A rendering of the lobby area inside the Novant Health Performance Center. Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets
Shelly Cayette-Weston’s cellphone is getting a workout these days, all because of the bevy of activity buzzing a LaMelo Ball basketball pass away from Spectrum Center’s shadows.
“I have gotten so many text messages and calls on that,” said Cayette-Weston, the Hornets’ president of business operations. “People are walking past and our players are walking past. So, they are not into the nitty-gritty of the detail of it and building it, but they get to walk past it and now see that it’s a reality. And we are really excited about that.
“There are people that live around the block, and they walk and now they are seeing the dirt, and the gravel and the soon-to-be cranes come in and they are going to have a sense of pride. So, it drives a sense of reality and realness to people that it’s really happening.”
After months of planning and negotiations with the city of Charlotte, the Hornets’ new performance center is about to start taking shape and join the uptown urban landscape. A familiar name will adorn the sparking facility that’s being built with a price tag north of $150 million.
The Hornets and Novant Health on Tuesday announced an expanded multi-year partnership that gives the Winston Salem-headquartered health care provider the official naming rights for the building that will sit just east of the arena between North Caldwell and North Davidson streets. The Novant Health Performance Center, which is officially begins construction following Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony, is scheduled to open during the 2026-27 season.
A rendering of the exterior of the Novant Health Performance Center. Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets
Novant Health will also keep the naming rights at the team’s current facility attached to the arena, tying the brand to the Hornets for years to come.
“It’s very fitting that we do this partnership again with Hornets Sports and Entertainment,” said Dr. Sid Fletcher, the senior vice president and president of Novant Health’s Charlotte region. “We have been a long standing collaborator with them and been watching how they show up in the community. And we’re very excited for the naming rights of the new Novant Health Performance Center.
“We obviously were founding partners in this and, again, we just feel like this is the kind of partnership that we’ve had for more than 25 years. Actually, I was the original medical director and was there for the groundbreaking when there was just a trailer down there. So, it’s a big deal to me.”
There will be an additional place in the vicinity bearing the company’s logo. Plans also call for a Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Clinic in the Hornets’ new facility that’s open to the public, providing patient out care.
That excites Fletcher.
“It’s going to be right there inside the performance center,” Fletcher said. “We believe this will have just have synergies with what’s happening there in terms of the performance. We also know that there will be synergies with the Hornets themselves within these clinics. So, looking forward to serving both the community as well as the players.”
Topping out at more than 160,000 total square feet of space for training , administrative offices, retail, orthopedic and sports medicine care once completed, the facility won’t be small. Roughly 100,000 square feet is reserved for the team’s training and recovery, including two full-size basketball courts, strength and conditioning areas, plus dedicated medical facilities for physical therapy, hydrotherapy, nutrition and sports science.
A rendering of the practice court inside the Novant Health Performance Center. Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets
The facility will also house the franchise’s business operations and administrative offices, making it a one-stop-shop for everything Hornets-related on non-game days. Having such an edifice is paramount these days to compete in the NBA, especially in a smaller market.
It also ensures the team isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, thanks to an agreement with the city green-lighting the project in conjunction with the Hornets remaining in Charlotte through at least 2045. Plus, the facility raises the valuation after now-minority owner Michael Jordan sold controlling interest in the franchise in 2023 to co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin for a reported $3 billion.
“If you talk to Rick and Gabe, they have no intentions of ever selling,” Cayette-Weston said. “But it will help the franchise. Their main focus is about winning. It’s about being competitive right now and we know that’s a process, that’s a journey. As much and as fast as we want to get there today, we want to do it the right way so that we are building sustainably. And you cannot do that without retaining and getting the best talent.
“And the best talent is not going to stay and come here unless they have facilities that are competitive. They see all of these new practice facilities coming up. Houston just moved into one, San Antonio is coming up with one, the Suns just built a new one, the (LA) Clippers built one in their new arena. So, it is very commonplace.”
Which is why the Hornets, who have the NBA’s longest playoff drought at nine years and counting, believe this is all a must. They can’t afford to fall into an abyss.
“It is important that we stay competitive and keep Charlotte competitive because we want people to be very proud, our NBA players to come and stay here and proud to be here in Charlotte,” Cayette-Weston said. “And while we are working on the competitive product on the court, again they need to be in competitive facilities also. And we feel good about that with this new venue that is going up.”
A rendering of the locker room inside the Novant Health Performance Center. Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets envision eventually transforming that part of uptown into something akin to surrounding areas near arenas in other NBA cities, like Milwaukee’s Deer District. A mixture of retail, restaurant and offices ensures the area has a variety of tenants, creating a walkable destination where patrons have several choices.
Initial designs leave room for 2,500 square feet of retail space on the ground level and a planned public plaza outside the building.
“We’re thrilled to work with our long-time partner Novant Health and the City of Charlotte to construct the Novant Health Performance Center,” Schnall and Plotkin said in a statement. “The Hornets and Novant Health share a passion for health and wellness and have a long-term commitment of working together to enhance our community. The Novant Health Performance Center will be home to the highest level of personalized training, health care and on-court development allowing each Hornets player to reach his maximum potential on the court.
“Additionally, we expect this facility will serve as a catalyst to create a more vibrant Uptown Charlotte neighborhood surrounding Spectrum Center. As an ownership group, we are committed to investing in our franchise, our players and our community and this new facility is an important aspect of that commitment.”
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly.