Tag: Charlotte FC

Report: Panthers ownership to install new CEO effective immediately

Tepper Sports & Entertainment will have a new CEO.

A familiar face will reportedly be taking on a new (and expanded) role at 800 South Mint Street.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Carolina Panthers President Kristi Coleman is being named the Chief Executive Officer of Tepper Sports & Entertainment—the team’s ownership group. Coleman will now oversee the entire Tepper Sports & Entertainment portfolio—which includes the Panthers, the MLS’ Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium.

“Drawing on more than a decade of experience at this organization, Kristi is a proven leader with the insight and expertise to guide us through this pivotal moment in our evolution,” David Tepper, Owner/Executive Chairman of Tepper Sports & Entertainment, said, via FOX 8. “Nicole and I are happy to have her in this expanded role.”

Coleman initially joined the organization as Controller to Director of Finance in 2014. She was named team president in 2022.

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Ream: Charlotte FC move shouldn’t knock me out of USMNT picture

The center back has returned to MLS 12 years after he initially departed the league

Tim Ream believes that his recent move to Charlotte FC should not mean his U.S. men’s national team career is in jeopardy.

The veteran defender signed with the MLS side last week, ending a nine-year stint with Fulham.

Ream has become a vital part of the USMNT during the latter portion of his career, as a renaissance at Fulham over the past two seasons led to him starting every game at the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa América.

But a move back to MLS may be detrimental to his USMNT future, with former coach Gregg Berhalter mostly phasing out players from the North American top flight in recent years.

Of the 26 players on Berhalter’s Copa América roster this summer, only three were based in MLS.

Though Berhalter is gone, the USMNT is likely to remain heavily Europe-based under his successor.

Ream spoke to the media on Tuesday and declared his intention to remain part of the USMNT player pool under whichever coach comes in to replace Berhalter.

“I think there is no reason that I should not be [considered],” Ream said. “I understand that playing is an important part of that. I’m not going to take myself out of the hat just because people want me to or people think I’m too old. I don’t see the point of that.

“Like I said before, it’s a matter of just continuing to put my head down [and work], and if I get picked, I get picked. If I don’t, I don’t. It’s one of those things that partially under my control and partially not.”

Ream, who turns 37 in October, is looking to regain a regular role at his club after losing his starting spot at Fulham in the second half of last season. Still, Ream said that the Premier League club wanted him to stay for the upcoming season.

“The day after the season finished, I sat down with Marco [Silva, head coach] and we had a good chat,” Ream said. “They wanted me to stay. They tried to push me to stay and really think about it. But, it’s not so much that if I get something in my head that I go for it, but I really think through things.

“We had really thought through this whole move. For us, personally, as a family, it was the right thing to do. It was time to move on.”

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Charlotte City Council approves Panthers’ renovation plan for Bank of America Stadium

Renovation plans for Bank of America Stadium moved forward on Monday night.

The home of the Carolina Panthers (and Charlotte FC) is set for a facelift.

On Monday night, the Charlotte City Council approved plans on a long-term agreement with Tepper Sports & Entertainment to update Bank of America Stadium. The members voted seven to three in favor of the proposal,  appropriating a fixed investment of $650 million towards stadium renovations and a new field house.

Among those in attendance for the meeting included Panthers team president Kristi Coleman, Charlotte FC team president Joe LaBue, Tepper Sports & Entertainment chief venues officer Caroline Wright and Panthers all-time leading rusher Jonathan Stewart—who spoke in support of the project.

The proposal, which was officially released three weeks ago today, noted the following about the plans:

Imagine entering the stadium through an inviting perimeter with a park-like setting and exterior video boards for watch parties and other viewing opportunities. Once inside, fans will experience the best in technology with a new state-of-the-art sound system, scoreboard, and video boards. They can enjoy exciting, unique social areas with skyline views, improved concessions with regional offerings, and an expanded Team Store to better accommodate Panthers and Charlotte FC fans. Arts and culture elements will be infused throughout the design to reflect the vibrant culture across the Carolinas.

