Charlotte FC prez: We'll continue to listen to our fans
Charlotte FC prez: We'll continue to listen to our fans
With the upset win over English powerhouse Chelsea, LaBue takes stock of this budding franchise so far; plus 16-year-old Brian Romero's game-breaking moment, Ortiz on the outs ...and more!
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In Charlotte FC’s thrilling inaugural season, club president Joe LaBue reflects on successes and challenges: ticket prices, weather delays, upper deck seats and more
Charlotte FC president Joe LaBue speaking at a community event. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
While Charlotte FC has taken its lumps over ticket prices, front office turnover, a midseason coaching change and more, this fledgling franchise is engraining itself into the fabric of this city with signature moments like the one we saw Wednesday night against Chelsea.
If that sounds overdramatic, then you weren’t at Bank of America Stadium when Charlotte FC upset Premier League powerhouse Chelsea on penalty kicks. Some 52,673 fans got to walk away saying “I was there” to see Charlotte FC force a 1-1 tie with a penalty kick in stoppage time and then outscore Chelsea 5-3 in a shootout. It might have been just an exhibition for a world class team, but it was a part of history for soccer in Charlotte.
As the crowd was gathering, Charlotte FC president Joe LaBue sat down with The Ledger to take stock of another big moment for the franchise, as well as what’s worked so far and what the club is learning on the fly. Here are excerpts from that conversation:
Q. How gratifying is it to see this exhibition with Chelsea come together?
We’ve talked about it for so long. And when you put a match of this magnitude on with all the logistics, it’s easy to get lost in some of the things that can go wrong versus all the all the things that can go right and how important it is for our club, our city, soccer, both locally and globally. It’s really exciting.
Q. A lot was made about the club’s expectations for breaking the MLS attendance record, but was gunning for a playoff spot on the agenda as well?
We were on record as saying that early on. We felt strong about (sporting director) Zoran (Krneta), our scouts, with the caliber of player we had coming in, we had something here. We've tried to set high expectations across the entire business, so of course we were going to do that on the on the sporting side as well. We’re encouraged where we are right now, but we feel like we could be in a better place even, and that’s the kind of place you want to be.
That's what our fans expect, and we hear it. It’s the thrill of victory/agony of defeat. We’re feeling it year one, which I think makes this more real. It makes it more special. If we’re able to capture people’s attention, emotion, a little bit more than halfway through our inaugural season, we have something special here.
Q. You’ve talked about Charlotte FC doing things differently. What do you mean?
It was going against the grain to say this was going to work in (an NFL) stadium to begin with. The league has been motivated to go to soccer-specific stadiums, and there are strong signs why that works in some markets, but we felt like we could drive enough support, enough energy and make this a place where teams didn’t want to come in. We looked at it as an opportunity. We have a stadium that holds 74,000. We were very open about breaking the MLS attendance record. That was risky. That made some people nervous.
Q. What would you tell someone starting up a franchise what worked for Charlotte FC?
I think the best thing we did is we immediately went out to people with in our region that clearly had a love of soccer. What did they love about it? What would they expect from an MLS team in Charlotte? What can we do for them?
We’ve had some successful international matches here with great crowds, so we had a database. We knew people we could call. We met (fan) Chico (Antonio Sanchez) at a bar in Plaza-Midwood for brunch on a Sunday morning. He was really confused why people from the Carolina Panthers wanted to meet him in Charlotte, because he lives in Salisbury.
I remember someone asking him “Who’s your favorite soccer team?” He’s part of Pancho Villa’s Army, so he loves the Mexican National Team. I believe he also likes Pumas. We said, “Who's your favorite MLS team?” And he said, “I don’t have one.” We said, “Well, you do now. It's going to be the one playing right there in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium.”
Q. What about mistakes you learned from?
We were hesitant to push the envelope during the pandemic. It was a tough time, obviously, for everybody, personally and economically. I think we were almost too conservative on not taking advantage of that time to to continue to promote our brand.
Q. How have you come through the ticket-price uproar?
We’ve stayed the course. What we said from day one was the product was going to be worth it. We understand the pushback initially. But we’ve exceeded expectations. We’re selling more tickets than we had planned for.
