The Charlotte MLS expansion bid appears to depend on convincing the reluctant Charlotte city council to contribute to the private-public partnership for the construction of a $175 million soccerstadium.
The Charlotte city council has been untilnow reluctant to support the plan Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, has proposed and the county of Mecklenburg initially supported.
But the Charlotte city council hasagreed to have its economic development committee review the proposal on July 20.
The original deal called for the county and city to each contribute $43.75 million — half of the $175million — and the county pay for much of Smith’s share that would be repaid in annual lease payments of $4.25 million.
Earlier in June, Mecklenburg County commissioners voted to deferuntil August a decision on plans to include stadium funds in the county’s current budget, indicating their reluctance to go forward if Charlotte didn’t contribute to the stadium effort.
The Charlotte bidding group MLS4CLT has created a website launched on Thursday to drum up support from soccer fans and get them to lobby city and county officials.