Thursday’s Myers Park-South Meck game changing venues, facing ticket restrictions
Thursday’s highly anticipated Myers Park-South Mecklenburg football game has been moved and will have limited ticket access.
Originally scheduled for Memorial Stadium in Uptown Charlotte, the game will now be played at EE Waddell High School, off Nations Ford Road.
South Meck is the home team for the game, but South Meck’s stadium and school are undergoing extensive renovations, so the football team has to play its home games at other locations this season
The school posted on its social media accounts that only 3,000 tickets will be sold, though South Meck booster club members will be admitted at the gate, but only until a total capacity of 3,500 people is reached.
The post encouraged fans to buy tickets early “to ensure entry and avoid inconvenience.”
Why tickets are limited
On Thursday morning, South Mecklenburg principal Mark Angerer told The Observer that the changes were being made for several reasons:
1. South Meck was told Waddell can seat 4,000 people, but the school wanted to be cautious about capacity due to its memberships, essentially season-ticket passes, plus two marching bands in attendance.
2. South Meck didn’t want to oversell the venue.
3. Concerns around having adequate parking.
We “want to make sure the experience is smooth and safe for everyone attending,” Angerer said, via email.
CMS football and ticket restrictions
Several CMS games have faced ticket restrictions this season after the district said there were violent incidents at some games.
Two weeks ago, the district implemented a “high profile with extraordinary circumstances,” or “HP/E,” policy that will bring additional security measures at certain games, including those during the high school football playoffs, as well as winter and spring sports.
Games or events may be designated as HP/E for a number of reasons, the district said.
Among them:
— Large expected crowds.
— Previous incidents at the host facility.
— Proximity to non-school events.
— At the request of a school, district or law enforcement.
CMS said the designation of a game as HP/E will be a “collaborative decision” among CMS leadership, law enforcement and school officials, and the district said those games would be determined by 2 p.m. Mondays, following a security planning meeting.
No Thursday games capped so far
Via the CMS media department, CMS police told The Observer that no games were being designated as HP/E on Thursday, though schools “may still choose to utilize any of the recent security options.”
That appears to be the choice South Mecklenburg officials are making.
Four years ago, an 18-year-old South Mecklenburg student said he had been assaulted by a group of players after the South Mecklenburg at Myers Park game. The boy’s mother claimed at the time that the assault led to several other altercations.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM.
