Maybe I missed it, but it seems like Raleigh– all of a sudden– is making its own bid for an MLS franchise—complete with stadium—as Charlotte is still figuring out if it will be able to put its government funding package together.
But just in case, Charlotte-area legislators are telling the state to back off if it’s thinking about helping Raleigh’s bid, which at the moment would involve th leasing of downtown state-owned land:
The Raleigh group, the North Carolina Football Club, has not asked local or state governments for a direct contribution other than road and other infrastructure improvements.
But the group is asking to lease 13 acres of state property a block north of the General Assembly. That’s half of what’s known as the state government complex. The group would raze several state buildings, including the 40-year-old, 15-story Archdale Building, home to the N.C. Department of Public Safety. The new facility would include more than 750,000 square feet of space to eventually accommodate state employees and other tenants.
A football club spokesman said Thursday there’s been no decision on how much the group would pay to lease the land.
But like Tarte, Sen. Joel Ford said a lease would effectively put the state on Raleigh’s side.
“I don’t believe that the state should be picking winners and losers when it comes to Major League Soccer,” said Ford, a Charlotte Democrat running for mayor. “The state would be giving a leg up to one city over another.”
State officials were still evaluating the Raleigh offer Thursday.
“We are aware that the North Carolina Football Club is making a proposal to the state, and we look forward to reviewing the details of their proposal,” Shelly Carver, a spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, said Thursday.
One thing worth mentioning here– the News & Observer reported the same week as the MLS bid broke that the Carolina Hurricanes have the second-worst attendance not just in the NHL, but in all of major-league sports. No hockey and soccer are not the same, but they might as well be in the heart of a basketball-crazy state.
