Kemba Walker to Open State-of-the-Art Sports Academy in Concord
'This moment means everything to me,' says Hornets' all-time leading scorer
A Charlotte sports legend will continue to cement his legacy in the Charlotte area later this month with the grand opening of Kemba Walker Sports Academy in Concord, scheduled for June 26, with the inaugural Kemba Walker Invitational tournament taking place at the facility over the weekend that follows.
Designed to serve athletes from grassroots to the national level, the Kemba Walker Sports Academy features four full-size high school basketball courts, eight middle school basketball courts, eight volleyball courts, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning center, and a dedicated team room for film study and performance analysis, according to a release announcing the grand opening date this week.
Located at 24 Spring Street SW in Concord, Walker hopes to make the facility a space he never had while coming up in the Bronx, one that will become a premier hub for tournaments, training and athlete development while bringing high-level competition and economic impact to the greater Charlotte region.
“The academy is about creating opportunities — giving young athletes a place to train, compete, and grow into the best version of themselves both on and off the court,” Walker said in the release.
Rising to prominence at the University of Connecticut, where he led the Huskies to an NCAA Championship and earned Most Outstanding Player honors in one of the most memorable tournament runs in college basketball history in 2011, Walker became the ninth overall pick in that year’s draft.
Drafted to the Charlotte Bobcats, Walker would become the best player of the franchise in the 21st century and arguably in the team’s history during his eight-year tenure with the team, becoming the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer and earning four NBA All-Star selections.
He has worked as a player enhancement coach with the Charlotte Hornets since retiring as a professional player in 2024. He launched the Kemba Walker Academy youth basketball camp shortly after returning to Charlotte.
With hopes of turning the new Kemba Walker Sports Academy into “a community hub, development engine, and national destination for youth sports,” Walker said the new facility will be his chance to return the love he’s received from fans in the Charlotte metro.
“This moment means everything to me,” said Walker. “This city and this region have given me so much throughout my career.”
With a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for Friday, June 26, the inaugural Kemba Walker Basketball Invitational Tournament will be held at the new Academy from June 27-28.
