Your guide to Charlotte’s pro sports teams, seasons and tickets
Charlotte is a pro sports city.
Six professional and minor-league teams bring year-round action to fields and courts across the Queen City. From the Carolina Panthers’ sea of black and blue to sold-out crowds at Carolina Ascent women’s soccer games, Charlotte has a vibrant professional sports scene.
New to the Queen City and looking to catch some games? Here’s a look at each pro sports team that calls Charlotte home:
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte’s NFL team, which competes in the NFC South division, is in action from September to January.
The Carolina Panthers first kicked off in 1995, a year before Bank of America Stadium opened. They’ve played in two Super Bowls, winning the 2003 and 2015 NFC championships.
Preseason gets going throughout August at the nearly 75,000-seat venue located at 800 South Mint Street in uptown. Tickets are available online at Panthers.com.
Charlotte Hornets
The NBA team that wears alternate “Buzz City” jerseys is a cornerstone of Charlotte’s sports identity.
The Charlotte Hornets played their first season in 1988-89. While the original franchise relocated to New Orleans in 2002, the Charlotte Bobcats — who began playing under the Charlotte Hornets name in 2014-15 — joined the NBA in 2004.
There are 41 home games from October through April each season at Spectrum Center, which is currently being renovated ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Tickets are available at Hornets.com, and the venue known as the “Hive” can be found at 333 East Trade Street.
Charlotte FC
One of Major League Soccer’s most raucous atmospheres resides in the Queen City.
Charlotte FC, playing its fourth season in 2025, has a passionate fan base led by several supporter groups that travel en masse to every match. The team averaged nearly 36,000 fans per game last season, marking the second-best attendance in the MLS.
The MLS schedule runs from February through October, and Charlotte has reached the MLS Cup playoffs in each of the past two seasons. Tickets are available at CharlotteFootballClub.com for the squad that also plays its home games at Bank of America Stadium.
Charlotte Knights
The iconic Minor League Baseball atmosphere is a longtime staple of Charlotte’s sports scene.
The Charlotte Knights — the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox for more than a decade — have been in existence since 1976, when the minor-league franchise was originally known as the Charlotte Orioles.
Truist Field, located at 324 South Mint Street, provides a stunning view of the uptown skyline and is regarded as one of the best ballparks in minor-league ball. The Knights play 70 home games from April to September, and tickets are available at CharlotteKnights.com.
Charlotte Checkers
Minor-league hockey significantly predates Charlotte’s professional sports.
The Charlotte Checkers are the primary development affiliate of Florida Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, and compete in the American Hockey League.
This city’s hockey roots can be traced to the late 1950s, when the Charlotte Hockey Club replaced the Baltimore Clippers in the Eastern Hockey League. The Checkers returned to a renovated Bojangles Coliseum in 2015, and the franchise won the AHL Calder Cup trophy in 2019.
Home games are scheduled from October to April. Bojangles Coliseum is located east of uptown at 2700 East Independence Boulevard, and tickets are available at CharlotteCheckers.com.
Carolina Ascent
Charlotte’s first professional women’s soccer club kicked off last summer.
The Carolina Ascent FC compete in the USL Super League. The team plays 14 matches between August and December, before another 14 games start in February. The top four teams in the standings in May following the regular season qualify for the playoffs.
The Ascent play their home games at American Legion Memorial Stadium, located at 1218-1238 Armory Drive in the Elizabeth community east of uptown. Tickets are available at CarolinaAscent.com.
Charlotte Independence
This professional men’s soccer team has been in action for more than a decade.
The Charlotte Independence, founded in 2014, compete in the USL League One professional men’s soccer organization.
Their season runs from March to October, leading to the USL Jägermeister Cup. The Independence also play at American Legion Memorial Stadium, to which tickets are available through CharlotteIndependence.com.
Carolina Chaos
The Premier Lacrosse League is coming to Charlotte.
The six-year-old professional lacrosse league assigned geographic locations to its eight teams in late 2023, including the Carolina Chaos.
Charlotte was named the home base of the easternmost of four teams in PLL’s new Western Conference. As the PLL continues its tour-based schedule, the league will host four games in Charlotte on June 6 and 7.
Tickets are available at PremierLacrosseLeague.com/Charlotte for the second pro lacrosse weekend at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Anthem Rugby Carolina
There has been professional rugby in Charlotte since 1971.
Anthem Rugby Carolina joined Major League Rugby in early 2024, looking to develop domestic talent ahead of the Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2031. It maintains a close partnership with the Charlotte Rugby Football Club, which has long been the sport’s premier home in the Southeast.
This new team plays its home matches at American Legion Memorial Stadium between February and June. Tickets are available at AnthemRC.com.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
