WFAE | By Marshall Terry
PublishedOctober 10, 2024 at 4:31 AM EDT
So you might get rewards on your credit card, or at some hotels and some airlines. But what about parking rewards? Well, you can earn them now when you fly out of Charlotte Douglas. The airport recently announced a new parking rewards program. And Tony Mecia, of the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter, joins me now to talk more about it, and other business stories, for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: So how does this parking rewards program work? And are parking rewards really that exciting?
Tony Mecia: Marshall, I think that's in the eye of the beholder. I mean, we've all, I think, sat on airplanes where they're advertising these credit cards that can get you a free trip to Europe, and you start thinking about all these great things that rewards can do. The airport's parking rewards program maybe isn't quite in that category, but if you go on one of those trips, you might need to park at the airport. This can maybe help out.
Instead of a loyalty program, it's calling it a royalty program, playing off of the Queen Charlotte. There are four tiers, blue, bronze, silver, and gold, that can be unlocked by spending money on airport parking — and they can open up things like access to sales and promotions, deals on parking and even free upgrades.
Terry: So, why is the airport doing this, and how important is parking revenue to the airport?
Mecia: Well, the airport is doing this because they say they want more people to book their parking online, and through the app, ahead of time. It is a competitive business. You might say, well, they have a monopoly on airport parking. There are some off-site private vendors that sell parking spots. Parking revenues are expected to be about $120 million this year. That's up about 20% from last year. You might recall they raised parking rates last year. There are also more people flying. That's the second largest source of operating revenue for the airport.
Terry: All right. Over to a story you've been following for a while now — concerns over financials at Charlotte's Aldersgate retirement community. You report a judge dismissed a racketeering lawsuit brought by a former resident. What's going on there?
Mecia: Yes. A resident of Aldersgate had sued and alleged that Aldersgate was engaged in an illegal racketeering conspiracy, by the way that it handled money and potential refunds to residents. A judge recently threw out that lawsuit [saying] there was no evidence of a pattern of fraud or anything like that. This has all happened at a time when state regulators are really scrutinizing some of Aldersgate's finances. This is an east Charlotte retirement community. [It's] been there for decades and come across some financial troubles. And they're working with regulators to build that back, and they are making some progress on that. Having this lawsuit dismissed is one fewer thing hanging over their heads.
Terry: All right. Well there's a hot new ticket in town, and it's not Taylor Swift. The Savannah Bananas baseball team will play Bank of America stadium next year, and there's a lottery just to get tickets. What's the big deal with this team, Tony?
Mecia: Well, Marshall, I've never seen the Savannah Bananas. But there's a lot of buzz about them. It's basically a mix of a baseball team and the Harlem Globetrotters. It's an exhibition game. There's supposedly a lot of fun — pitchers on stilts, people dancing. They tend to sell out these games very quickly. They're coming to Bank of America Stadium next June 7. They're being brought here by Tepper Sports and Entertainment and the Charlotte Sports Foundation. There is a lottery to get tickets. As you mentioned, that lottery closes on Nov. 1, for anybody who would like to go out next June and see some fun baseball.
Terry: Finally, we have a birthday to mark. You report one of Charlotte's oldest art installations is turning 50. Wow. I didn't think things like that lasted that long in Charlotte.
Mecia: Charlotte does have a reputation of knocking down old, historic things. One of the things that has not been knocked down in the last 50 years is "Il Grande Disco." It is one of uptown Charlotte's first art installations. It's a big, gold disc at the Bank of America Plaza building. There are similar ones in Milan and Chicago. It used to rotate on its axis, but now it's just stationary. But, yes, happy birthday to the big, gold disc.
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