Fansided

Charlotte MLS stadium delay is a bad sign for league

By Derek Helling

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 21: An official MLS match ball is seen on the pitch during warm-up prior to the MLS match between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy at StubHub Center on March 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Dynamo and the Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 21: An official MLS match ball is seen on the pitch during warm-up prior to the MLS match between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy at StubHub Center on March 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Dynamo and the Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The fact that a deal can’t be reached regarding a new stadium in Charlotte for a potential MLS expansion franchise before a league-imposed deadline is worse news for MLS than it is for the city.

With a Charlotte MLS stadium initiative being negotiated, the city appeared to be a strong contender for one of four rumored MLS expansion franchises at one point. Now, the situation is on hold at best, and perhaps delayed indefinitely. It’s a strong sign that demand for MLS’ primary product, soccer franchises, may not be as strong as league officials would like.

According to Katherine Peralta and Ely Portillo of the Charlotte Observer, all efforts to negotiate a deal on a mixture of private and public funds necessary to construct a new stadium have failed. Although interested parties have not yet given up all hope of eventually bringing an MLS franchise to Charlotte, the hopes for being one of the next two expansion sites to be announced has completely dissipated.

Peralta and Portillo refer to three reasons for the failure:

  • Other possible sites putting together more enticing packages for MLS created a feeling that Charlotte was ill-equipped to compete.
  • Control of the land on which Memorial Stadium currently sits, which was supposed to be where the new stadium would sit. Mecklenberg County currently owns the site, and had agreed to hand it over to the city of Charlotte, but it’s possible that potential investors in the expansion franchise might have wanted it for themselves in exchange for their contributions.
  • Approaching city elections in Charlotte may have made officials apprehensive about signing on to a deal that would give taxpayer money to an MLS franchise as opposed to putting those dollars toward other uses such as education.

Regardless of whatever factors played how much of a part in the breakdown of negotiations, the bottom line is that an MLS franchise wasn’t enticing enough to get the private investors and government officials committed to doing whatever it took to make it happen.

For a league which is not only bent on expanding at a rapid pace but doing so with a lot of help from municipalities via taxpayer dollars, this is not welcome news. Charlotte, and the potential private investors who would have poured their money into the expansion franchise, have decided that they would rather not see the project go forward at all rather than compromise their interests.

Next: Top 10 international players to play in MLS

While rabid soccer fans in many municipalities like Charlotte may be ready to support an MLS franchise, that’s not of utmost importance. MLS doesn’t need hundreds or thousands of individuals to press for the league’s entry into those markets as much as it needs the right individuals, with the necessary power and resources, to get on board. It appears that, at least for the time being, the league’s ability to do that is more limited than it would like.

Home/MLS