MLS in Knights Stadium?

Discussion in 'Charlotte FC' started by lowcountry1, Jun 27, 2012.

  1. lowcountry1

    lowcountry1 Member

    Apr 3, 2010
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I posted a blog post and map about why people in the Carolinas should be interested in MLS playing at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill.

    I think this stadium actually might be a good place to play. The Knights are moving to Uptown Charlotte in 2014, so the stadium that seats just over 10,000 will be empty. A NASL or MLS team in there would be a great fit.

    It is centrally located, 20 minutes from Charlotte and Rock Hill. It is less than 90 minutes from the Columbia area, a market of 600,000. It is less than 2 hours from most of the Triad (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point) and the Upstate (Greenville/Spartanburg). It also is close to western NC.

    The stadium easily could be reconfigured. Here is an article I wrote about it:

    http://carolinasportsthoughts.blogspot.com/

    A map on what I would do with the stadium:

    https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212787236114350670343.0004c37b120fb6742bb7d&msa=0
     
  2. lugger

    lugger Member

    Sep 5, 2010
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    American Legion Memorial stadium (in my opinion) would be better. Centrally located, already in a preferable configuration for soccer, plus the stadium has a lax team to share the rent with. American Legion sits 16,000, as well as room for a small bleacher section/ beer garden on of the end lines. The other end line is a hill, not sure what they could do with it, maybe some cheap grass seats, not sure how steep the hill is though. Knights stadium isn't a bad location, and if American Legion memorial stadium for some reason can't host a charlotte team, Knights stadium would definitely be a decent location, def better than the college stadiums near by or the huge panthers stadium (MLS 1.0)
     
  3. wellington

    wellington Member

    Jun 4, 1999
    Charlotte, NC
    Club:
    Charlotte
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    It would definitely be a shame if Knights Stadium gets torn down -- it is still a decent structure -- there is talk of the land being bought by a distribution company. That area of Fort Mill is poised for incredible growth of over the next decade and it is located in a relatively affluent area (Tega Cay and Springfield as well as easy access to the rich areas of South Charlotte) -- not to mention great access to I-77 and plenty of parking makes it an attractive location -- they could even repaint the water tower as a soccer ball.

    It would be a huge leap to get a MLS or even NASL team at this point. Not sure if the Charlotte Eagles have ever considered relocating there -- the stadium could be used in its current layout for soccer without too much effort -- definitely on the big side for the Eagles, but the upper deck could be tarped off. It would definitely be a big step up from the venues the Eagles have occupied over recent years.

    Probably the only other option is to do a Tulsa and have a NPSL team play there. No disrespect to the Eagles, which are a quality organization, but Charlotte is lacking a mainstream soccer team. Despite a small, loyal following -- the Eagles are virtually a none entity in Charlotte. A 'more' mainstream team with beer sales, etc has the potential to attract many more fans than what the Eagles get on a regular basis. However, with only 5-7 home games per year -- not much opportunity to generate significant revenue or make the plan feasible.

    An even more ambitious and maybe a more financially feasible project would be using the land and some of the parking surrounding Knights Stadium and building a sports complex like Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill -- lots of youth soccer and lacrosse being played in the Fort Mill area -- build 2-3 fields next to the existing Knights Stadium -- see Google maps satellite image. Revenue would be generated from providing playing fields to local sports teams as well as from hosting regional sports tournaments. A lot of the infrastructure would already be in place -- restroom and concession facilities at the existing Knights Stadium could be utilized. The current baseball stadium could be used for marquee events (concerts, pro soccer [Charlotte Eagles or NPSL team], lacrosse [relocate Charlotte Hounds of MLL], rugby, etc]. The stadium could be expanded to 18,000-20,000 seats in the future if NASL or even MLS comes to town -- although I would say that an Uptown location would be more likely. Lastly, I would convert the existing sports bar at the stadium into something like The Three Lions Pub at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston -- it would be used for game day events, but also could be rented out for weddings/special events and even opened when adult amateur sports are being played. The above seems to be the only financially viable way to make the Knights Stadium complex work -- otherwise, it is going to become a giant warehouse for Cato.
     
  4. wellington

    wellington Member

    Jun 4, 1999
    Charlotte, NC
    Club:
    Charlotte
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Came across this article from April -- York County has a buyer for Knights Stadium -- $844,160 seems like a steal for 32 acres and a stadium! Anyone out there want to help me buy the place and turn it into a sports complex? :)
     

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