Arena Design and Architecture
Time Warner Cable Arena was designed to reflect the community in which we live, work and play. Throughout the arena guests will find tributes to the Carolinas through artwork and unique displays.
Throughout its history, Charlotte has responded successfully to the changing demands and challenges facing American cities, and its achievements and growth over the last decades are a testament to its success. Exhibited in the heart of the city at Trade and Tryon streets, four sculptures represent Charlotte’s transformation through Transportation, Industry, Commerce, and the Future. This spirit of adaptability, combined with Charlotte’s outstanding support of the arts, has been integrated into the design of Time Warner Cable Arena.
A Celebration of Gathering
Inspired by the event, the city, and the fans, the arena’s design is a “celebration of gathering.” Open walkways, terraces and exposed staircases encourage conversation and exchange between arena guests in all areas of the building, providing connectivity of and creating community.
The forms and materials of the exterior design are assembled in a way that responds to the urban fabric as well as the communities past, present, and future. The steel and brick elements of the design are oriented to the urban fabric and represent the strength, stability, and foundation of Charlotte’s heritage, while the transparent and more fluid contemporary forms emerging from the base are a reflection of Charlotte’s eye on the future and the anticipation and excitement of the events yet to happen in the arena. The crescent “C” shape of the arena, which begins at the entry lobby sequence and sweeps around the seating bowl, is a symbolic gesture of the community embracing the event. Fans and visitors will find familiar reflections of the community illustrated through public art and unique displays, which pay tribute to the region’s rich sports and commercial history.
Arena Interior
Interior organization of the building has been developed around the concept of streets and galleries. The streets function as transitional circulation paths connecting the galleries, which are the major food and entertainment zones for the complex. While passing along the “streets,” patrons will experience the rich colors and textures of Charlotte’s landscape. Large visual elements that represent modern “trees” line the arena’s concourse “streets” and create an arch overhead, providing canopies similar to the large trees lining Charlotte streets. A higher level of color and energy is presented in the food galleries, where sponsors of these spaces have created a unique experience for the visiting patron. As a destination point, the galleries pay tribute to Charlotte’s spirit of Transportation, Industry, Commerce, and Future, providing memorable points to keep the fans oriented in the facility.
Images of the Charlotte area are incorporated throughout the arena
A “Welcome to the Gateway to the Carolinas” sign above the box office features imagery in each letter that corresponds to larger artwork reflecting different destinations and industry in the Carolinas. Maps of North and South Carolina are featured high above each side of the main bowl entrance; etched glass listings of every city or town in each state with populations greater than 10,000 line the wall below the maps along this entrance.