Spectrum Center Food & Drinks
Charlotte Hornets · Charlotte, NC
- Cheapest food
- $6
- Cheapest drink
- $5
- Menu items
- 34
Spectrum Center offers solid Southern-inspired arena food at prices that are reasonable by NBA standards. Inside, you'll find Carolina BBQ, classic arena fare, and local craft beer from Charlotte's thriving brewery scene. The concessions have improved in recent years with more local vendor partnerships. Outside the arena, Uptown Charlotte's restaurant scene is walkable and excellent, especially the craft brewery taprooms in South End.
Tips & Fan Reports
The Flight Deck has probably the best food in the arena at $40 per person plus tip. Validate your parking at the BOA parking deck and the price is about the same as a regular garage.
Mobile ordering is available via the Hornets app for faster pickup.
The lower-level concourse has more food variety than the upper level.
Carolina BBQ (vinegar-based, not tomato-based) is the must-try regional food at the arena.
NoDa Brewing and Olde Mecklenburg craft beers are available throughout. Try a Charlotte-brewed beer.
Mert's Heart & Soul is a Charlotte culinary institution. Go before the game if you can.
Pregame at Uptown restaurants is a much better value than arena prices.
Cheapest Way to Eat
Spectrum Center publishes a value menu. Items from $2.
Know Before You Go
- Venue payments
Spectrum Center concession stands and retail locations are cashless.
Reverse ATM kiosks around the arena convert cash to a prepaid debit card that can be used inside or outside the venue.
- Outside food and drink
Outside food, beverages, coolers, bottles, and cans are prohibited, with limited exceptions for medical needs.
Contact Guest Experience at arenainfo@hornets.com or 704-688-8128 before the game because the public guide does not describe the approval process.
- Dietary options
A Greek-inspired vegan salad is available from Spectrum Center grab-and-go markets.
The current public dining directory does not identify allergy procedures or gluten-free locations.
- Alcohol sales cutoff
Alcohol sales end at the close of the third quarter during Hornets games, or earlier at management's discretion.
Purchasers must be at least 21 with legal identification and may buy no more than two alcoholic drinks at once.
Nearby Restaurants
Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley - Charlotte
$$Soul Food Restaurant 4.8 (19,140)
210 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA
Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel
$$Hotel 4.5 (1,420)
303 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA
Rooster's Wood-fired Kitchen Uptown
$$American Restaurant 4.5 (1,937)
150 N College St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA
Amélie's Uptown | French Bakery & Cafe
$$Bakery 4.5 (4,811)
380 S College St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA
The Market at 7th Street
$$Food Court 4.5 (3,775)
224 E 7th St, Charlotte, NC 28202, USA
Sixty Vines Charlotte
$$Restaurant 4.5 (1,015)
1415 Vantage Pk Dr Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28203, USA
Report a Price We Missed
Something not on the list, or a ticket or parking price? Tell us what you paid and we will check it.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Concession menu
Spectrum Center's Food & Beverage page, which lists every stand with its section on the Main and Uptown Concourses. Levy Restaurants runs the program. spectrumcentercharlotte.com is unreachable from here, so this was read from the Internet Archive's capture of 2026-05-20, with the served timestamp verified. An older 2025-01-21 capture was compared and rejected: A&J Winery Bar, Casamigos Bar, Center City Bar, Center City Grill, Old Armor Beer Company Bar, The Hive, Wicked Weed Brewing Cart and the Buzz City Zippin market are all gone, replaced by Crown & Craft, Queen City Cravings, 704 Kitchen, Bread & Cheez, Swarm & Salt, Piedmont Pit, Trade St. Tacos, My Story Café and Freddy's. The page lists stands and sections only (no item lists and no prices), so each stand carries one entry for what its name denotes, the treatment Prudential Center and Grand Casino Arena get for the same reason.
- Nearby restaurants
Google Places API (New) Nearby Search
- Value menu
Spectrum Center Hugo's Hive Menu: five fan-favourite items at $2 each, introduced after the $245m arena renovation
- Venue policies
Current Spectrum Center A-Z and dining guidance plus official Charlotte Hornets visitor, sensory, concessions, and parking pages reviewed for Hornets game-day policies; the bag policy re-read on 2026-09-23 from the Spectrum Center A-Z Guide after the Hornets' visiting page was retired.
Not yet checked against a published source
These figures are estimates. Most venues no longer publish the numbers behind them (concession and ticket pricing moved to dynamic marketplaces), so we hold them as estimates rather than dating them as verified.
- Food prices: Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index + venue research
- Drink prices: Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index + venue research