Sports in Charlotte

[HopHead]

Could it be UNC then?

 

We have to have expansion completed to join C-USA. I looked at the expansion agreement when the news came out. We have to sell out every game for 2 seasons & then expand to 40,000 to join the conference.

 

I would be stunned if it were UNC.

 

It's not a rumor. We're playing App State in 2018 and 2019 though. First game is in Charlotte. 0 chance that game is played at BoA. App State is a Sun Belt school. They're not going to dictate the terms of a game and get it played at BoA stadium.

 

I'm just going off what I've heard 2nd and probably 3rd hand. Admittedly, I don't know follow Charlotte 49er football much at all so obviously my sources aren't that most reliable ... 

[Niner National]

Could it be UNC then?

 

We have to have expansion completed to join C-USA. I looked at the expansion agreement when the news came out. We have to sell out every game for 2 seasons & then expand to 40,000 to join the conference.

Nah, there is no stadium size requirement.Just have to average over 15,000 once every two years to stay FBS eligible (although they don't enforce the rule). Stadium can hold 16,400ish with standing room only).

 

I seriously doubt that 40,000 rendering ever comes to fruition. Not only would it cost more than the initial stadium, we would almost never fill it. 25,000 is a good number to get to unless we get an invitation to a better conference some day. I'd rather have a 25,000 seat stadium and average close to 25,000 per game (which is realistic) than have a 40,000 seat stadium and average close to 25,000 per game. With BoA being available for big games, there is no reason to overbuild the stadium for a big time game that will happen once every few years.

 

I think the most likely schools to play at BoA are Clemson, USC, NCSU, UNC, WVU, UT, UGA. Nobody else is really going to draw a large enough crowd to be worth it. I think the city would rather see USC, Clemson, UT, WVU, or UGA because those would bring people into town and fill the hotels. UNC and NCSU have enough fans that live in Charlotte that many of them wouldn't stay in hotels.

 

I would be stunned if it were UNC.

 

I don't think it will be them, but I wouldn't be stunned if it is. Their coach has made Charlotte a priority for them. After he took over and Charlotte started a team, he made it clear that he wanted to stake a claim in the Charlotte market. He started holding some spring practice at Mallard Creek two years ago. Playing a game in BoA here would only help them do that even more.

 

NCSU will be wrapping up a Home and Home with Old Dominion in 2015 (2014 is in Raleigh, 2015 in Norfolk), so they may be looking for a home and home against a very beatable opponent in a good recruiting area (which is why they're willing to play ODU home and home as well).

Edited July 22, 2014 by Niner National

[Urbanity]

 I'd rather have a 25,000 seat stadium and average close to 25,000 per game (which is realistic) than have a 40,000 seat stadium and average close to 25,000 per game. With BoA being available for big games, there is no reason to overbuild the stadium for a big time game that will happen once every few years.

^This

 

I do think 40k is realistic at some point in the next 15+ years, but I do think the stadium could stand to expand now and would be much better off with a plan for a 25k expansion. 

[ah59396]

It wont be any ACC or SEC school.  It'll either be ECU or App.  Both are very strong regional draws (honestly I'd be surprised if ECU was even willing to play UNCC neutral)  It took many many years for ECU to even get a sniff at ACC schools because they are so high and mighty, even on a neutral site.  And UNC doesn't need to play in Charlotte to get exposure in NC, every kid playing high school football here knows UNC football.

[Niner National]

It wont be any ACC or SEC school.  It'll either be ECU or App.  Both are very strong regional draws (honestly I'd be surprised if ECU was even willing to play UNCC neutral)  It took many many years for ECU to even get a sniff at ACC schools because they are so high and mighty, even on a neutral site.  And UNC doesn't need to play in Charlotte to get exposure in NC, every kid playing high school football here knows UNC football.

It 1000000% will not be App. It has already been announced that we are not playing App until 2018 and the game will be played on campus. The game in 2019 will be played in Boone.

