First look at pro soccer ticket prices — and swanky 'Tunnel Club'
Plus: Housing prices rise in opportunity zones; Don't panic about stock market, financial adviser says; There's no lake in Cotswold but you can now row anyway
Good morning! Today is Friday, February 28, 2020. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Email to soccer fans includes renderings of field-level club, suggests ticket prices as low as $26 a game; Queen Charlotte with neon crown
The Carolina Panthers are planning renovations to Bank of America Stadium that include a “Tunnel Club” where fans paying top dollar can watch soccer players entering the “pitch,” or field. And for the first time, the team gave an indication of what it is thinking of charging for soccer games — and it’s pretty reasonable.
In an email to soccer fans who have put down deposits on season tickets for Charlotte’s new Major League Soccer team, the Panthers shared images of what the new club might look like.
The renderings show guys in jeans and cargo shorts behind a glass partition drinking bottled beverages, while others hold phones above their heads to snap shots of players entering the field:
A separate rendering shows the entrance to the club, which appears to have a depiction of the city’s namesake, Queen Charlotte, on the ceiling with a neon crown:
It looks like a swanky place. And it appears as though getting in won’t be cheap.
According to figures floated by the team in the email, a tunnel club seat located at field level along the north sideline could go for $8,350 a year, plus a one-time seat-license fee of $4,300. The tunnel club seats appeared to be the most expensive in the stadium, according to prices in the email, which was obtained Thursday by The Ledger.
The email included an online survey designed to gauge interest in different kinds of seats, so the prices are probably not exact. It is the first time the team has suggested ticket prices, which many fans were hoping would be reasonable. They seem to be cheaper than Panthers games. Whew.
The least expensive seats were lower level, behind one of the goals. Those were listed at $450 for the season with no seat license. In MLS, each team plays 17 regular home games, so those cheapest seats would be a little over $26 a game. (Or a little less, if the team plays one or two “friendlies,” or non-league games.)
Music and flags: Behind the opposite end zone, er, goal, the team plans to reserve space for a “supporters section” for its most hardcore fans. Those sections are typical in soccer games. The email describes the section as a place where “supporters would most likely stand throughout the entirety of the match, creating a unique atmosphere by singing songs, playing instruments and waving flags.” Those seats are listed at $600 for the season, which works out to about $35 per game, plus a $250 seat license.
Some people might doubt that soccer can be popular in Charlotte. But the team said last month that it has already accepted deposits on more than 22,000 season tickets. Team officials don’t plan to sell tickets to the stadium’s upper deck.
For screen shots of the entire email and survey, head over to The Ledger’s supplemental website. The Panthers did not return an email on Thursday asking about the planned renovations and seat prices.
Background: MLS awarded Charlotte an expansion team in December. The team does not have a name yet, but it will be run by the Panthers organization and owner David Tepper. The city and team are working on plans for a financial package that includes up to $110M in tourism tax money. The funds are thought to go toward stadium renovations and redevelopment of the old Eastland Mall site in east Charlotte, where the team will have headquarters and training facilities. The first games will be next year.
WCNC reported this week that Tepper has talked to an architecture firm in Dallas. The Panthers last month started construction on 14 field-level luxury suites for football fans, which requires the removal of some seats.
Soccer fan Johnny Wakefield said he was enthused about the images: “I’m curious about the painting of Queen Charlotte on the ceiling of the entrance and what that means for the brand/team name. Should be fun to see what actually comes from these hypotheticals.”
(Previous Ledger article: “What Atlanta can teach Tepper about soccer.”)
Home values rise as money flows into Charlotte opportunity zones
Housing prices are on the rise in more than half of Charlotte’s federal opportunity zones — areas targeted for more investment in the 2017 tax law.
According to a new report from Attom Data, the sales price of houses increased in nine of Charlotte’s 17 zones between the 4Q of 2018 and the 4Q of 2019. Money has been pouring into many of the economically distressed areas as investors take advantage of tax incentives.
The Charlotte zone with the biggest increase was along the light rail line near the Sugar Creek Station, where housing prices rose 53%, to a median price of $135,500. That area is on the outskirts of NoDa toward UNC Charlotte. The zone with the second-highest increase, at 46%, was near the airport, near Wilkinson Boulevard at Billy Graham Parkway.
Nationally, home prices over the previous year rose about 9%, the report said.
Related article: The Observer ran a comprehensive piece last month about gentrification in Charlotte’s opportunity zones. Some residents complained that rising prices were pushing them out of their neighborhoods.
Today’s supporting sponsors are The McIntosh Law Firm/Carolina Revaluation Services…
… and Cardinal Real Estate Partners:
Yikes, the stock market. Don’t make it worse, advisers say
The stock market has taken an absolute beating this week. Really, you don’t want to look.
