The pro soccer player with a fixer-upper side gig
Plus: Top news of the week — CMS sues social media giants; Mooresville house explodes; data center proposed for University City; Ledger debuts election hub
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High-energy Charlotte FC midfielder Brandt Bronico spends his spare time renovating homes: ‘The grind never stops,’ says his wife
Bronico and his wife, Rebecca, celebrate hanging a shelf in the kitchen of their Lake Norman property. (Photo courtesy of Brandt Bronico.)
by Carroll Walton
Charlotte FC midfielder Brandt Bronico is known for having a motor on the field. But get a load of what the team’s workhorse has been doing off the field.
He and his wife, Rebecca, have been buying and fixing up Airbnb rental properties and doing the bulk of the work themselves. You might find them painting, installing shoe molding, hanging shelves or cabinetry, just about everything this side of electrical and plumbing work.
One of their properties is now a bottom floor apartment in their own home, which is located between Plaza-Midwood and NoDa. The other property, which they are still working on, is a duplex a block away from a marina at Lake Norman, which they hope to get on the rental market by late September. (You can find their listings on Instagram here.)
Even after a hard day’s practice with Charlotte FC, Bronico will often drive up to Lake Norman to meet Rebecca and pick up a paint brush or drill.
“I’m not a big video game guy,” he said. “This is more up my alley.”
Bronico has built a reputation for his work ethic, which he dubs his “grindset” mentality, both in the weight room and on the field. It’s pretty clear that same mantra applies off the field, too. Rebecca labeled a video of Brandt drilling into a wall to install kitchen cabinets by writing: “The grind never stops.”
Rebecca said Brandt wakes up at 5:30 a.m. every day, even his off days, for quiet time to reflect, read a devotional and set goals. That also means he’s in bed relatively early.
“Bedtime is 10 p.m.,” Rebecca said. “The TV’s off, lights, everything. We could be in the middle of a show, the most action-packed thing, a cliffhanger and he’s like, ‘OK, TV’s off. 10 o’clock.’”
That self-discipline and determination has helped Bronico excel in a variety of ventures. Last year he started his own BB13 clothing line. On Sunday, he will be hosting his second annual charity event to benefit Beds for Kids.
Even at the height of his soccer career — the 28-year-old Bronico has played in 55 of Charlotte FC’s first 57 MLS games, starting all but four — he’s keeping an eye on the future. Bronico said he first started reading about renovations during Covid lockdowns.
“As a professional athlete, we’re always told ‘You guys have so much time in the afternoon that you need to work on something to build your future because you can’t play soccer forever,’” Bronico said. “This has been a great learning experience. And it’s also been another building block for something that Rebecca and I want to do long-term.”
Bronico said eventually they’d like to own as many as seven to 10 properties, starting in the Charlotte area and branching out to Wilmington and Asheville.
As for whether any of his short-term renters have an idea who their landlord is?
“Maybe not, because it’s all under my wife’s name,” Bronico said. “She’s pretty much the mastermind and operator of all of it. And then I usually help her when I can.”
At tonight’s game — Bronico bobbleheads: Bronico is also becoming the first Charlotte FC player to get his own bobblehead.
The first 7,500 fans at Bank of America Stadium for tonight’s game against Los Angeles FC will receive a bobblehead. Bronico, who grew up in High Point and played college soccer at UNC Charlotte, is featured ripping his proverbial shirt apart in his “Superman” goal celebration he adopted from longtime Carolina Panthers star quarterback Cam Newton. Bronico says he asked for the design to include a mullet.
Brandt Bronico bobbleheads will be distributed to the first 7,500 fans at tonight’s game. (Left photo by Carroll Walton; Bronico and bobblehead photo on right courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Carroll Walton writes The Ledger’s weekly Fútbol Friday newsletter, which gets hardcore and casual soccer fans up to speed on Charlotte FC. Carroll is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Reach her at carroll@cltledger.com.
About The Ledger’s Fútbol Friday newsletter
Every week during the season, Carroll Walton provides original insights and analysis on Charlotte FC, Charlotte’s pro soccer team, in our free Fútbol Friday newsletter — along with photography by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project. Whether you’re a longtime soccer fan or just learning, we’ll tell you what you need to know.
It is one of four Charlotte-focused newsletters we offer — the main Ledger, Transit Time (transit/transportation), Ways of Life (obituaries, on hiatus until next month) and Fútbol Friday.