 

 

MAYBE ECU, but their schedule is pretty full for the foreseeable future. OOC football games are scheduled years in advance. They have scheduling agreements in place with BYU, UNC, NCSU, VT, WVU, and Marshall that eat up almost all of their available OOC slots until 2020ish.

 

ECU has played ACC schools home and home for years. It wasn't an extremely rare thing. 

 

As for exposure, it's not really about people knowing who you are, it is about building relationships with coaches in Charlotte and giving the kids from Charlotte an opportunity to play a game at home during their career. Those kind of things matter with coaches and families and that helps you recruit better in the future. UNC needs Charlotte. Charlotte is a popular recruiting ground for SEC schools and if UNC can keep even a couple players a year from going SEC, it can make a huge difference for them.

 

NCSU is playing Old Dominion (another CUSA school with a sub 20,000 seat stadium) home and home. ODU's program is only about 4 years older than Charlotte's, so it isn't like they're above playing on the road against a CUSA team.

 

UTSA is another brand new program in CUSA. Their team is three years old. They hosted Oklahoma State last year. They host Arizona this year. In future years, they'll host Kansas State and Baylor. If you're an FBS school in a big city where there is great recruiting talent, you can get games against major conference opponents. Everyone wants to plant their flag in a recruiting hot bed. It isn't because they're competing with Charlotte for recruits (we're certainly not going to steal guys from SEC schools), it is because they're competing with all the other major conference schools that recruit in those areas.

 

It's the same reason you'll see schools like WVU and VT play in Washington, DC. It is close enough for fans of both schools to drive to and it is a good way to get exposure in that area.

 

Or (I think) UT and Alabama play in Atlanta.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Niner National

[HopHead]

As a Pirate alum, I can tell you ECU won't play a neutral site game against the 49ers at BofA or on the Charlotte campus anytime soon. It's not a knock on the 49ers at all but they are far too worried about beating UNC and NC State. They've had home and homes with those schools for a number of years now (finally). And have built up a lot momentum in the program. Their biggest hurdle is not being able to beat Virginia Tech, unless the game is in Charlotte when they did in 2008. Now that they upgraded conferences, though I wouldn't call the American Athletic a force by any means, they are trying to keep their OOC schedule strong. They have UNC, VT, South Carolina in 2014 and Florida, VT and BYU in 2015. I know they are trying to fill their schedule with other SEC teams in 2016 and beyond. Ultimately their goal is to find a way into the ACC, though I'm sure a few schools in the state wouldn't allow that over their dead bodies. But who knows... It would be great to see Charlotte grow their football program, but I agree that a stadium in the 25k+ is a solid short term goal and eventually 40k down the road.

[Niner National]

I think the Big XII is a better goal for ECU. ACC won't ever happen unless that whole conference just falls apart. Plenty of NC schools in there already. Big XII may eventually look to add 2 more schools so they can have a championship game and my bet is that they'd add schools close to WVU since they're sort of out on an island. If that happens, I think that Cincinnati and Memphis are the two most likely, but ECU could certainly be in the conversation. Just depends on whether they'd rather have a big time basketball program (Memphis) or a big time football program (ECU). I think I've read that WVU was a big proponent of ECU in the Big East several years ago, so they may be an ally for ECU again in the future.

 

I agree with you that the AAC isn't a force in football, but it is a damn fine basketball conference. UCONN, Temple, Memphis, and Cincinnati make up a great core for basketball. They have solid second tier programs like UCF, Houston, and Tulsa as well. Bottom is weak, but what conference doesn't have anchors?

Edited July 23, 2014 by Niner National

[ChessieCat]

It would be a huge deal if we got any of the Gold Cup and a huge HUGE deal if we got any of those Copa America matches. We can only hope...

 

Indeed. The top 8 cities are automatic for something as big as the Copa America: NYC, Chicago, Seattle, SF, LA, Dallas, DC, Miami.

 

That leaves Boston, Houston and the smaller MLS cities like Columbus/SLC/KC/Portland/etc. to fight for the Gold Cup and USMNT qualifiers.  These cities have made investments in soccer-specific stadiums so they'll get rewarded accordingly.  It's an uphill battle for Charlotte!