  • Brand-new seats installed throughout the bowl.
  • Improved accessibility throughout the facility, designed and constructed in a way that allows individuals with a range of disabilities to have access without barriers.
  • Stadium safety and security enhancements, including illuminated wayfinding and improved lighting.
  • A reimagined South Lawn Pavilion area that can be used as a community gathering spot and outdoor classroom on game days and non-event days.
  • Upgraded restrooms throughout the stadium for better sustainability, accessibility and speed of service.
  • Enhancements to the stadium exterior to reaffirm its place as an iconic, beloved fixture of the Charlotte skyline.
  • A reduction of our impact on the environment and demand on city infrastructure through the modernization of the building systems, including mechanical, plumbing, electrical and HVAC.

For photos of the proposed renovation, click here.

Work on the stadium is expected to begin in 2026.

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Reports: Charlotte FC closing in on USMNT defender Ream

After over a decade in England, Ream may be eyeing a move back to MLS

Tim Ream’s European adventure may be coming to a close.

The U.S. men’s national team center back could be on the brink of a transfer to MLS, with Top Bin 90 and The Athletic both reporting that Charlotte FC is close to finalizing a move for the 36-year-old.

Tuesday’s reports say that Ream — who back in December signed a Fulham contract extension running through the 2024-25 season — may be open to the move.

There’s good reason for that: In his final press conference of the just-concluded season, Fulham manager Marco Silva said that he’d like to sign two new center backs. Ream, meanwhile, fell out of favor not long after signing that extension.

The veteran was an unused substitute in both legs of Fulham’s Carabao Cup semifinal against Liverpool — arguably the biggest matches of the campaign — and did not appear for the Cottagers from February 17 until a season-ending 4-2 win over Luton Town.

Ream has had rare longevity at Fulham

Should Ream opt to leave Fulham, it would mark the end of one of the longest tenures at one club for any USMNT player in Europe. After three-and-a-half years at Bolton, Ream moved to Fulham in 2015, and has spent the last nine seasons at Craven Cottage.

The USMNT center back has 312 appearances for Fulham, sticking around through the promotion/relegation yo-yo cycle that saw the club move up or down the pyramid five times since his arrival.

A move to Charlotte FC would bolster a defense that is already among the best in MLS. Charlotte has conceded just 18 goals, good enough for fourth-best in the league at the moment. Head coach Dean Smith coached against Ream during his spells at Brentford, Aston Villa, and Leicester City.

Ream remains in the picture for the USMNT, with Gregg Berhalter naming him to the U.S. squad for June friendlies against Colombia and Brazil.

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Caleb Porter guarantees last-place Revs will beat Charlotte FC

This one could really backfire on the Revs coach

The pressure is already growing on Caleb Porter just a couple months into his tenure as New England Revolution head coach.

Now, Porter has taken a step that will undoubtedly ratchet that pressure up even more.

In an appearance on a Boston radio station, Porter guaranteed the Revs would defeat Charlotte FC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

The promise was notable, given the Revs are currently the worst team in MLS on a points-per-game basis. Porter’s side has one draw and four defeats in five games thus far, with a league-worst goal differential of -7.

New England is also coming off a dismal 4-0 home loss against Club América on Tuesday, essentially ending their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal tie after just one leg.

Porter appeared on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Thursday, and closed out his interview by saying: “We’re going to get a win Saturday. I promise that.”

Word of Porter’s guarantee quickly reached Dean Smith, whose Charlotte  side currently sits six places and seven points above the Revs in the table.

“He shouldn’t make promises he might not be able to keep,” the coach fired back.

Whether Porter’s guarantee ends up being suicidal or a brilliant bit of motivation, we have to give the coach credit for turning a nondescript early-season matchup into a game MLS fans will now be closely monitoring.

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This MLS playoff race is an absolute mess

Put on your boots, because we’re about to wade into a mess

The race for the MLS playoffs is promising that Decision Day will be as bonkers as it ever has been.

The final day of the regular season is less than a month away, with 28 of the league’s 29 teams set for two breathless rounds of simultaneous kickoffs, one for each conference (sorry D.C. United, you’re just going to have to follow along at home).

