Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium will “host an August soccer match" between EPL clubs Manchester City and Liverpool, one of the first "benefits of the city’s agreement to help renovate the football stadium,” according to a front-page piece by Harrison & Lyttle of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Manchester City will play Liverpool in Charlotte as part of the eight-team Int’l Champions Cup that will be played July 26-Aug. 4 around the U.S. Tournament organizers will be “able to use the stadium rent-free, saving the organizers $250,000 and making Charlotte a more attractive place to bring the game.” When the City Council voted last year to give the Panthers $87.5M for stadium renovations, the team “agreed to provide four rent-free dates a year for 10 years." Last year’s inaugural Champions Cup drew an average of 42,000 fans at stadiums across the U.S. According to reports, this year’s games will be played July 26 in Phoenix, Denver and Chicago; July 27 in Pittsburgh; July 29 in DC and Dallas; July 30 in Philadelphia and N.Y.; Aug. 1 in N.Y.; Aug. 2 in Hartford, Ann Arbor and Charlotte; and the semifinals and final Aug. 3 and 4 in Miami. Bank of America Stadium has "hosted high-level soccer before," including two games in the '11 Gold Cup between national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/4).