[MilZ]

Indeed. The top 8 cities are automatic for something as big as the Copa America: NYC, Chicago, Seattle, SF, LA, Dallas, DC, Miami.

 

That leaves Boston, Houston and the smaller MLS cities like Columbus/SLC/KC/Portland/etc. to fight for the Gold Cup and USMNT qualifiers.  These cities have made investments in soccer-specific stadiums so they'll get rewarded accordingly.  It's an uphill battle for Charlotte!

It certainly is.  But BofA Stadium is an excellent venue for these type of matches. It has a wide grass pitch, high capacity, and 5 days a year free-of-charge to the city.  I'm looking forward to the Liverpool match-up next weekend. The Panthers tweeted that only a few seats are still available!

[birky]

It's not a rumor. We're playing App State in 2018 and 2019 though. First game is in Charlotte. 0 chance that game is played at BoA. App State is a Sun Belt school. They're not going to dictate the terms of a game and get it played at BoA stadium.

 

Makes sense. App would outdraw Charlotte 2-1 in a game played at BOA. Would be embarrassing for UNCC.

[Niner National]

 

Makes sense. App would outdraw Charlotte 2-1 in a game played at BOA. Would be embarrassing for UNCC.

lol ok.

 

App played a basketball game in Uptown last year against ECU. The game drew like 3,000 fans. The Charlotte games played in Uptown (against opponents that aren't even local) have drawn over 10,000. App has poo support for everything but football. Charlotte has great support for a mid major program for almost every sport. Thousands of people on the wait list for season tickets last year that couldn't go because the stadium is too small. Every televised home game outdrew the ACC game in the same time slot. 30,000+ television viewers, just in the Charlotte market, but yeah, nobody cares about Charlotte App would outdraw us 2-1. lol.

[birky]

Never said nobody cares about UNCC.

 

App has led the FCS in attendance 5 of the last 6 years, including one year where they averaged close to 30k per game (in a 24k seat stadium).  Attendance last year, a down year, was over 26k. They could easily put 40k in BOA Stadium for a neutral site game against a regional rival like Charlotte.  Charlotte might draw 20k, as their support still seems pretty soft in the city (note that they did not even sell out every home game in their inaugural season).

[Niner National]

Never said nobody cares about UNCC.

 

App has led the FCS in attendance 5 of the last 6 years, including one year where they averaged close to 30k per game (in a 24k seat stadium).  Attendance last year, a down year, was over 26k. They could easily put 40k in BOA Stadium for a neutral site game against a regional rival like Charlotte.  Charlotte might draw 20k, as their support still seems pretty soft in the city (note that they did not even sell out every home game in their inaugural season).

App isn't going to draw 40,000 in Charlotte. I just can't see it happen based on other games that have happened in BoA.

 

A Charlotte-App game in BoA, would probably draw 40,000-45,000 total. Have to keep in mind that BoA is going to jack up ticket prices and that will diminish interest vs on campus games where tickets are much cheaper. Even ECU didn't draw 40,000 when they played USC in Charlotte. Total attendance for that game was only 58,000 (and that's just paid attendance). ECU has the best fanbase in the state and they draw great television ratings in Charlotte (indicating they have a pretty strong fanbase here), yet they probably only had 20,000 to 25,000 in attendance in Charlotte.

 

I think you underestimate how few students actually travel to away games. When the tickets aren't free and  the games aren't a short walk away, student interest drops tremendously anywhere. Charlotte on the other hand would probably work it out so students could go for free like they have at basketball games held at TWC arena. Maybe they could work it out so App students get free tickets too, but the drive would still deter a large chunk of them. Charlotte isn't and SEC or ACC team, so although it'll draw regional interest, it isn't going to be a big enough draw to convince many students to drive 2+ hours back to Charlotte.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Niner National

[ah59396]

We both play in conferences no one cares about. We should join forces and make fun of all the crappy NC ACC programs instead of bickering with each other. App used to beat the pants of Wake Forest in the late 90's and Wake stopped playing us. I'd love to see UNCC go into Raleigh and smash State's face in too.

