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Charlotte Sports Complex (Bojangles Coliseum area)


HopHead

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^Having lived in both places, you know as well as I do that the sports landscapes are completely different. In Charlotte you have the NFL, NBA, AHL Hockey and AAA Baseball, in addition to Major League Lacrosse, USL Soccer, PGA Golf Tournaments, 3 NASCAR races, etc. In Richmond, the biggest thing there is AA Baseball, the Kickers, NASCAR and more recently VCU basketball. They have less things to choose from so they are going to dedicate more resources to those sports. All that being said, yes Charlotte does have a ways to go in terms of supporting soccer at the professional level. Then again, so do most cities in this country. Also throw in the whole Christian thing with the franchise, I think some people are put off by it... 

^ True.. I am only focused on the soccer aspect as both cities are so completely different ..

Having lived there you also know that Richmond can not & will not ever have pro-teams, since all pro-teams are 90 miles north in DC (Skins, Caps, Nats & Wizards). This will never change as Richmond, in it's current politics, geography and tax-base, can't ever become what Charlotte has and is still striving to be. Travel 90 miles in any direction from Charlotte and what pro-teams or even regarded regional teams are threre?

Charlotte IS the hub in this region. So as a hub with such an active "professional" sports scene I expected to find the same for soccer (as I have been accustomed to in every other nationally recognized city I've spent time in from Dallas, NYC, and even San Fran who's Seals dried up in 08)

I demand Soccer satisfaction!!  Luckily, I don't mind driving 300 miles north now and then to get that satisfaction.. for now.. <_<

 

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I demand Soccer satisfaction!!  Luckily, I don't mind driving 300 miles north now and then to get that satisfaction.. for now.. <_<

 

 

That's a long drive for an on-field product roughly equal to the one in Charlotte.  If you're gonna make a big trip for 'soccer satisfaction', might as well watch better soccer... try 230 miles south, or 160 miles east.

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Yes, thank you.  Honestly, I view cities that cry they want an MLS team as naive.  Usually, these are not soccer fans, but just people that want a shiny stadium and assume that if you have a soccer team it must be in MLS.  And you have to understand that team owners will mention "MLS aspirations" to generate hope and buzz... and investments from naive municipalities (Atlanta, Minneapolis).

 

If Charlotte is serious about professional soccer, they should strive to attract an owner willing to establish an expansion franchise in NASL.

 

 

But I like shiny things  :camera:,  I do agree with you though that if CLT wants professional soccer they should go for the NASL level.

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  • 5 months later...

Orlando to get a MLS franchise

 

Sports Business Journal article discussing other expansion markets

 

I doubt anyone will be able to get to the 2nd article because of subscriber requirements, but after discussing the Orlando deal, it goes on to break down the top MLS cities after Orlando.

 

In alphabetical order (I guess the author doesn't want to get political): Atlanta, Indy, Miami, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio. I'm surprised that Raleigh didn't make the list, since the Railhawks are NASL, one step below MLS.

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Orlando to get a MLS franchise

 

Sports Business Journal article discussing other expansion markets

 

I doubt anyone will be able to get to the 2nd article because of subscriber requirements, but after discussing the Orlando deal, it goes on to break down the top MLS cities after Orlando.

 

In alphabetical order (I guess the author doesn't want to get political): Atlanta, Indy, Miami, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio. I'm surprised that Raleigh didn't make the list, since the Railhawks are NASL, one step below MLS.

I could see it doing really well in San Antonio or even Austin (I'm surprised that wasn't on the list)

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  • 1 month later...

The first phase of the Matthews Sportsplex is now open:

 

http://www.matthewsminthillweekly.com/news/2013/10/first-phase-of-sportsplex-open/

 

Once completed, Matthews leaders are hoping they can land some college conference games, some large national youth soccer tournaments, and upper level rugby events. It should also be noted that this area could also get a light rail stop in future, as the proposed Silver Line light rail is suppose to run past it (previously know as the "Matthews TOD" station).

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  • 1 month later...

Rendering of the single submission for redeveloping the Bojangles site.  The company called Good Sports is based in Florida, and asking for a $18mm grant which would cover 25% of construction costs.  While this is less than the $25mm approved for the project in the CIP, they are asking for it upfront, and not as a refund from taxes.

 

I'm skepitcal of this thing, but it does look sort of cool.

 

This project would add:

 

1500 space parking deck

150 room hotel

50,000 sq ft of retail

100,000 sq ft sports facility (looks like it would include 8 multi-sport courts)

 

While it appears both Bojangles coliseum and Ovens will remain, they don't mention doing anything specifically to rehab those facilities.

post-1289-0-04565300-1386684570_thumb.jp

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Why stop at an ESPN Zone in the rendering? They might as well have badged the hotel a W and included Saks Fifth signage in the retail.

I Love how Mountainous Charlotte is. Maybe we can add in a Ski Slope or two.

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*As an aside, can we combine this combo about the same complex on the "Sports in Charlotte" thread.

