The arena opened as the Charlotte Bobcats Arena on October 21st, 2005, costing $265 million. Architects hoped the building would bring the city together. The building’s concourses and open design, plus artwork throughout all suggest a concept of community and socialising. One major feature of the arena was its scoreboard, which featured a one-of-a-kind light-up 360-degree 3D mural of the Charlotte skyline.

The name was changed to Time Warner Cable Arena when the naming rights were purchased in 2008. When Charter Communications purchased Time Warner Cable in 2016, the name was again changed to reflect the Spectrum trade name.

The nearest major airport to the Spectrum Center is Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). This airport is in Charlotte, North Carolina and is approximately 6 miles away from the arena. There are limited direct flights available from London, with a flight time of around 7-8 hours, but there plenty of options available if you are prepared to have a layover.

If you are already in the US and looking to travel to/from North Carolina, then you have the choice of most US domestic airlines including Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airways and WestJet.

The Spectrum Center is conveniently located next to Charlotte’s main bus terminal. The arena is also accessible by both the Charlotte and Gold Rush street trolleys. You could also make use of apps such as Moovit to get directions to the arena using public transportation.

You can also use rideshare services such as Uber or Lyft to get to and from the stadium. The City of Charlotte advises fans to pick up and drop off using the official rideshare zone located on Fifth Street, outside the main entrance of the venue.

Beyond the Airbnb and Sonder options there are many hotels nearby to suit all budgets, which can be booked directly or via one of the hotel reservation booking sites.

There are several neighbourhoods in the area surrounding the Bank of America Stadium. Uptown Charlotte, also known as Downtown, is the city’s central hub and is a wonderful place to stay if you are visiting for the first time. It is the region’s hospitality and entertainment centre, offering visitors a year-round choice of arts, culture, music, sporting activities, festivals, and award-winning dining. Best of all though is the Bank of America Stadium is within walking distance.

The Charlotte Hornets sell their tickets via Ticketmaster.

The official ticket partner for the NBA is nbatickets.nba.com.

Here are links to the main ticket resale sites. Click on the link, which will open up a new window, and you can compare the prices on the different ticket resell sites, bearing in mind that the prices shown are before the selling platform fees are added, so take time to have a read of my tips to Buying Tickets in North America.

• SeatGeek
• SportsEvents365 (Click on the Search Button)
• StubHub International
• StubHub US
• Ticketmaster US
• TicketNetwork
• Viagogo
• Vivid Seats

I recommend downloading the team’s Mobile App to your phone as it contains much Gameday information for the stadium.