Ever since David Tepper came to the Carolinas, he had been eyeing a Major League Soccer franchise to be hosted at Bank of America Stadium. Today, that dream became a reality. Major League Soccer announced the city of Charlotte will get the 30th franchise on Tuesday. The franchise, yet to be named, will begin play in 2021, along with a new franchise in Austin, Texas.
It’s been reported that Tepper will pay about $300 million, possibly up to $325 million, in expansion fees, about $100 million more than what was paid by the owners of the new franchises located in St. Louis and Sacramento, who will begin play in 2022.
Tepper was instrumental in bringing the league to the city. Here’s what MLS commissioner Don Garber said about Charlotte, per a recent article by Sports Illustrated:
“Charlotte’s appeal ‘starts with David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers, who’s a very passionate guy about sports, very passionate about Charlotte, and is reminding us that the league didn’t really see what Atlanta would become. . . There’s a lot of things happening in Charlotte that are very similar to things that are happening in Atlanta in terms of the diversity of the fanbase and a lot of the corporate energy that’s going on down there.'”
According to the Charlotte Observer, a top Panthers official filed for trademarks for eight possible team names. Those 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.