There’s an old MLS truism that a team just needs to stay in touch until late August or so, and that if said team can start to heat up around Labor Day, you’re looking at a major threat coming from what on paper is a low playoff seed. Plenty of teams with multiple MLS Cups in their trophy case have at least one season where they followed this plan to a tee.

However, in 2023 it’s not so much about getting hot at the right time as simply ending up next to an empty seat during a poorly-played game of musical chairs. Seven teams have clinched their playoff berths already, and two more are simply abysmal.

That leaves 20 teams vying for 11 postseason spots in what is an extraordinarily forgiving set-up. The problem is that almost none of this group seems able to get a solid hold on their invite to the big dance.

Put on your boots, because we’re about to wade into a mess:

Messi barely had to run as Inter Miami smashed Charlotte FC in Leagues Cup

Messi’s not even having to try very hard at this point

Inter Miami’s move to add Lionel Messi is going so well, the Argentine icon barely even has to run for them to win.

Miami made light work of a Leagues Cup quarterfinal against Charlotte FC, winning 4-0 in a game where Messi was able to more or less just hang out. One of his rare runs resulted in yet another goal, but for large spells Messi…let’s say he was conserving his legs for future matches.

Why run if you don’t have to, right? The guy has done plenty of work drawing Apple TV subscribers, he’s earned an easy day at the office. The visitors poured everything into preventing easy passes to Messi, but unfortunately for Charlotte, Miami had 10 other players who had plenty of room to keep the good times rolling at DRV PNK Stadium.

Miami has scored early in every match the legend has started, and sure enough, it was just 12 minutes before Josef Martínez fired home a penalty kick. Messi wasn’t directly involved — Miami’s Dixon Arroyo got chopped down after Charlotte struggled to clear for a long spell — but the entire sequence began with Messi dropping deep to find Jordi Alba’s penetrating run.

Robert Taylor doubled the lead in the 32nd minute, and again Messi just had to generally be in the area rather than getting truly involved. His run did distract Charlotte enough to give DeAndre Yedlin a big opening to roll the ball to Taylor for an easy finish, but Charlotte’s willingness to go all-in on cutting Messi out of the game seemed to backfire as the rest of Miami’s players were given acres of space.

With Charlotte bringing some attackers on and opening up a bit, Messi occasionally got himself into the mix, eventually helping to compound Charlotte’s misery in the 78th minute.

Seconds after Patrick Agyemang bounced a header down and up over the bar at one end, Messi finally had room to operate between the lines. He pushed forward, drawing defenders before slipping Diego Gómez wide left, and the Miami newcomer’s low cross was diverted over the line by the unfortunate Adilson Malanda.

Finally, Messi got himself a goal that required a little bit of a jog. Having noticed that the visitors had absolutely nothing left to give, Messi trotted forward after his attempt to play Leo Campana through didn’t quite pan out.

Charlotte just stood by and watched Campana go recover the ball after their intervention, and the Ecuador striker fed Messi — somehow once again unmarked despite being, you know, Messi — to send Miami fans home with one more goal.

That casual finish made Messi the competition’s leading scorer, with eight in five games, and has the Herons within sight of a trophy that seemed completely impossible just a few weeks ago.

In the semifinal against the Philadelphia Union on Tuesday night, he might even have to sprint a few times.

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Inter Miami vs. Charlotte FC: How to watch Lionel Messi’s Leagues Cup run

Charlotte FC looks to slow down Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the next round of the Leagues Cup

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have been cruising along in the Leagues Cup, but experienced some real turbulence against FC Dallas in the round of 16.

But in large part because of Messi’s heroics, Inter Miami defeated Dallas in a penalty shootout. It was their bumpiest road to date, but it didn’t start out that way.

Jordi Alba connected with his former Barcelona teammate for the opening goal, giving Miami an early lead. But Miami and their star trio of Messi, Alba and Sergio Busquets saw near disaster by going down 4-2 with just 20 minutes to play.

No problem.

Inter crawled back, winning in penalties after Messi’s second goal of the contest tied the game late. That sent Miami into a quarterfinal matchup with Charlotte FC.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Inter Miami vs Charlotte FC on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3QxZQ3L”]

Charlotte faces a huge challenge in hoping to become the first club to slow Miami’s roll, with Messi emerging victorious in all four games with the club thus far, scoring seven goals.