Our initial goal was to average about 30,000 a match with the lower level, which was aggressive. As of right now, we’re about 32,000 per match (second in MLS behind Atlanta). If you add the opening match, we’re over 36,000.
Q. What did you think of the response when you opened six sections in the upper deck for the Nashville game (5,500 tickets sold starting at $15-$20). Will the upper deck seats become a regular thing? (Otherwise it’s only been open for the home-opener, the Chelsea match and potentially for a playoff game.)
We heard the fans say “Why don’t you open the upper deck?” We were hoping to do that once this year. We just wanted to find the right time, the right formula. We had Americana Night (July 9) and pregame activation (on Mint Street). It was a Saturday night, seven o’clock. So we said “Let’s do it.” …
It’s something we’ve considered doing again. Absolutely. (But) it’s not as easy just saying we’re going to open the upper level for every match. There are logistics. There’s making sure making sure the demand’s there. We want the atmosphere to be the best in MLS.
Q. You’re in the midst of a second straight game with a weather delay, where lightning strikes nearby force you to close the gates right when fans are expecting them to open. How is the team working to address the problem of fans getting stuck in long lines during and after weather delays?
The communication is going to be more streamlined moving forward. (Before Nashville) there were three or four different reports coming in from different sources: the broadcast, our people internally here at the stadium, Nashville was getting their own. We just wanted to get to a point where we had very clear and concise information.
Q. How do you build on the momentum from this season going into next?
Continue to listen each and every day. And that’s for the diehard soccer fan that’s been waiting for this forever, the casual fan that might have been to one or two matches and someone maybe who hasn’t come to a match. We want to understand what can we do better.
We’ll continue to innovate, continue to put a lot of time and energy and into game day atmosphere and entertainment, and then how we show up in the community is really important. That is something will probably grow a little bit more, that needs to grow.
Joe LaBue was featured along with a host of Charlotte FC staffers and fans in a documentary released this week by European soccer website 90min.com:
16-year-old Romero orchestrates game’s biggest moment; ‘It felt like one of those movies, a soccer movie’
Not to get lost in all the emotion of Wednesday night is the fact that Charlotte played its first international “friendly” like an exhibition, too. One way you could tell is that 16-year-old Brian Romero got into the game to begin with.
Charlotte FC coach Christian Lattanzio had set out to get all his big names close to 45 minutes each and to let every player on the active roster see some time against one of the best teams in the world. He kept his word by inserting Romero, a call-up from Charlotte’s U-17 Academy team, into the game in the 89th minute, down 1-0, to make his MLS debut.
Romero is a rising junior at Jay M. Robinson High School in Concord and does not yet have a driver’s license or learner’s permit, the Charlotte Observer reported. His mom was driving him Tuesday night when he found out he had a chance to play against Chelsea.
Brian Romero, a 16-year-old from Charlotte FC’s Academy, draws a penalty to set-up game-tying goal vs. Chelsea. (Photo by Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project.)
Romero took advantage of the time. Within the blink of an eye, he was driving into the box and firing a ball toward goal. It glanced off the arm of a Chelsea defender to draw a foul, a yellow card and a penalty kick for Charlotte FC. He was mobbed by veteran teammates, who then all lined up to watch Daniel Rios convert the PK with the clock locked at 90:00 to send the game to a penalty shootout. Charlotte FC outscored Chelsea 5-3 after third string goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega made the one save he needed to give Charlotte the edge, and Kamil Jozwiak nailed home the game-winner.
“It felt like one of those movies, a soccer movie,” the baby-faced Romero said afterward. “Everything felt so amazing, so close up to me. I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is actually real.’”
After a host of hugs, handshakes, hair-tousling and one over-the-shoulder lift from his teammates, Romero found his family down on the field. When he saw his mom and dad, two sisters and brother, tears started flowing as he embraced them.
“I was thinking about my dream of playing the professional game, seeing my mom and my dad (and all they did) to get to where I am right now,” Romero said afterward. “It was such an emotional moment. I feel like I made them proud. That was my goal since the beginning. They can see that the hard work paid off.”
Lattanzio said afterward that the reaction Romero got from Charlotte FC players was genuine because they’ve seen him make moves like that in practice.
