There May Still Be Hope For Major League Soccer In Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC.– There may still be hope for Major League Soccer in Charlotte. City leaders are heading to Atlanta tomorrow, and one of the things they plan to look at is how that city scored an MLS team.

More than 140 Charlotte City and business leaders are taking the trip. One of the first items of the agenda is checking out Mercedes-Benz Stadium where the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United Major League Soccer team share the stadium.

A local bid for an MLS team in Charlotte fell apart last year after city and county leaders couldn’t agree on a funding. David Tepper, the new owner of the Carolina Panthers, renewed interest, when he mentioned MLS at the NFL owners meeting last month.

“If you want to do, for instance an MLS team or something like that, which might make some sense if you are in fact in Charlotte,” said Tepper.

With questions remaining about the future of Bank of America Stadium, Bob Morgan with the Charlotte Chamber says they are interested in learning more about Atlanta’s stadium deal. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a public-private partnership.

“How do you combine NFL with MLS? There’s been a lot of talk around here about interest in MLS. So what we learn may have some relevancy we suspect that conversation as we go forward,” says Morgan.