Panthers official registers potential Charlotte MLS team names
READ MORE
Charlotte MLS expansion
Charlotte will become the host city for the 30th Major League Soccer team. David Tepper, the billionaire owner of the Carolina Panthers, has been instrumental in working to bring a team to the city. The team would play in Bank of America Stadium after renovations are made.
Expand All
With a Major League Soccer coming to Charlotte, eight trademarks for potential team names have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by a top Panthers official.
Billionaire Panthers owner David Tepper led an aggressive drive to land an MLS soccer team in the city.
The names are: Charlotte FC, Charlotte Crown FC, Charlotte Fortune FC, Charlotte Monarchs FC, Charlotte Athletic FC, Charlotte Town FC, Carolina Gliders FC and All Carolina FC.
Trademarks were filed on Dec. 6 by DT Soccer, LLC, which lists its address at the Bank of America stadium, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The trademark application lists Stephen Argeris – the Panthers’ vice president and general counsel – as the application contact.
Team spokesman Steven Drummond confirmed DT Soccer’s address is the same as the stadium’s and that Argeris is still employed by the Panthers. He declined further comment.
The trademark applications have been accepted by the patent office, and not yet assigned to an examining agent. Trademark applications are assigned to an examining attorney about three months after they are filed, according to the office.
Stadium issues
Earlier this month, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league is in “very, very advanced discussions” with Tepper about adding Charlotte as the league’s 30th team.
“We believe (Charlotte is) a growing city on the rise, and one that’s got so much opportunity for us to be able to continue to expand our league,” Garber said at the league’s Board of Governors meeting.
But he added that “we’ve got issues that need to get resolved as it related to (Bank of America) stadium.”
Tepper had previously told reporters the stadium will need renovations to host a soccer team, including including outfitting for soccer camera angles, a center tunnel and two new locker rooms. The stadium opened in 1996 and is one of the NFL’s oldest.
The 30th expansion team is expected to pay a higher expansion fee than recent teams, but an exact number hasn’t been released. The last two MLS expansion teams each paid expansion fees of $200 million.
And Charlotte city officials have not yet announced how much public money they would be willing to devote to stadium renovations or other MLS costs. It’s an issue that has so far proved divisive for city council members.
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 11:53 AM.
.jpg)
.JPG)