Proposal For Charlotte’s Major League Soccer Bid
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Mecklenburg County has released the terms of the proposed Major League Soccer stadium for the city of Charlotte; a 20,000-seat stadium and costs divided evenly between team owners and local government.
The draft deal was released Friday and indicates the overall construction is $175 million dollars and if it is approved, Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte would contribute about $44 million each.
Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith is leading the campaign to land an MLS expansion franchise. Bids are due Jan. 31 and MLS plans to select two expansion cities later this year.
Each expansion team will pay a $150 million entry fee — Charlotte’s would be paid by Smith — and begin play in 2020. Stadium construction would likely take 18 to 24 months.
County owned Memorial Stadium and the Grady Cole Center would be demolished in order to build the new soccer stadium.
The team would be responsible for operational costs, but the county would finance and lead construction of the project.
The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners will hold a public forum Tuesday at 3pm at the Government Center, and county officials will vote on the plan two days later.
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