The major indexes were down more than 4% on Thursday. In the last six days, they’re down more than 10%. The Wall Street Journal quoted a chief investment officer who put it succinctly: “Obviously, it’s a bloodbath.”
In these times, people often call their financial advisers, who typically counsel not to sell your stocks in panic. The Ledger reached out to Larry Carroll of Carroll Financial in SouthPark for the best advice. His reply:
First and foremost, stick to your plan. The market is now down 12% from its high, which is a very normal drawdown in any calendar year. In fact, the average drawdown in a calendar year is 13.9%. …
Above all else, resist the urge to panic and sell stocks. The time to build your ark is before it starts raining. Meaning you, and your portfolio, should always be ready for a decline of 10-15% because it could happen at any time.
Doing nothing and waiting out the storm might not sound like a plan. But the alternative could be worse.
Correction
An article in Wednesday’s newsletter misstated the vote total of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg board of education decision to reduce the number of classrooms at new high schools. The vote was 7-2.
In brief
No boat required: A new rowing gym called Row House is opening at Cotswold Village in the old Binders space, according to the company’s website. Participants can “jump into an immersive, energetic indoor rowing class that blends low-impact cardio, resistance training, stretching, and rhythm-based rowing.” The company, which franchises locations across the country, says the workout will “take the stigma out of rowing.” Cotswold is becoming an exercise hotbed, with Y2 Yoga and 9Round at the shopping center and Flywheel down the street.
Funeral home rezoning: A developer is seeking to rezone the parcel that contains Harry & Bryant Co., a funeral home on Providence Road in Eastover, according to city records. Bucci Development Co. wants to rezone the 1.1-acre site from general business to office use. Harry & Bryant, which opened in 1883, is Charlotte’s oldest funeral home, its website says.
Game over? Interest in the video game Fortnite appears to be declining. The popular game, created by Cary-based Epic Games, produced its lowest level of revenue since November 2017, according to a new report. (News & Observer)
Another Wells fine: Wells Fargo agreed to pay $35M to settle charges that it didn’t prevent brokers from selling exchange-traded funds to risk-averse clients. “Some of the bank’s brokers recommended single-inverse ETF investments to clients including senior citizens and retirees, even though the employees didn’t fully understand the risk of losses.” (Bloomberg)
Harry the Dragon drops graveyard shift: Harris Teeter is ending its practice of having some of its stores open 24 hours. Instead, they’ll close at midnight and reopen at 5 or 6 a.m. The change affects three stores in Charlotte: Cotswold, Morrocroft and Quail Corners. (Observer)
Transit corridors: The city is proposing some minor changes to its new Transit-Oriented Development ordinance, according to a rezoning petition filed Thursday. Some of the areas with minor alterations include guidelines on frontages, development bonuses and transportation improvements. The City Council adopted the ordinance last year to guide growth along transit corridors.
More travelers: Charlotte-Douglas International Airport says it will be announcing 2019 “record-breaking passenger counts” on Tuesday. In case you haven’t noticed, the airport has been growing to accommodate more passengers.
Circus train: The state of North Carolina owns an abandoned circus train. It’s in the woods in Nash County, near Rocky Mount. The N.C. Department of Transportation bought the nine rail cars for $383,000 in 2017 and is figuring out what to do with them. (Carolina Journal, N&O)
Food and drink news
A weekly wrap-up of the week’s eating and drinking developments
Vegan-curious in NoDa: Oh My Soul, a “highly anticipated” vegan cafe in NoDa, opens tonight. Menu items include “vegan ribs, chicken and fish” that can be washed down with “vegan cocktails or wine.” The restaurant is open to all, the owner says, “including those who are health- and fitness-aware, people who are vegan for the animals, and even carnivores who may have questions or curiosity about veganism.” Dogs are welcome on the back patio. (CharlotteFive)
Culinary honor: James Beard semi-finalists include Greg Collier of Uptown Yolk Joe Kindred of Kindred and Hello, Sailor. Both are in the Best Chef (Southeast) category. (CharlotteFive, Biz Journal) [corrected 2/28/20 at 9:18am with 2020 information]
SouthPark hotel restaurant: The new Canopy by Hilton SouthPark, on Barclay Downs Drive across from SouthPark mall, will have a restaurant called Fine & Fettle that is expected to open April 24. Dishes will range from $17-20 and include Spanish octopus, which “comes with harissa romesco sauce, housemade guanciale, roasted carrots, pickled red carrots, and a squid ink tuile,” and “roasted guinea hen with Carolina gold rice risotto, crispy kale, and roasted mushrooms.” (Agenda)
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The Charlotte Ledger is published by Tony Mecia, an award-winning former Charlotte Observer business reporter and editor. He lives in Charlotte with his wife and three children.