 

While I don't really mind the facility, I don't understand why the city would approve the $18m. Was the designated $25m not originally purposed to renovate the existing facility? So instead we build something beside an aging arena and not address the issue they were trying to fix?

 

I wasn't a fan of public funds to address the old arena without a professional tenant and not within a rail transportation corridor to begin with, but why designate funds to fix it and then spend them on something ignoring the original problem?

 

Edit: I know the silver line is planned to open 2125

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*As an aside, can we combine this combo about the same complex on the "Sports in Charlotte" thread.

 

While I don't really mind the facility, I don't understand why the city would approve the $18m. Was the designated $25m not originally purposed to renovate the existing facility? So instead we build something beside an aging arena and not address the issue they were trying to fix?

 

I wasn't a fan of public funds to address the old arena without a professional tenant and not within a rail transportation corridor to begin with, but why designate funds to fix it and then spend them on something ignoring the original problem?

 

Edit: I know the silver line is planned to open 2125

The original plan called for this building plus raising the floor in Bojangles Coliseum  to provide floor space for 4 additional courts.

 

On a personal note, I would love to see Arena Football come to the old Coliseum...The real AFL, not the AIFA

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I thought this thread was the Matthews complex?  I'm confused.  

 

It's titled 'Charlotte Sports Complex' and has a lot of discussion about non site-specific stuff. The mods should either re-name this one, or merge it with Charlotte Sports as someone just suggested.

 

As to ah59396's comment. Don't bash the location too much. It is in very close proximity to Plaza-Midwood and Commonwealth.

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It's titled 'Charlotte Sports Complex' and has a lot of discussion about non site-specific stuff. The mods should either re-name this one, or merge it with Charlotte Sports as someone just suggested.

 

As to ah59396's comment. Don't bash the location too much. It is in very close proximity to Plaza-Midwood and Commonwealth.

It feels a world away.

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It's titled 'Charlotte Sports Complex' and has a lot of discussion about non site-specific stuff. The mods should either re-name this one, or merge it with Charlotte Sports as someone just suggested.

 

As to ah59396's comment. Don't bash the location too much. It is in very close proximity to Plaza-Midwood and Commonwealth.

 

 

Like rworkman said, it's a world away.  It's not easily accessible from Plaza-Midwood, unless you want to walk over the Briar Creek Rd bridge or Eastway, both of which are not even close to pedestrian friendly.  There are no good crossings from Chantilly over the river either.  It's very disconnected from anything on the north side of 74.

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I think the whole point of the CIP is to invest in economically underperforming areas....they would not be fulfilling thier stated agenda if this was proposed in Ballantyne.  I think its a fair concern as to whether this CAN be successful in this location.

 

That said, this is really adjacent to Chantilly, and less than 1/2 mile from Plaza Midwood and Elizabeth, so you could argue this is just extending the pattern of stabilized part of the city 1/2 mile further down Monroe, and is helping to incrementally reclaim the east corredior, which has a much higher chance of success than placing this say, 1 mile further east and truly and island of lower income. 

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I know apartments are planned for the lot directly west of the new Knights Ballpark in uptown, but since urbanplanet is the Land of Make Believe, what are people's thoughts on a soccer stadium between MLK, Graham, and 4th Streets?:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Romare+Bearden+Park,+South+Church+Street,+Charlotte,+NC&hl=en&ll=35.229409,-80.849488&spn=0.003619,0.005284&sll=35.228882,-80.847702&sspn=0.010236,0.021136&oq=romare+b&hq=Romare+Bearden+Park,+South+Church+Street,+Charlotte,+NC&t=h&z=18

 

NASL would be a great start.  Let's hope Real Data's forecast for an apartment glut scares the developers, LOL.  Hines walked away from Gateway Station too...

 

I know Wells Fargo owns the property between MLK and 3rd, but don't know about the other half acre... and obviously the old rail spur that went as far as the NS "A" Line would have to be dealt with too...

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I know apartments are planned for the lot directly west of the new Knights Ballpark in uptown, but since urbanplanet is the Land of Make Believe, what are people's thoughts on a soccer stadium between MLK, Graham, and 4th Streets?:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Romare+Bearden+Park,+South+Church+Street,+Charlotte,+NC&hl=en&ll=35.229409,-80.849488&spn=0.003619,0.005284&sll=35.228882,-80.847702&sspn=0.010236,0.021136&oq=romare+b&hq=Romare+Bearden+Park,+South+Church+Street,+Charlotte,+NC&t=h&z=18

 

NASL would be a great start.  Let's hope Real Data's forecast for an apartment glut scares the developers, LOL.  Hines walked away from Gateway Station too...

 

I know Wells Fargo owns the property between MLK and 3rd, but don't know about the other half acre... and obviously the old rail spur that went as far as the NS "A" Line would have to be dealt with too...

Frankly, I would HATE for another sports complex to be built downtown. 3 is already too much. I would like a soccer stadium to be one of the developing neighborhoods first and foremost.

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