Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

Charlotte Willing To Spend $110M To Help In Landing MLS Team

A letter sent by Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to MLS Commissioner Don Garber last month details how the city is "willing to set aside" $110M in "hospitality funds" to land the 30th MLS team, according to a front-page piece by Kuznitz, Smoot & Morrill of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The letter "offers the clearest picture to date of how much tourism money will be allocated to support the bid." MLS has "not yet confirmed" that Charlotte will be home to its 30th team. Garber this month said the league is in "very, very advanced discussions" with Panthers Owner David Tepper, who is leading the charge to bring MLS to the city. Lyles said the $110M in hospitality funds will be "set aside to help ensure a successful venture over the next many years." She did "not spell out how that money would be spent, or how long it will take to generate and distribute the funds." The city also publicly released a "permit showing an event will take place in uptown around Levine Avenue of the Arts between Monday and Tuesday." The event next week is "widely expected to be on Tuesday for the official MLS announcement." Meanwhile, the city council "still needs to take a public vote on the incentives package" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/12). In Charlotte, Erik Spanberg noted incentives are "usually deliberated and decided prior to an announcement of a project." However, sources said that a "final council decision and vote" on an MLS incentives package will come in '20 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/11). 

THE NAME IS THE GAME: In Charlotte, Hannah Smoot notes "eight trademarks for potential Charlotte soccer team names have been filed" with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office by a "top Panthers official." The names are: Charlotte FC, Charlotte Crown FC, Charlotte Fortune FC, Charlotte Monarchs FC, Charlotte Athletic FC, Charlotte Town FC, Carolina Gliders FC and All Carolina FC (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/12).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2019/12/12/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/MLS-Charlotte.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2019/12/12/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/MLS-Charlotte.aspx

CLOSE