A Paris trip underscores the state’s interest in attracting Olympic sports activity.
Some well-connected North Carolinians want the state to eventually host the Summer Olympics, prompting major public investment to spur interest in the sports groups that decide who represents the U.S. at the quadrennial event.
NORTH CAROLINA MEDALISTS FROM THE 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Kaylyn Brown, track, one gold, one silver
Cierra Burdick, basketball, bronze
Anna Cockrell, track, silver
Quanera Hayes, track, gold
Evy Leibfarth, canoeing, bronze
Sammy Sullivan, rugby, bronze
State lawmakers in 2021 allocated $25 million to the Charlotte-based U.S. Performance Center, while an affiliated group, the N.C. Sports Legacy Foundation, received $30 million in 2023. The little-known groups are led by Charlotteans Ike Belk and David Koerner, who started the Performance Center a decade ago to promote amateur sports and attract national groups to set up North Carolina operations. Belk’s grandfather, department store chain heir Ike Belk, was an U.S. Olympic Committee member and major donor for athletic facilities.
The Performance Center has spent $45.5 million of the $55 million as of June, The Assembly website reported in early August. While state funds were intended for capital needs, only about $10 million has paid for facilities or equipment. About $7 million went for a field hockey pitch at UNC Charlotte, which was built by Pembroke-based construction firm Metcon. Its owner, Aaron Thomas, is among the state’s most politically active
business leaders.
Otherwise, the Performance Center spent $9.8 million on its own consulting services; $4.5 million to outside consultants including Seneca Jacobs, Marion Waters and Marty McCarthy; and $2.9 million in personnel costs, including $800,000 in salaries for Belk and Koerner over two years, the Assembly reported. Other money went to support various U.S. Olympic sports programs, none of which have relocated to North Carolina.
Because of such spending, the Office of State Budget and Management’s internal auditors are reviewing the center and legacy foundation, the News & Observer reported.
Learning about how Olympic sports groups work was a key purpose for a June 25-29 trip to the Paris games by N.C Senate leader Phil Berger, four other state senators and Rep. Kyle Hall. The nonprofit 501(c)(4) Opportunity for North Carolina paid for the trip, according to Woody White, a Wilmington lawyer who chairs the group. He is a Senate-appointed member of the UNC System Board of Governors.
Berger and other policymakers have supported efforts to recruit such events as the U.S. Open golf tournament in Pinehurst. Recently, there’s been talk of seeking a Major League Baseball team in Raleigh, potentially led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon. This summer, former Berger Chief of Staff Brian Fork was named CEO of the NHL team’s business unit.
“There have been discussions of beginning to make long-term plans to try to recruit the Olympics to North Carolina at some point in the future,” White says.
Others making the trip with Berger and Hall were Sens. Bill Rabon, David Craven, Michael Lee and Danny Britt. Knowing such trips can raise eyebrows, White provided details on the itinerary and the travelers’ relatively modest Paris hotel. Rooms at the Victoria Palace Hotel typically fetch about $180 to $240 per night, an Internet search shows.
White said the U.S. Performance Center did not fund the trip but played a role. The nonprofit has developed “the industry relationships to connect policymakers with Olympics organizers in Paris,” White says.
The group’s objectives include a “desire to attract major sporting events to North Carolina,” he says. The Olympics offered a chance to learn “about the infrastructure, security and other foundational undertakings required for a major sporting event at scale.”
The State Ethics Commission suggested that White’s group “eliminate any USPC influence over the trip,” he adds. As a result, the group is reimbursing the Performance Center for expenses and took control of the itinerary. No lobbyist contributions to the 501(c)(4) group are paid for the educational trip, White says.
Hosting rights for the Summer Olympics are locked up through 2032, with games set for Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane, Australia in 2032. Discussions are underway about 2036, with Indonesia, Turkey, India and Chile known to be showing interest. ■
SUMMER OLYMPIC HOST CITIES:
2008 – Bejing | 2012 – London | 2016 – Rio | 2020 – Tokyo | 2024 – Paris
2028 – Los Angeles | 2032 – Brisbane, Australia