“He does he does that, even with us in training,” Lattanzio said. “He has scored a couple of goals like that. It’s something that comes natural to him, to be able to run past people. He glides through players and he has this great confidence to do it against anybody. I don’t think he was fazed that he was playing Chelsea. … He’s a very respectful kid with the players and the staff, as he should be, but when he has the ball, he is not so respectful.”
Pulisic calls Bank of America Stadium atmosphere ‘amazing’
U.S. Men’s National team star and Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic in action Wednesday vs. Charlotte FC. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
Christian Pulisic, star of the U.S. Men’s National team, soaked in his second visit to Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium by singing along with Charlotte fans during the national anthem — which is their new tradition to take it up a cappella — and scoring Chelsea’s only goal in regulation. He chipped in a deflection to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead 30 minutes into the game.
That was Pulisic’s third goal at Bank of America Stadium after he scored two for the German team Borussia Dortmund against Liverpool in an International Champions Cup game here in 2018.
“Amazing,” Pulisic said when asked about the Bank of America atmosphere during a TV interview on the field after the game. “Charlotte has really impressed me, and they’ve come a long way as a soccer city.”
Early in the game, Pulisic got a yellow card for a hard foul against defender Jan Sobocinski. It drew a shrug and a smile from Pulisic, who was then greeted with a hug from Charlotte FC captain and veteran of the Premier League, Christian Fuchs. Pulisic also drew some attention — in the form of tackles — from midfielder Brandt Bronico, who grew up a Chelsea fan.
“This team was good,” Pulisic said. “They really surprised us. I thought it was a good match today, and with penalties anything can happen. I think they gave us a big test, and they looked like they were in (mid-)season form and very fit. They played a good match to be fair.”
Ortiz on the outs: Charlotte FC at crossroads with midfielder
Midfielder Titi Ortiz has apparently fallen out of favor with Charlotte FC, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see him moved before the end of the second transfer window. Jorge Gonzalez of TopBin90.com is reporting the team is looking to end his loan.
Ortiz was not on the 27-man roster for Wednesday night’s friendly against Chelsea. When asked why afterward, Charlotte FC coach said “I prefer not to talk about that.”
Ortiz would become the second player to depart since the firing of Miguel Angel Ramirez, joining Allen Franco who left on loan to Club Club Atletico in Argentina. Both Ortiz and Franco had played for Ramirez with Independiente Del Valle in Ecuador.
Ortiz arrived with high expectations as an attacking midfielder and has shown dynamic technical skills. But his play has been inconsistent and his effort level questioned at times. Lattanzio left him off the travel roster when Charlotte FC went to Houston on July 3, and he hasn’t played since. Ortiz has one goal and two assists in 15 games for Charlotte FC, including eight starts.
Attacking midfield is a position Charlotte FC is continuing to pursue during the transfer window, which is open until Aug. 4.
Relive Reyna’s MLS Goal of the Week in slo-mo!
Lost, perhaps in the three-goal collapse in Miami, was the artistry put up by winger Yordy Reyna, who scored a brace (as in two goals) to put Charlotte FC up 2-0 to begin with.
The second one, a pinpoint curler to the far corner, was named MLS Goal of the Week last week with 34.2% of the vote. Check it out — or watch it again — in slow motion in this video by our Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project. Reyna nearly repeated the feat with a similar picturesque shot against Chelsea on Wednesday night, but it bounced off the far post and out of play.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (8-11-2) at Toronto FC (5-12-4)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario.
How to watch: WAXN (Channel 64), Telemundo, or live stream at www.charlottefootballclub/live or on the Charlotte FC app. Local restrictions apply.
Notable:
So Charlotte FC just beat Chelsea. Can it beat Toronto on the road? It’s back out for the second straight weekend, after wasting a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss in Miami last Saturday. Charlotte is now 1-8-2 on the road, with its pivotal first road win coming in Houston on July 3.
While Toronto FC is second to last in the Eastern Conference standings, it is no slouch at home. Toronto is 5-5-1 at BMO Field compared with 0-7-3 on the road.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now cutting her teeth on soccer and the Charlotte FC just as fans in Charlotte do. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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