Charlotte FC haven't been shy about setting the bar high for their MLS expansion season launch in 2022.
Club brass are seeking raucous fan support, starting with Charlotte's first home match against the LA Galaxy at Bank of America Stadium on March 5 – establishing a stated goal of reaching full capacity. If that's accomplished, Charlotte would break Atlanta United's regular-season single-game attendance record of 72,548 set in 2019 (Bank of America Stadium's capacity is well north of 70,000).
It's a lofty task but Nick Kelly, recently named CEO of Tepper Sports and Entertainment, said they're within striking distance of making it a reality.
"We recently passed 60,000 tickets for the inaugural match," Kelly told reporters Monday. "So we’re just over 10,000 away from hitting our target of 74 [thousand]. I think that we still need some help locally to get there. We've got 30 days to get there, but to be over 60 [thousand] already with 30-plus days to get there, we're fairly confident that we can make that happen before kick."
From the March opener through a final regular-season home game Oct. 1 against the Philadelphia Union, Kelly's chasing an average attendance of 30,000. That would put North Carolina-based Charlotte FC among the league's highest-attended clubs.
"Our targets haven't changed," Kelly said. "We're still pretty bullish about it especially now that we see the team on the field. We still want to have the largest match [attendance], we still want to average 30,000, we still want to host a playoff match. So everything we're doing right now is still to push for those things."
When the season enters full swing, Charlotte plan to consolidate fans at home matches in the lower bowl and close off the upper deck in order to maximize the atmosphere at a venue that also houses the NFL's Carolina Panthers. That plan could change at some juncture, though Kelly believes it makes the most sense for match-day experiences.
"We're very bullish on the fact that we're going to save the upper deck for special events and by special I mean like a playoff game," Kelly said. "I think we'd rather have 30, 35,000 in the lower bowl that is jam-packed and the energy you can feel than have 40ish spread out.
"We talked to a lot of other teams, the Seattle's, the Atlanta's of the world and we know the pros and the cons on both sides. But for the first season, we need to make sure that match experience is ideal. May it change in the future? Sure, but I mean, we've got 20,000 plus that are already locked in with season tickets. We're making sure that they had the best experience possible and then getting in an extra 5, 6, 7,000 single fans who are coming out for the first time. We need to make sure that the first time every time is special."
Kelly said Charlotte are cognizant of how on-field performance is the best way to capitalize on the early buzz that follows expansion teams.
Charlotte are still assembling their complete first-team roster under head coach Miguel Angel Ramirez and landed Polish striker Karol Swiderski last week as their first-ever Designated Player. More additions are expected with two more DP spots open, leaving Kelly confident the final product will yield a squad ready to host an Audi MLS Cup Playoff game.
"We are bullish and bold in saying we don't just want to make the playoffs. We want to host a playoff game," Kelly said. "That sets an expectation that we are not only competitive on the field, but also competitive in being one of the top-tier teams in our [Eastern] Conference.
"I think that for us, as long as we show that the players are engaged and they care and they're trying their best to properly represent all of the fans, I think that we'll have the opportunity to continue to grow. Would I love to win? Everybody would love to win this year. But I think that we even look down the road to Atlanta, them just making the playoffs the first year and then winning the second year, those are the types of things that you can put probably more realistic expectations on."
