Charlotte Mayor Roberts says city doesn’t support soccer deal
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said Wednesday that the City Council doesn’t support spending $43.75 million on a new soccer stadium, though she said council members might consider a smaller investment in a year or two.
Mecklenburg County commissioners have agreed to spend $43.75 million for a new Major League Soccer stadium in Elizabeth.
Marcus Smith of Speedway Motorsports, the lead investor, has hoped the city would consider also funding the stadium.
But council members last week said they didn’t have enough time to consider the proposal, and canceled a public hearing on the issue. Roberts’ comments Wednesday suggest the city still isn’t interested in the plan.
She said one concern council members have is other needs for hotel/motel taxes, which must be used for tourism.
“We have heard about upcoming needs for tourism dollars,” she said. “We have an upgrade of the convention center, and possibly an upgrade of Bank of America Stadium. There are others, like Discovery Place.”
She said other council members want to focus on issues such as affordable housing and hiring more police.
“It’s not a priority and not a contribution that the city can make at this time,” Roberts said.
Smith submitted a bid Tuesday to Major League Soccer for an expansion team. Eleven other cities are bidding.
If the city doesn’t help fund the $175 million stadium, it’s unclear whether Smith will move forward with his bid.
“If they are able to put in the money required that would make the bid viable, that’s a possibility,” Roberts said. “That’s up to the owners.”
MLS has said it plans to award two teams this year. The league said it may add two more teams in 2017 or in 2018 or later.
“That could be 1-3 years from now,” Roberts said. “That’s in the horizon and we may consider it.”
She added: “The current structure is not something we support.”
Steve Harrison: 704-358-5160, @Sharrison_Obs
This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Charlotte Mayor Roberts says city doesn’t support soccer deal."