What the heck happened with the MLS stadium deal yesterday?
Yesterday, I wrote about how I think that Major League Soccer would be great in Charlotte but not under the current deal. I think many of us knew how the rest of the week was going to play out — surely our elected officials would vote against this rushed financial deal that used tax dollars to help fund a privately-operated professional sports team.
That didn’t happen Thursday, though. Here’s what did happen.
The County
Commissioners met this morning to debate the merits of the MLS deal, which included:
– Spending $43.75 million from the county’s capital fund toward a $175 million new soccer stadium at the site of Memorial Stadium
– Spending another $75 million to finance the future ownership of the MLS team, led by Marcus Smith. That money would be paid back over 25 years.
Emotions ran high for some. To be honest, it was kind of riveting. It was democracy in action, with the public having weighed in and their elected representatives trying to make the best decision for their constituents.
What was surprising was the final tally: Five for the deal and three against. (Commissioner Bill James not able to vote because he was in Florida, but he did call in to take part in the debate and asked the recorder to make note of his “no” vote even though it wouldn’t count officially.)
The City
The ball was then in the city’s court, with a public meeting scheduled for today and a vote to be called tonight on whether to spend $43.75 million from its hotel/motel occupancy tax to help fund the stadium.
Except that won’t be happening now, because about half an hour after the county’s vote Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts released a statement announcing the public meeting was canceled, saying “we are not prepared to move forward at this time.”
ALERT: Tomorrow’s #CLTCC special meeting for public input on #MLS2CLT has been cancelled. @CLTMayor statement below. pic.twitter.com/0fMh3Famdz
— City of Charlotte (@CLTgov) January 26, 2017
Since that statement, we’ve heard that the motion didn’t have the votes it needed to pass.
So what’s next?
How the stadium discussion and potential MLS bid moves forward is unknown right now.
County manager Dena Diorio has said she thinks the county is still on the hook, even though the city pulled out.
Smith has until Tuesday to submit a bid to the league. He could choose to submit the bid without the promise of the city’s share of the cost, covering it himself. Or he could privately talk with Major League Soccer and see if there’s any flexibility to the league’s submission deadline. It’s also possible that Charlotte simply doesn’t meet this deadline and instead chases another spot in MLS expansion plans down the road.
In existing Charlotte soccer team news
Charlotte Independence president Jim McPhilliamy told fans on Twitter that his team would play half of its season at Ramblewood Park then move to the Matthews Sportsplex for the second half of the season when that facility becomes available. McPhilliamy sent an email to the City Council earlier week telling the city that Smith’s competing MLS bid “throws our ability to play this season into doubt.”
Soccer fans should be relieved that, at least for the moment, the minor league team is continuing operation.
Photo: Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 9:48 PM with the headline "What the heck happened with the MLS stadium deal yesterday?."