MLS in Charlotte - 2021

[kermit]

^I am not a fan of regional names for sports teams (it took me two decades to realize there is not a town called Tampa Bay and that the NE Patriots were actually Boston’s team).  Having said that, Tepper is only interested in getting butts in seats (and eyeballs on screens). If he thinks he can get more of that with a regional name he will, regardless of where the public subsidy comes from.

It would have been nice if the city put a naming clause in their contract, but I suspect they didn’t bother.

Edited December 13, 2019 by kermit

[Third Strike]

5 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

For this reason, I could see the Canes moving to the QC in ten years for that matter.  

Where would they go? I was under the impression the Spectrum Arena was too small. 

[eastsider]

6 hours ago, Madison Parkitect said:

As much as I'd LOVE to see them at an expanded 20k-seat Memorial, I think that ship has sailed. At this point I'm more concerned with whether Memorial ever gets rebuilt at all or whether the Independence stays in Matthews as the "local" MLS feeder team and the Memorial land just gets developed into a new tower. That's my worry.

Even if the Independence stay in Matthews ,Memorial Stadium would still have a use. Possibly a revived Hounds lacrosse team, high school football, Stumptown Athletic has expressed an interest in playing there, and the Eagles mens/womens team could also be a possibility. 

[urbanlover568]

4 hours ago, Phillydog said:

As others have mentioned, I'm only concerned that he does not call this team "Carolina" to somehow include "South" Carolina.  If "Carolina" then let Columbia pony up 1/2 the cash.

If I recall, it was Charlotte who swiped the panthers from Columbia. I would call this "making amends". 

[SydneyCarton]

1 hour ago, Third Strike said:

Where would they go? I was under the impression the Spectrum Arena was too small. 

In ten years, Spectrum will be old enough to demolish.   They can build a new one.  South End would be a good location.    

[thenewkage95]

In ten years, Spectrum will be old enough to demolish.   They can build a new one.  South End would be a good location.    

Haha, I’m loving this! Do y’all actually want to steal the Canes from Raleigh? It’s their only team.


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[kermit]

I really don't think the Canes are going to be moving more than 10 miles. The growth of the Raleigh market forgives lots of poor attendance sins. In addition, PNC is showing its age, so the Canes are likely to get a new downtown arena (subsidized by NCSU) shortly.

If the Canes did leave Raleigh, Quebec City and Hamilton would be far more lucrative choices than Charlotte. I think the NHL realizes they have too few Canadian teams, but the weak  CAD (while payrolls are in USD) forced their hand. Should the strength of the CAD change we may see several teams leave for Canada.

More specific to Charlotte, Spectrum isn't big enough to have the ice centered in the arena. This causes a loss of seats at one end of the ice, poor sight lines, and weird camera angles. The deal that Jordan has with the city about keeping Spectrum in the top portion of the NBA arenas means that there is not much need to tear it down and build new.

Edited December 18, 2019 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

I attended a hockey game in Raleigh and suffered for it. The seats were expensive, 8 rows behind the team bench. The actual seat was narrow and the pitch, the distance to the seat in front, was tighter than I recall at any other such arena. It was near impossible to allow someone to pass, even after standing for them. My knees were nearly touching the back of the seat in front of me when I sat. Eating and drinking at the seat was foolish, I learned.

It was first a NC State arena with banners and such for State achievements hanging and only the boards were hockey relevant, as well as the overhead score display. It appeared that more than half of the fans, and families, had hockey jerseys and gear, so the interest was real. I wish them the best. It was my first and last time at that location.

Has anyone else attended there? (This is a soccer thread)

[kermit]

20 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

I attended a hockey game in Raleigh and suffered for it. The seats were expensive, 8 rows behind the team bench. The actual seat was narrow and the pitch, the distance to the seat in front, was tighter than I recall at any other such arena. It was near impossible to allow someone to pass, even after standing for them. My knees were nearly touching the back of the seat in front of me when I sat. Eating and drinking at the seat was foolish, I learned.

It was first a NC State arena with banners and such for State achievements hanging and only the boards were hockey relevant, as well as the overhead score display. It appeared that more than half of the fans, and families, had hockey jerseys and gear, so the interest was real. I wish them the best. It was my first and last time at that location.

Has anyone else attended there? (This is a soccer thread)

I have not seen any hockey in PNC but I have seen a couple of ACC basketball games there. Had a similar experience as you did, neither game was good so it was very low energy. The thing that bugged me most was its location. Traffic was gawdawful before and after, and I am always annoyed when there is no place to get a post-game drink nearby.

Soccer content: Gezzz, it sure sounds like the city got screwed on MLS public subsidy in comparison to other recent MLS expansion sites: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article238307818.html

 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by kermit

[CLT>]

14 hours ago, swh1972 said:

Is this a tip on a possible location for a new stadium in the future? Charlotte Town FC playing matches on Charlottetowne Ave?