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This week in Charlotte: Early voting gets underway; CMS needs more than 500 teachers; huge dog park planned at Whitewater Center; social district finally headed to Plaza-Midwood?
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
CMS sues TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram: (Ledger 🔒) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools filed a lawsuit against the parent companies of popular social media platforms, saying their products are contributing to a mental health crisis.
CMS short on teachers: (WBTV) With school opening on Monday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools says it needs more than 500 teachers, an increase from the 400 vacancies it had at the start of last year.
Politics
Time to vote: Early voting started Thursday for the Democratic primary for city of Charlotte offices. The Ledger’s Election Hub tells you what you need to know. Early voting goes through Sept. 9, with the primary on Sept. 12.
Justice stepping down: (WRAL) N.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan is stepping down from his position early. He has been considering a run for governor.
Local news
Deadly house explosion: (WBTV) A $3M home in Mooresville owned by a Tennessee Titans player exploded and collapsed early Tuesday, killing a 61-year-old man. The 6,500 s.f. home is owned by Titans cornerback Caleb Farley, who was not home at the time.
Fido unleashed: (Axios Charlotte) The U.S. National Whitewater Center will open a 70-acre dog park in November that will include a biergarten, a lakefront beach, water and trail access and a space for special events and groups.
Business
NoDa street vendors: (Ledger 🔒) Some businesses in the NoDa neighborhood want the city to regulate street vendors, whose booths are sometimes so crowded that they block sidewalks and business entrances.
UCity data center: (WFAE) American Real Estate Partners says it wants to build a 2.5 million s.f. data center in University City, near the intersection of I-485 and University City Boulevard. Some residents have said they are worried about the potential for noise.
Sports
Soccer star wants to move up: (Fútbol Friday) Charlotte FC’s leading scorer, Karol Swiderski, says he would like to play in Europe at some point. The transfer deadline is next week.
Good reads
Oppo man: (The Assembly) As the political season heats up, opposition researchers work in the shadows to unearth unflattering information on opponents. Writing for The Assembly, Bryan Anderson looks into this world through the eyes of the political operative who helped shape North Carolina’s 2020 U.S. Senate race by exposing an extramarital affair by Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham.
More cowbell: (North Carolina Rabbit Hole) A Raleigh PR executive owns the Blue Öyster Cult’s cowbell from “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” that was parodied in a famous 2000 “Saturday Night Live” sketch by Will Ferrell. Writer Jeremy Markovich investigates, following a report in 2021 that the cowbell used in the SNL sketch was auctioned off in Roanoke Rapids.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Social district: Leaders in Plaza-Midwood are on the verge of submitting paperwork to the city to create a mile-long social district, where people could walk legally with open containers. It would be the city’s first.
Retirement community finances: Of the 11 retirement communities in Mecklenburg regulated by the N.C. Department of Insurance, only Aldersgate was flagged by auditors for its finances. Separately, on Wednesday, The Ledger reported that Aldersgate’s CEO said she’s proud of the work the organization is doing to ensure its short- and long-term sustainability.
Opposition to development plans: Neighbors in the Piper Glen area continue to oppose a developer’s plans to build housing on 53 wooded acres, even as the number of units has been cut by 40%, to 640.
Wednesday (🔒)
Bulldozers in Rea Farms: There’s construction in Rea Farms, and we answer a reader’s question about what’s up.
Not a sports bar: Some residents in Fort Mill were surprised last week when a charge showed up on their bank statements for “Drafts Sports Bar and Grill,” which they didn’t visit.
Quotable: WBT’s Brett Jensen said on the air this week that The Ledger is “almost anal” about properly crediting sources of information.
Friday (🔒)
Drink package bust: The Puttery in South End was visited by an alcohol enforcement agent, who discovered it was offering three-hour drink packages that are not allowed under N.C. law, according to documents from the N.C. ABC Commission.
School bond political consultants: The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has hired a couple political heavyweights as lead consultants on getting Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ big $2.5B bond package passed by voters, Business North Carolina reported.
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority is organizing a trip by Charlotte chefs to cook Charlotte food in Atlanta, part of a move to build up Charlotte as a culinary destination.
Self-driving cars: Research by an N.C. State professor finds that self-driving cars, like the ones tested in Charlotte this month, might actually slow traffic rather than make it better.
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