Here’s what $50 million in upgrades to BOA Stadium for Panthers, Charlotte FC look like
A yearlong renovation project at Bank of America Stadium is ready for its rollout ahead of Charlotte FC’s inaugural Major League Soccer season and the Carolina Panthers’ to-be-announced 2022 home opener.
The MLS expansion team is moving into the longtime home of the city’s NFL franchise. Both teams will host games in the roughly 75,000-seat stadium, and the latest upgrades are aimed at not only making the venue soccer-ready but building out its infrastructure for fans attending other sports, entertainment and community events.
The renovation project began last March and will debut to fans for Charlotte FC’s first home match against the LA Galaxy on March 5.
New to the stadium as part of the latest enhancements is a massive LED screen facing Mint Street, an upgraded concourse area within the venue, a field-level club space for premium ticket-holders, soccer-specific locker rooms and a central player tunnel for Charlotte FC. Some of those items have been on display as the venue hosted events over the last year, while other upgrades, such as Charlotte FC’s locker room, haven’t been seen by the general public.
The project cost around $50 million, with ownership group Tepper Sports & Entertainment covering slightly more than half, and the rest coming from Charlotte City Council-approved funding, Panthers chief operating officer Mark Hart previously told The Observer.
Billionaire Panthers team owner David Tepper paid a record expansion fee, reportedly between $300 million and $325 million, in Dec. 2019 to bring an MLS team to Charlotte. The club’s inaugural season was pushed back a year to 2022 due to the pandemic, and changes to its home venue, which included the installation of a turf field last summer and the construction of field-level bunker suites known as “The Gallery,” have continued since the expansion announcement.
Below are the latest Bank of America Stadium upgrades that will be utilized during Charlotte FC matches and Panthers games in 2022.
Charlotte FC locker rooms
Charlotte FC will have its own, 2,600-square-foot locker room, and additional space for Charlotte FC offices, training/sports medicine suites and a player lounge in the lower level of the stadium.
There are 30 player lockers inside the new locker room for a full MLS roster, as well as a boot room for player cleat storage and a private restroom and shower area.
On the locker room ceiling? A giant, decorative Charlotte FC crown.
The Vault and central tunnel
- The Vault is a premium club area located on the North sideline surrounding the Charlotte FC entrance tunnel. For matches, the Vault will provide fans a behind-the scenes view of the club’s players’ walk form the locker room onto the pitch.
- Debuting in March for the inaugural Charlotte FC season, the Vault is also available for Panthers games and other stadium events.
- This area has field seating for approximately 150 fans for Charlotte FC matches and 100 fans for Panthers games. There will be an option to host additional fans in the private indoor lounge through game day memberships.
- A newly renovated North Gate will serve as the main stadium entrance for the Vault.
Mint Street LED display
If you’ve driven around Bank of America Stadium recently, you can’t miss the 211-foot-wide LED display board on the outside of the venue that faces Mint Street.
This display will feature team signage, graphics and promotional material at Bank of America Stadium.
Tepper Sports expects the display will drive approximately 12 million impressions annually through vehicular, pedestrian, and event-related traffic.
Lowe’s East Gate to Supporters Section
- This is the most-used entrance at Bank of America Stadium and will be the main entrance for fans in the supporters section for Charlotte FC matches, so it will also be the endpoint for supporters groups marching to each match.
- Tepper Sports expects a total of nearly 400,000 people to enter this gate across all stadium events this year.
- The two Panthers statues outside the gate were moved farther apart last year to improve pedestrian traffic flow.
- Supporters groups will then be able to march into the stadium to the standing-only section behind the goal on the Mint Street side.
Upgraded Main Concourse
- The main concourse sits behind the Charlotte FC supporters section and just inside the Lowe’s East Gate entrance.
- It includes new bars and upgraded food and beverage stations focused on faster service and access for fans, as well as two 360-degree LED displays above the new bars that will show live video, highlights, replays and other promotional messages during events.
The Gallery
- The Gallery bunker suite renovation opened in 2020 and includes 12, 12-person private suites and two 18-person suite clubs located in the stadium’s west end zone.
- It debuted in 2020 with limited capacity and opened at full capacity in 2021 for the Panthers season. The Gallery offers inclusive premium entertainment and includes a private climate-controlled suite with floor-to-ceiling glass windows that provides a view of the Panthers tunnel walk on game day.
- Included are reserved field-side cushioned seats equipped with personal TVs that put fans in the middle of the action of the west end zone.
- The Gallery membership includes all-inclusive food and beverage featuring a full-service bar, VIP parking on stadium grounds and a dedicated game day entrance.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 6:47 PM.
