Charlotte FC vs. Columbus Crew match postponed after 4 hours of lightning delays
Inclement weather loomed large in a Charlotte FC night of history last week when the club beat Chelsea in a friendly.
But it stole the show on Saturday night.
Charlotte’s regular-season home match against the Columbus Crew, originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, was ultimately postponed to a later date after a series of long delays derailed the match late into Saturday night.
It’s not the first time in the team’s history that a match’s start-time was pushed back because of weather — Charlotte’s exhibition match against Premier League club Chelsea was delayed approximately two hours last Wednesday — but it is the first time weather forced the match to take place another day.
Lightning began just past 6:15 p.m. in Bank of America Stadium. Fans who had arrived early in the lower bowl had to exit the seating area and shelter in the concourse area, and for every new flash of lightning, the wait time extended 30 minutes.
The match finally began at 10:18 p.m., but the teams were only able to play 16 minutes of scoreless soccer before lightning again forced players to clear the pitch and forced fans to shelter in place on the concourse.
The match was called at 11:37 p.m., a decision ultimately made by Major League Soccer. Per MLS rules, the determination of whether a match is postponed, delayed or canceled is made by the league office “in its sole and absolute discretion.”
Tickets for Saturday’s match will be honored for the makeup match, per a team spokesperson.
This story was originally published July 30, 2022 at 11:39 PM.
