Charlotte’s bid for a Major League Soccer team isn’t dead yet
Soccer fans, don’t lose hope yet. Marcus Smith still plans to submit a bid to bring a Major League Soccer team to Charlotte, even though the city decided not to vote on a plan that would help fund the future soccer stadium.
Smith tweeted Monday that he will send in an application today, which is the deadline for bids, and also said the city still “has time to consider investment of existing tourism $ in the project.”
Applying tomorrow! #MLS4CLT City has time to consider investment of existing tourism $ in project. County/Team would match city $3:$1 Smart!
— Marcus Smith (@MarcusSMI) January 30, 2017
The background
On Friday, Mecklenburg County voted 5-3 to approve a plan to spend $43.75 million toward a $175 million soccer stadium at the site of Memorial Stadium and Grady Cole Center. The county also agreed to a financing plan that would give the future ownership group $75 million, which would be paid back over 25 years.
Less than an hour later, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts announced that city council would not consider the stadium plan, saying it didn’t have enough time to look at the proposal. It was expected to hold a public forum and vote on a plan to spend $43.75 million from the hotel/motel occupancy tax to fund the 20,000-seat stadium Friday.
So what’s next?
Smith is expected to submit the bid by today’s 5 p.m. deadline, even without the city’s approval.
Speedway Motorsports executive Mike Burch said Smith would still ask the city for the original $43.75 million, according to an Observer story by Steve Harrison and Katherine Peralta. Burch also said he believes the council will end up voting yes on the project, and there’s no deadline for the city to decide.
“The city is trying to put forth tourism dollars, and we think this is a great use of those dollars,” Burch said.
What he didn’t say: Whether the bid would move forward if the city later votes against paying for the stadium or if the city says it will pay a smaller amount of money. “We have to consider that at the time,” Burch said.
So does this mean Charlotte gets an MLS team?
Slow down. This just gets Charlotte’s foot in the door. Charlotte is one of at least 10 cities vying for up to four teams. (Burch said he believes two more cities have been added to the list, bringing it to 12.) Raleigh is also on that list, and North Carolina FC tweeted its intentions to submit a bid tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we will submit our application to bring @MLS to the Triangle. Let your voice be heard, 919. We’re all in. #919toMLS pic.twitter.com/2Uwb9y3Kws
— North Carolina FC (@NorthCarolinaFC) January 30, 2017
There’s also a lot still unknown, like what exactly the stadium would look like. Burch said he hopes renderings will be ready for the public by the spring.
Meanwhile, MLS has an expansion tracker on its website. As of 8 p.m. last night, only Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg and San Diego were listed.
Photo: David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Charlotte’s bid for a Major League Soccer team isn’t dead yet."