[Madison Parkitect]

Living Social has been running a deal lately for tickets to the Liverpool/AC Milan match plus passes to their training on Friday night. I won't be able to go to the game on Saturday, but anybody know if the training sessions are open to the public? I'm wondering if the Living Social deal is really just for match tickets and they threw in "passes" to the training that anyone can go to.

 

Anybody in the know about this? Say I showed up at the stadium on Friday night, would I be able to get in?

[ah59396]

Living Social has been running a deal lately for tickets to the Liverpool/AC Milan match plus passes to their training on Friday night. I won't be able to go to the game on Saturday, but anybody know if the training sessions are open to the public? I'm wondering if the Living Social deal is really just for match tickets and they threw in "passes" to the training that anyone can go to.

 

Anybody in the know about this? Say I showed up at the stadium on Friday night, would I be able to get in?

 

 

I am in the know about this.  You will need a pass.  I know the LFC CLT Reds were allotted certain amounts of passes and we ran out, according to our President, due to demand.  Basically every Reds club in the Southeast is coming into town for this and they all received allotments from the club, but the practice itself is being put together by Relevant, a marketing company, and the club has very little affiliation with it.

 

So unless you can buy a living social pass (which I heard were sold out) you are pretty much out of luck.  You can always try though.

 

 

 

Other info that I can give you:

 

Two 1st team players will be at the Epicenter on Friday at 1:30pm, either at the temporary Team Store they are setting up, or possibly Whiskey River, I'm not sure.  But it will be in the Epicenter.  In Boston, Joe Allen and Jordan Ibe worked at a Dunkin Donuts and met people.

 

That night, there is a VIP event with some Liverpool legends (Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler), but again requires passes.

 

Saturday, Hooligans will have the back parking lot dedicated to the game just as they did the World Cup.  All Liverpool fans are meeting there (at least the clubs are) and heading to the stadium at some point.

 

There are apparently other things going on that we will find out about basically, when they happen.

[birky]

You must have a pass in order to get into the training session.

 

Edit: er, my buddy ah above explains in much better detail.

Edited July 30, 2014 by birky

[Madison Parkitect]

Okay, thanks. Looks like I'm out of luck then, till next year when Chelsea comes here (fingers crossed).

[ah59396]

Okay, thanks. Looks like I'm out of luck then, till next year when Chelsea comes here (fingers crossed).

 

5 European Cups and 18 Leagues, that's what we call history!

Edited July 30, 2014 by ah59396

[Madison Parkitect]

You've seen the Chelsea banners saying "Making History, Not Reliving It"...

[ah59396]

You've seen the Chelsea banners saying "Making History, Not Reliving It"...

 

 

Haha, it's all I've got for now!

[ChessieCat]

Living Social has been running a deal lately for tickets to the Liverpool/AC Milan match plus passes to their training on Friday night. I won't be able to go to the game on Saturday, but anybody know if the training sessions are open to the public? I'm wondering if the Living Social deal is really just for match tickets and they threw in "passes" to the training that anyone can go to.

 

Anybody in the know about this? Say I showed up at the stadium on Friday night, would I be able to get in?

Living Social has sold out of the ticket deal that offered a complimentary pass to the training sessions Friday night with an upper level ticket.  They are now only offering upper level tickets for $35 without the pass. 

[HopHead]

Figured this was the best place to put it... Here's a drone video taken of the old Charlotte Knights stadium in Fort Mill. Pretty amazing how bad a venue can look with less than one year of neglect (though the outside of the stadium had looked rough for several years before):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBTCiagqfcg&feature=youtu.be

[kermit]

^ my primary ambition in life is to never go to another stadium (for any sport) which is ringed with surface parking.

I will not miss that ballpark at all.

[ah59396]

Pretty cool day to be in uptown and southend. Lines wrapped around the building in the epicenter to meet Daniel Agger in Whiskey River. Simon Mingolet and Emory Can down at Dunkin Donuts in Southend, line wrapped around the building as well.

Off to hooligans I go!