The big three in Inter’s lineup have yet to play in Major League Soccer action, and thus, Miami remains at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, this same Charlotte team sit only a few places above Miami in 12th place.

Here is everything you need to know to catch all the action:

Inter Miami vs. Charlotte FC (Leagues Cup)

  • When: Friday, August 11
  • Where: DRV PNK Stadium
  • Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Apple TV

Leagues Cup Starting Lineups

Inter Miami possible lineup:
Callender, Yedlin, Miller, Kryvtsov, Alba, Arroyo, Busquets, Gomez, Messi, Martinez, Taylor

Charlotte FC possible lineup:
Kahlina, Lindsey, Malanda, Privett, Byrne, Westwood, Jozwiak, Arfield, Bronico, Vargas, Swiderski

Leagues Cup Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Tuesday 3:35 PM ET.

Inter Miami (-195) vs. Charlotte FC (+430)

Draw: (+320)

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Messi’s MLS debut postponed amid Inter Miami Leagues Cup success

Messi will now likely make his U.S. Open Cup debut before his MLS debut

Lionel Messi’s Leagues Cup run is going so well that his MLS debut has been postponed.

Messi’s first foray into life with Inter Miami could not be going better, as the Argentine star has a remarkable seven goals in just four Leagues Cup games — all of which have been wins.

The 36-year-old’s latest salvo came in a brace against FC Dallas in the round of 16, with a late free kick tying the game at 4-4 before Inter Miami advanced on penalties.

Inter Miami has now reached the quarterfinal, which will be against Charlotte FC on Friday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

The same two teams were scheduled to meet at the same location on August 20, in what was set to be Messi’s first MLS game. But due to both teams reaching the last eight of the Leagues Cup, that match has been postponed.

Per a league statement:

Major League Soccer (MLS) announced today that Inter Miami CF’s MLS match against Charlotte FC originally scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 20 at DRV PNK Stadium has been postponed to a later date to be announced.

As both Inter Miami CF and Charlotte FC have advanced to the 2023 Leagues Cup quarterfinals, one of the two clubs will be playing on Aug. 19 in either the Leagues Cup final or third place match.

Tickets originally purchased for the Aug. 20 MLS match will be honored for the new date in which the game will be played.

Messi will now likely make his U.S. Open Cup debut before his MLS debut, with Inter Miami set to face FC Cincinnati in a semifinal on August 23.

Inter Miami will then take on the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on August 26, putting Messi’s possible MLS debut in the country’s largest media market.

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Stadium agreement between Panthers, Charlotte officially expires

The Carolina Panthers’ stadium agreement with the City of Charlotte has now ended. So what does that mean for the team’s future?

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The Carolina Panthers are no longer contractually tethered to the city of Charlotte.

On Friday, the 10-year agreement that has kept the franchise in its hometown officially ended. So, no the Panthers are not currently tied to Bank of America Stadium.

What does that mean? According to spokespeople from both sides, probably not much.

Here, via WBTV investigative reporter David Hodges, are the following statements from both sides regarding the expired pact:

Tepper Sports and Entertainment Spokesperson: “The Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC are integral to the fabric of Charlotte and the Carolinas. Bank of America Stadium serves as a community asset that delivers world-class sports and entertainment to the area and we are proud to be a primary driver of economic development in uptown Charlotte and throughout the region.”

City of Charlotte Spokesperson: “Tepper Sports and Entertainment have proven their commitment to Charlotte over the years by investing in our communities and bringing Charlotte FC to our city and making upgrades to Bank of America stadium. The Teppers and their organization have been outstanding allies, with investments in Charlotte that reach far beyond the field. We are optimistic about the future of our partnership.”

The lapsing of the stadium agreement does not mean that Panthers owner David Tepper, who also owns Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer, is planning to move the team. But it does mean that such a move would bring lesser financial penalties for Tepper. Any relocation would have to be voted on and approved by three-fourths of the league’s owners.

Per Hodges, if the team relocates between now and 2027, Charlotte taxpayers would be allowed to buy the stadium from Tepper Sports at “fair market value.”

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