After scoring MLS, City Council still in ‘complex negotiations’ with Tepper, Panthers

A public vote on Charlotte’s $110 million investment in Major League Soccer might take longer than previously expected, despite the city officially landing the 30th expansion team in mid-December.

The crux of recent discussions between the City Council and David Tepper — the billionaire Panthers owner who led the push for MLS — revolves around keeping the Panthers in Charlotte for the long-term future, said council member Matt Newton.

“We’re talking about more extensive and complex negotiations,” Newton, who represents east Charlotte, said in an interview Tuesday morning. “There’s a lot of details yet to be ironed out...We’re all in this together, the City of Charlotte and Tepper.”

It’s unclear when a deal will be finalized, or even when the public will have the chance to provide feedback on MLS, Newton told the Observer.

Initially, Newton said, he thought lingering questions about MLS and the city’s overall funding package would be answered by early 2020.

But the council is still operating under a tight timeline to determine how it will allocate its pledge of $110 million in tourism dollars for upgrading Bank of America Stadium, where MLS is expected to begin play in 2021, as well as building the team’s headquarters and practice facilities at the former Eastland Mall site.

The money may also be used for building an entertainment district that links uptown and the Gateway District, according to a November letter that Mayor Vi Lyles sent to MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

At the City Council’s annual retreat in Durham, Newton urged fellow council members Monday to take a vote on Eastland “as soon as possible.”

“Let’s get that done,” he said.

‘Significant investment’

During a conversation on budget priorities Monday, City Council member Ed Driggs said Charlotte will need to address its “pending transactions with Tepper.”

“In my mind, the $110 million is really a down-payment on a larger vision that we have,” Driggs said.

Driggs said Tuesday the City Council recently had to make investment decisions “without any context” on the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority’s financial position. An update is expected at the retreat Wednesday about CRVA, which is partially funded by Charlotte’s hotel and motel occupancy taxes — the same restricted revenue stream that would support MLS.

Council member James Mitchell has previously told the Observer that additional funding mechanisms, such as bonds, wouldn’t be necessary for financing the soccer team.

Charlotte has yet to fulfill a public records request of closed-door meetings on MLS, which would likely show how a preliminary understanding and funding strategy was reached between the City Council and Tepper Sports and Entertainment.

Still, Eastland heavily is favored to receive a “significant” investment from the city, Newton told the Observer Tuesday.

‘Part of the solution’

Eastland — combined with Central Avenue and Albemarle Road — was deemed a “corridor of opportunity” during an economic development presentation Tuesday, lumped together with geographic areas including Beatties Ford and Rozzelles Ferry Roads, NorthEnd/Graham and North Tryon streets, Freedom Drive and Wilkinson Boulevard, West Boulevard, and West Sugar Creek.

Tracy Dodson, assistant city manager and economic development director, said Charlotte needs to be intentional in revitalizing those distinct regions and working with the right developers.

She acknowledged Charlotte, which bought the Eastland site in 2012 for $13.2 million, has “sat on Eastland for a very long time.”

“Eastland alone is not going to change the east side,” Dodson told the City Council. “We can’t stop with that.”

Newton implored the city to consider purchasing vacant lots surrounding the 69-acre property, where developer Crosland Southeast is planning to build several hundred homes and townhouses, open space, shops and restaurants.

While the MLS headquarters and practice facilities would lead to job growth in east Charlotte, Newton said his district will still lag in employment opportunities. The goal of rejuvenating the vacant Eastland lot is to spur more private and public investments there, he said.

“This isn’t going to be the silver bullet,” Newton said. “Eastland can be part of the solution, but it is just a component of the development plan.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 3:11 PM.