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PHOTO VIA REDDIT The Charlotte Independence wants to upgrade Memorial Stadium to accommodate professional soccer.

What’s next for Memorial Stadium?



On July 6, the Charlotte Independence will present proposed renovations to the 80-year-old stadium to Mecklenburg County commissioners at the Government Center at 5 p.m.



“When ideas and recommendations come forward, sometimes it can be as much as a year before a proposal comes forward,” Commissioner George Dunlap said. “The idea of doing something with the stadium has been floating around for a long time.”



Memorial’s field dimensions are 140 yards long by 72 yards wide and seats 17,000. Per the county’s website, the proposed $24.7 million ($22 million without an artificial playing surface) project would include moving the historic stone wall from the original stadium as well as create a tribute to the military. Proposed funding would be split between the county, city of Charlotte and the Independence, with construction concluding in 2019 with a capacity of 10,870.



“From my standpoint, I’d much prefer playing on grass—it’s better from the standpoint of the game,” Independence coach Mike Jeffries said. “From the standpoint of being a purist and to some degree, the group we’ve got is probably better suited to playing on a grass surface—it would be preferential. I don’t know enough of fine print so to speak, but just from the standpoint of the game, how it’s played and our group, grass is the preferable surface for sure.”



Said Commissioner Trevor Fuller: “The team is a part of these conversations, and a part of this partnership to bring about this new look and new use of Memorial Stadium. There are still a number of things to work out about the nature of how we’ll all work together, but they’re certainly at the table.”



Built in 1936 in conjunction with the Works Project Administration, a Depression-era department launched by President Franklin Roosevelt to provide employment during the world’s worst economic crisis, the venue has hosted everything from political rallies to sporting events to concerts. However, it’s best known as a football stadium. The Carolina Lightnin’, Charlotte’s most successful professional soccer team, played there in the 1970s and ‘80s. But as the game evolved, the current structure does not suit modern soccer.



“There’s a balance between recognizing the historical significance of buildings and keeping our eye on the future,” Fuller said. “We always have to be careful, particularly when it comes to these historical structures, not to obliterate the history but recognize the opportunity to use the facilitates under today’s conditions and looking ahead to continued use in the future.”



Said Dunlap: “It’s a valuable asset either way.”



With regards to the product on the pitch, the Independence, which launched last year finished their inaugural season 10-8-10 with 40 points. They finished seventh in the USL East, missing the playoffs by one spot. At present, Charlotte is 7-4-3 and stands fifth in the East with 24 points. They head to Orlando on a two-game winning streak.



Jeffries said an upgraded Memorial would be an asset to the franchise in terms of luring players and fans.



“When you put together a roster, you do put it together with the thought of where you’re playing,” he said. “You want to take advantage of being at home. You have a different look if you played on a big grass field than if you played on a small turf field. You may put together a different group—you may play a different way. In terms of attracting players and recruiting players, guys always want to play in the best environment. The better the home environment, the more exciting it is. That’s a plus in trying to attract top guys. Those are things that do factor into it. Does it impact the day to day? No. The way we train and everything else—that part doesn’t change, but the other two pieces are pretty big factors.”

The Independence plays at Ramblewood Soccer Complex (capacity 4,750). In September 2014 the team announced that it would replace the Charlotte Eagles in the USL after the Eagles self-relegated to the PDL. While the Independence has played at three different home venues (Transamerica Field at UNC Charlotte, Winthrop University and Ramblewood), their highest home attendance was 2,241at their inaugural match against Charleston at Transamerica, which falls short of expectations.



“We have a business model that calls for about 5,000 people per game,” Independence President and Managing Partner Jim McPhilliamy said at the team unveil in September 2014. McPhilliamy assured supporters the team had permission from the city to “widen the pitch” at Memorial to 70-75 yards, making it regulation size.



“They ended up having a problem—they had to take part of the wall down,” Dunlap said. “They did some renovations to shore it up—they were trying to do that before they determined what they were going to do. This soccer association wanted them to expand it, so that it would have the necessary width so that they could play professional sports in the field, but the building itself needed some renovations. It takes a while to do the designing and all this other stuff.”

Despite falling short of attendance goals, the Independence host Swansea City of English Premier League on July 13 at Ramblewood. Charlotte has hosted previous EPL clubs over the last two summers at Bank of America Stadium, in conjunction with the International Champions Cup. Liverpool (2014) drew 69,364 when they played A.C. Milan of the Italian Serie A, and Chelsea drew 61,224 against Paris Saint-Germain (France’s Ligue 1). Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga and Inter Milan (Serie A) play there on July 30.



HOK Sport, the architects who drew the plans for Memorial’s upgrade, also designed Bank of America Stadium (132 yards long by 93 yards wide) and Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which will house the NFL Falcons and Atlanta United, an MLS expansion team. McPhilliamy’s intent is to bring the highest level of soccer available to Charlotte, which he reiterated earlier this month at a press conference announcing the Swansea match. That means bringing an MLS franchise to Charlotte or attract teams from the world’s most recognized leagues for exhibitions.

“We are growing a fan base, and we have to look at that economic impact,” Mayor Jennifer Roberts said at the ICC announcement. “We have to look at the investment required, and look at how many folks and how many sports events we have, because we do have other sports teams. There’s a formula for that — there’s a way we can look at that from comparison to other cities who do have [MLS] before we make any decisions. It’s certainly worth talking about. Charlotte is growing 44 [residents] a day, and our population base is diversifying — it’s more international. It’s a conversation worth having, even if it’s something that happens five years from now, 10 years from now—we don’t have a time frame. I know there are a lot of people who are very eager to have that conversation now.”





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