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If only the City Council had bothered to read what they were approving  the street would be Charlottetown Avenue. The extra 'e' is not historically accurate and was added by mistake by a staff member. No one realized  till they put the signs up and someone complained...

[SlackJack]

Frankly, most people in Raleigh  don't care much about professional sports, including hockey or MLS. I would count myself in that opinion. We do care about things like being a major Life Science hub, a major Tech Hub, having three major R-1 Level research universities etc. Wish the "Canes"well, but if they  go elsewhere so be it. Don't give a crap.

The Panthers haven't won a Super Bowl since their existence,  and basically suck. Tepper may or may not turn that around (doubt it). The  basketball team (whatever they are now called - Hornets-Buzzards- Pecker Heads) also suck. MLS is a cool fad, but doubt that it will have traction. Not a large fan base in North America.

Raleigh is building a 1.9 billion dollar development in "Downtown South" based upon a "soccer-multi use" stadium, but unlikely MLS - probably minor league soccer. It is being used as an excuse to "obtain" several hundred million dollars of tax money from Raleigh-Wake County . I am confident that the city-county is stupid enough to dump $ 300 million into this boondoogle. The developers need to pay for this crap, not the taxpayers.

[thenewkage95]

Frankly, most people in Raleigh  don't care much about professional sports, including hockey or MLS. I would count myself in that opinion. We do care about things like being a major Life Science hub, a major Tech Hub, having three major R-1 Level research universities etc. Wish the "Canes"well, but if they  go elsewhere so be it. Don't give a crap.
The Panthers haven't won a Super Bowl since their existence,  and basically suck. Tepper may or may not turn that around (doubt it). The  basketball team (whatever they are now called - Hornets-Buzzards- Pecker Heads) also suck. MLS is a cool fad, but doubt that it will have traction. Not a large fan base in North America.
Raleigh is building a 1.9 billion dollar development in "Downtown South" based upon a "soccer-multi use" stadium, but unlikely MLS - probably minor league soccer. It is being used as an excuse to "obtain" several hundred million dollars of tax money from Raleigh-Wake County . I am confident that the city-county is stupid enough to dump $ 300 million into this boondoogle. The developers need to pay for this crap, not the taxpayers.

Why are you on a sports thread if you don’t like sports and are only here to bash them?


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[SydneyCarton]

20 hours ago, SlackJack said:

Frankly, most people in Raleigh  don't care much about professional sports, including hockey or MLS. I would count myself in that opinion. We do care about things like being a major Life Science hub, a major Tech Hub, having three major R-1 Level research universities etc. Wish the "Canes"well, but if they  go elsewhere so be it. Don't give a crap.

The Panthers haven't won a Super Bowl since their existence,  and basically suck. Tepper may or may not turn that around (doubt it). The  basketball team (whatever they are now called - Hornets-Buzzards- Pecker Heads) also suck. MLS is a cool fad, but doubt that it will have traction. Not a large fan base in North America.

Raleigh is building a 1.9 billion dollar development in "Downtown South" based upon a "soccer-multi use" stadium, but unlikely MLS - probably minor league soccer. It is being used as an excuse to "obtain" several hundred million dollars of tax money from Raleigh-Wake County . I am confident that the city-county is stupid enough to dump $ 300 million into this boondoogle. The developers need to pay for this crap, not the taxpayers.

I agree with that.  I don’t think that most people in the Triangle care about having professional teams.

As I’ve said, I find the Triangle to be like a mini-Cambridge, Mass with enormous intellectual firepower.  

Anyway, I’m a huge Canes fan and attend many games at PNC.  However, if the Canes moved to Charlotte, I’d still go — just not once every three weeks.    Similarly, I’ll attend MLS games in Charlotte.

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by SydneyCarton

[Spartan]

20 hours ago, mpretori said:

If I recall, it was Charlotte who swiped the panthers from Columbia. I would call this "making amends". 

 

Nope. Not sure where you heard that. Columbia - specifically USC's Williams-Brice Stadium was the preferred site to host the Panthers during their inaugural season, but USC declined, so they went to Clemson instead. It was one of many reasons that particular Athletic Director was fired.

 

On 12/12/2019 at 10:08 AM, tozmervo said:

Charleston was one of the 10 largest cities in the US during the early 1800s - not sure if that included the enslaved population or not. Charlotte didn't surpass Charleston in population until sometime between 1920 and 1930. 

 

Charleston was the 4th largest city in America during the colonial days, and that count included slaves. In fact, there were more slaves than free people if I recall correctly.

 

 

On 12/13/2019 at 8:24 AM, Madison Parkitect said:

The word on Twitter is "sources" are saying Charlotte Town FC is the name preferred by Tepper et al. If that's true I'm really glad they're preferring one of the couple good ones on that list.

 

 

Charlotte Town isn't my favorite one, but I really hate the "mascot" team names like "Crown" "Gliders" etc. Any of the other ones is better.

