300 truckloads of soil being removed from Bank of America Stadium. Where’s it going?
.JPG "The field of Bank of America Stadium has been transformed for soccer ahead of the Cocacaf Gold Cup games in Charlotte on Sunday, June 23, 2019.")
For the first time in franchise history, the Carolina Panthers will play on artificial turf this season. The soil from the grass at the field since the stadium broke ground in 1994 isn’t going too far.
Ground crews for Tepper Sports & Entertainment have begun removing the soil — 300 truck loads — to bring to Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation sites for reuse at six local parks.
Those parks include Winget Park to help finish a softball field and a soccer field; Ramblewood Soccer Complex; First Tee of Pineville; Reedy Creek Park; Veterans Park; and Sportsplex at Matthews.
“There aren’t too many places you can put 4,000 cubic yards of soil, so we’re excited that they can use it for projects that will serve the community,” Tom Vaughan, head groundskeeper at Bank of America Stadium, said in a news release.
Panthers owner David Tepper’s decision to convert Bank of America Stadium from grass to artificial turf was announced last month, and made in part because of the increasing number of events coming to the stadium. Charlotte FC will begin its first MLS season in 2022, and will host up to 30 games a year at Bank of America Stadium.
There will also be concerts, college football games and other events held at the stadium.
Tepper Sports & Entertainment said in news release in April that Bank of America Stadium isn’t built to accommodate such a roll-out grass system, nor was there enough space at the corner of Mint and Morehead streets in Uptown Charlotte to store a large patch of grass when not in use.
