The 2017 Charlotte Neighborhood Bracket Round 2: Which of these 16 neighborhoods is Charlotte’s best?

Is Cotswold in south Charlotte? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, the city’s most geographically controversial neighborhood managed to pull off the only first round upset in the 2017 Charlotte Neighborhood Bracket.

No. 17 Cotswold, which features one of the worst parking lots in town, beat the neighborhood with one of the city’s worst parking decks, 16-seed Midtown, 52 percent to 48 percent to advance to the second round.

Now we’re down to the Stupendous Sixteen. One of these fine slices of Charlotte will be crowned the city’s best neighborhood:

Click to enlarge or view the full bracket here. You can vote in Round 2 at the bottom of this post.

In the closest matchup of the first round, Downtown Matthews and its three craft beer bars and two barbecue joints snuck past Second Ward and the EpiCentre 51-49. Fewer than 70 votes (of 2,200 votes cast) separated the two. And Ballantyne, my dark horse pick in the bracket, couldn’t overcome its low seed and lost to Third Ward 65-35.

Now it’s time for Round 2.

We have some really intriguing matchups here:

– Can South End pull a classic 5/12 upset and take down Fourth Ward?

– Who will emerge victorious in the SouthPark/Montford Park rivalry?

– Can Downtown Matthews take down another uptown ward?

– Can one of Charlotte’s newest neighborhoods, LoSo, upset on of the city’s oldest in Dilworth?

It’s time to find out with your votes.

The voting works the same way as Round 1: One vote per person per day, and you should vote in every matchup each day. We rated the neighborhoods on things like restaurant/bar scene, shopping, location, potential and general coolness, so keep those in mind when you’re voting.

And remember: This is all just for fun.

Voting in Round 2 has ended. You can vote in Round 3 here. 

Photo: Charlotte Observer file

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 1:04 AM with the headline "The 2017 Charlotte Neighborhood Bracket Round 2: Which of these 16 neighborhoods is Charlotte’s best?."