 

On 12/13/2019 at 12:52 PM, Phillydog said:

As others have mentioned, I'm only concerned that he does not call this team "Carolina" to somehow include "South" Carolina.  If "Carolina" then let Columbia pony up 1/2 the cash.

 

Normally I would argue with this (for any other sport), but I agree in this case because I think South Carolina will eventually get its own MLS team somewhere. Probably not any time soon - but there will eventually be enough people in that state to warrant a pro team. Soccer is the easiest to break into, and wouldn't have to compete with college sports.

[Madison Parkitect]

On 12/13/2019 at 5:12 PM, eastsider said:

Even if the Independence stay in Matthews ,Memorial Stadium would still have a use. Possibly a revived Hounds lacrosse team, high school football, Stumptown Athletic has expressed an interest in playing there, and the Eagles mens/womens team could also be a possibility. 

I'm not advocating redeveloping Memorial, I really want to see it rebuilt even if it's not for an MLS stadium (I know that ship has sailed, oh well). I can just see it happening though, the city decides it's spending too much on the Panthers/MLS to pay for Memorial construction, etc. and then presto: you've got a tower there. I want to be wrong in this case.

[ertley]

On 12/13/2019 at 8:24 AM, Madison Parkitect said:

The word on Twitter is "sources" are saying Charlotte Town FC is the name preferred by Tepper et al. If that's true I'm really glad they're preferring one of the couple good ones on that list.

 

     Because I'm my own special kind of freak, I emailed David Tepper last week (no response--of course--and it likely didn't even go through) my own idea for the team name. I read the published list of possible trademarks, and none left a real impression.

     I proposed the Charlotte Strelitz--in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Charlotte, the city's namesake--which I think would be a cool and unique name. And, believe it or not, the etymology of "Strelitz" (an old town in Germany that no longer exists) "comes from the Polabian word Strelci, meaning 'shooters'," according to Wikipedia/Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites (A Room, 2006); the basic name is of Slavic origin and means '(settlement of the) archers/shooters,' from Old Slavic strela, 'arrow'.

     "Shooters" itself would be a great name for a soccer team, if not for the unfortunate present association with all-too-frequent mass shootings here in the U.S. I don't think any team would be well-advised to adopt it, today. 

    I think Strelitz not only sounds cool, but also has a meaning that does directly relate to the mechanics of the sport, so is a win-win (IMO). No other city anywhere (in the U.S.) would have a name like it, and it would invite all kinds of tie-ins and associations that the club could utilize, emphasizing Charlotte's colonial past and ties to Great Britain and even, if by a stretch, to Germany through its namesake, tying it more explicitly to Europe's strong football culture. More importantly it would help distinguish Charlotte and its team from all other U.S. MLS teams, the most important thing!

[SouthEndCLT811]

1 hour ago, Madison Parkitect said:

I'm not advocating redeveloping Memorial, I really want to see it rebuilt even if it's not for an MLS stadium (I know that ship has sailed, oh well). I can just see it happening though, the city decides it's spending too much on the Panthers/MLS to pay for Memorial construction, etc. and then presto: you've got a tower there. I want to be wrong in this case.

Memorial is a county asset, not city.  City decided to kick in $3M for the field turf up keep which I suppose they could pull back.

[Bruco72]

On 12/14/2019 at 7:05 AM, thenewkage95 said:

Why are you on a sports thread if you don’t like sports and are only here to bash them?


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How else would you know that he’s too good for sports and doesn’t care if he didn’t tell you about it? 

[jednc]

Time for someone to remove the question mark in the title of this thread I'd say.

[tozmervo]

7 minutes ago, jednc said:

Time for someone to remove the question mark in the title of this thread I'd say.

Haha, in all seriousness I had planned to request the ? charged to ! tomorrow when the announcement is official 

[thenewkage95]

Think Tepper and the MLS commissioner will fly in on a helicopter like they did at the Atlanta announcement?


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[CLT2014]

Too bad it is a complete washout today. We seem to summon rain during major media events (NBA All Star Game, NFL Playoffs, Belk Bowl, et...)

Have they setup a tent as well overnight or are they just going to go for ponchos in front of the Mint?

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

1 hour ago, CLT2014 said:

Too bad it is a complete washout today. We seem to summon rain during major media events (NBA All Star Game, NFL Playoffs, Belk Bowl, et...)

Have they setup a tent as well overnight or are they just going to go for ponchos in front of the Mint?

Was wondering the same thing.  Since the public isn't technically invited, they should just have the announcement inside the mint museum.  Going to be miserable weather the whole morning.  You can stream it live on MLSSoccer.com

Afterparty at 3:00-6 at latta arcade (Hooligans).

[CLT2014]

^ just walked by and it does look like it will be indoors. There is just the banner outside the museum. No sound equipment, podium, seats,et. outside 

[sclark]

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/12/16/mls-commissioner-don-garber-make-special-announcement-charlotte