Here’s everything you need to know about Charlotte’s Major League Soccer team
After Major League Soccer made the long-awaited announcement Tuesday that Charlotte would host the league’s 30th team, many Charlotteans still have questions.
Here’s the Observer’s guide to MLS in Charlotte — everything you need to know before the first game.
When will the team start playing?
The team will hit the field in 2021. That’s before expansion teams number 28 and 29, St. Louis and Sacramento – those two teams are building brand new soccer stadiums.
The team will play 34 regular-season games — 17 home and 17 away — from March to October. Playoffs end in November.
Where will the team play?
The team will play in the Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium. Team owner David Tepper had told media before the announcement that the football stadium will need renovations before serving as home turf to a professional soccer team.
Those renovations will include new locker rooms, a center tunnel and outfitting for soccer camera angles.
What is the team name?
The team name for Charlotte’s MLS franchise has not yet been announced. A top Panthers executive filed eight trademark applications for potential names on Dec. 6.
Those 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.
Tepper has said he plans to look for fan input on team names.
How do I get tickets?
Fans can already place deposits on season tickets at charlottemls2021.com – but full pricing for season tickets hasn’t been announced.
Lower level deposit prices range from $50 to $100. The site says a team representative will contact fans who place deposits for seat selection “in the coming months.”
Nearby Atlanta United FC sells season tickets ranging from $504 to $8,820. The Atlanta team is one of the top performing teams in ticket sales, drawing an average of 52,000 fans per game, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said.
How crowded will the games be?
Garber said Tuesday he will be “disappointed” if the Charlotte team doesn’t draw “well over 30,000 fans a game.”
The 75,525-seat Bank of America Stadium will need to be modified for the smaller crowds of MLS games — that was a must-have for MLS, which typically prefers its teams play in soccer-specific stadiums.
How long are games?
Games typically run for 90 minutes. That’s 45 minutes each half.
Referees can also add extra time — “stoppage time” — to the end of each half to make up for time lost to injuries or other disturbances.
How does a new team get players?
MLS holds an expansion draft for newly formed teams after the MLS Cup, in addition to an annual draft that all teams participate in.
In this year’s expansion draft on Nov. 19, expansion teams Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC were able to each select five players from a pool of 222 eligible players from other league teams, according to MLS.
Teams are also built up by signing unattached players and acquiring others via international transfers or loans.
Players can also be traded for or acquired through a list of select U.S. Men’s National Team players, elite youth U.S. National Team players, or former MLS players returning to the league after joining a non-MLS club for a transfer fee greater than $500,000.
MLS teams are also typically supported by their own academies and players come up through that system. Charlotte is expected to have the same.
How much does an MLS team cost?
Tepper will pay an expansion fee of $300 million to $325 million to join the league, Garber told media Tuesday. But the MLS head wouldn’t give the exact amount.
That fee has risen steadily over the years.
Philadelphia Union paid an expansion fee of $30 million in 2009. The last two teams, in St. Louis and Sacramento, each paid expansion fees of $200 million.
What will the city pay for the team?
In a Nov. 21 letter, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles told Garber the city would set aside $110 million in hospitality funds “to help ensure a successful venture over the next many years.”
That hospitality fund revenue can come from hotel/motel tax revenue and taxes on prepared food and beverages.
What is the $110 million from the city paying for?
City officials expect the MLS team to spur development across the city. Plans to bring the team to Charlotte include development of the former Eastland Mall site and the “Gateway District” that extends northeast from the stadium.
The soccer franchise headquarters and practice facilities will be located at the Eastland site, according to Lyles’ letter to Garber. And Tepper told media Tuesday that development in the Gateway District could include a 2,000- to 4,000-seat music venue.
But the details of the city’s agreement with MLS and Tepper are still unclear. Much of the negotiations behind the deal happened in closed City Council meetings.
Lyles said Tuesday that funding is only “in reserve.” The council needs to hold a public hearing and a public vote before the funding is committed.
Tepper said Tuesday that he expects more of the public money will go toward development at the Eastland site than to upgrades at the stadium.
How many teams are in the league?
Charlotte’s expansion team brings the league’s number up to 30.
MLS had 24 teams competing this year, and four more teams — including the Charlotte franchise — are expected to begin playing in the next two years.
Garber said Tuesday he expects Charlotte will be the last expansion team for the league — at least in its “modern era.”
Still have questions? Send them to the Observer at hsmoot@charlotteobserver.com and we’ll update this list.
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