cleveland Davidson Gaston Iredell Lincoln Mecklenburg Rowan Stanly Union Recent economic announcements: (Company, jobs, investment, industry sector, county) • Gordon Food Service Inc. 275, $58 million, food distribution, Cabarrus • Synchrony Financial 400, $13 million, fi nancial services, Mecklenburg • O'Neill Data Systems 250, $90.7 million, industrial printing, Union • Dimensional Fund Advisors LP 316, $105 million, fi nancial services, Mecklenburg • Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 1,000, $15 million, retail, Mecklenburg • Business and financial services • Corporate headquarters • Aerospace and defense • Textiles • Energy • Automotive manufacturing Transportation assets • Interstates 40, 77 and 85 • Amtrak passenger rail service • Anson County Airport • Charlotte Douglas International Airport • Charlotte Monroe Executive Airport • Concord Regional Airport • Gastonia Municipal Airport • Hickory Regional Airport • Lincolnton-Lincoln County Regional Airport • Rowan County Airport • Shelby-Cleveland County Regional Airport • Stanly County Airport • Statesville Regional Airport • Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility Attractions and events • NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte • Carolina BalloonFest, Statesville • U.S. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte • Charlotte Hornets NBA team, Charlotte • Q City BBQ Championship, Charlotte • NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Concord • Earl Scruggs Center, Shelby • Christmas Town USA, McAdenville • North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer