Intern’s Corner With Grant: Soccer Slips Away From Charlotte POLL
To the despair of soccer fans in the Queen City, the bid for an MLS expansion team in Charlotte is dead for now.
The bid began months ago for a $175 million dollar soccer stadium on the site of what is now American Legion Memorial Stadium, the current home of the Charlotte Hounds lacrosse team (Go Hounds). This stirred up plenty of debate on exactly how the new facility should be funded publicly and privately.
The chair of Charlotte’s economic development committee, James Mitchell, told the Charlotte Observer on Monday that a decision on funding won’t be made by it’s December deadline.
There’s a number of reasons why this bid isn’t working out, one of those being the steep competition from other cities like Nashville, who is proposing a stunning $275 million for their prospective stadium.
There have been a number of rallies like MLS 4 CLT rose up to push for the bid, gaining traction with the soccer subculture of the Queen City. Some argue, however, that Charlotte doesn’t have the appropriate soccer fanbase to warrant such large spending.
What do you think? Are you still hopeful that Charlotte can be a soccer city, or could you care less?
Let us know!
