Bank of America Stadium: Guide to the Home of Charlotte FC

Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club that plays its home matches at Bank of America Stadium, a multisport stadium located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bank of America Stadium Name

The Bank of America Stadium originally known as Ericsson Stadium opened in 1996. The stadiums naming rights were first purchased by Swedish telecommunications firm LM Ericsson Inc. that year for about $20 million over a 10-year period. Then in 2004, Bank of America purchased the naming rights and completed the 20-25-year agreement, worth at least $140 million.

Bank of America Stadium History & Description

Summary

• Address 800 South Mint Street
• Location Charlotte, North Carolina
• Operator Panthers Stadium LLC
• Executive suites 151
• Capacity American football: 74,867 (2021–present)
• Soccer: 38,000 (expandable to 74,867)
• Field size 398 feet long x 280 feet wide
• Surface FieldTurf
• Scoreboard 55.5 ft tall by 198.3 ft wide (x2)

Charlotte FC plays at Bank of America Stadium, a 74,867-seat stadium that is also home to the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League; the Panthers are also owned by Tepper. For most matches, the club only uses the lower bowl and club sections of the stadium, capping capacity at 38,000 seats. For major matches, such as the 2022 home opener, the club expands the stadium to full capacity by opening the upper bowl.

A renovation to accommodate the club began in March 2021 and was completed in early 2022, adding dedicated locker rooms and training rooms for soccer, a player tunnel at midfield, and a larger concourse area. It cost $50 million to construct, with funding from Tepper Sports and the city government. A dedicated section for supporters’ groups is located behind the goal on the east side of the stadium. The stadium’s grass surface was replaced with FieldTurf in 2021 due to the additional wear expected from hosting MLS matches.

In February 2021, Charlotte FC announced that it would be the first MLS team to use personal seat licenses to reserve season tickets in most sections; the cost of seat licenses for the inaugural season was set at $550 per seat and would not be transferable to a potential new stadium. The announcement, along with high season ticket prices for the inaugural season, was met with backlash from fans.

The team’s headquarters and practice facilities were initially planned to be located on the former site of the Eastland Mall, a city-owned property. In October 2020, the planned Eastland Mall facility was cancelled due to a reduction in financial incentives offered by the city government, including a tax reimbursement. The Eastland site was instead proposed as the home of the Charlotte FC Elite Academy, which would occupy 22 acres (8.9 ha) for youth soccer and other public sportsfields. Charlotte FC’s headquarters were replaced with a building in the Uptown neighborhood, while the team would train at Sportsplex at Matthews until a permanent facility is built.

Bank of America Stadium City Description

Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 as of the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous city in the U.S., the seventh most populous city in the South, and the second most populous city in the Southeast behind Jacksonville, Florida. The city is the cultural, economic, and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area, whose 2020 population of 2,660,329 ranked 23rd in the U.S. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2020 census-estimated population of 2,846,550.

Between 2004 and 2014, Charlotte was ranked as the country’s fastest-growing metro area, with 888,000 new residents. Based on U.S. Census data from 2005 to 2015, Charlotte tops the U.S. in millennial population growth. It is the third-fastest-growing major city in the United States. Residents are referred to as “Charlotteans”.

Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America, Truist Financial, and the east coast headquarters of Wells Fargo, which along with other financial institutions has made it the second-largest banking center in the United States.

Among Charlotte’s notable attractions, some of the most popular include the Carolina Panthers (NFL), the Charlotte Hornets (NBA), Charlotte FC (MLS), the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the Charlotte Ballet, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Mint Museum, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Billy Graham Library, Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte Museum of History, Carowinds amusement park, and the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

Bank of America Stadium Weather

Like much of the Piedmont region of the southeastern United States, Charlotte has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons; the city itself is part of USDA hardiness zone 8a, transitioning to 7b in the suburbs in all directions except the south. The following narrative reflects 1991-2020 climate data. Winters are cool, with a normal January daily mean temperature of 42.1 °F (5.6 °C). On average, there are 59 nights per year that drop to or below freezing, and only 1.5 days that fail to rise above freezing. Precipitation is evenly distributed through the year; only August stands out as a slightly wetter month, averaging 4.35 inches of rainfall. Summers are hot and humid, with a normal July daily mean temperature of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C). There is an average 44 days per year with highs at or above 90 °F (32 °C). Official record temperatures range from 104 °F (40 °C) recorded six times, most recently from June 29 to July 1, 2012, down to −5 °F (−21 °C) recorded on January 21, 1985, the most recent of three occasions. The record cold daily maximum is 14 °F (−10 °C) on February 12 and 13, 1899, and the record warm daily minimum is 82 °F (28 °C) on August 13, 1881. The average window for freezing temperatures is November 5 through March 30, allowing a growing season of 220 days.

Charlotte is directly in the path of subtropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico as it heads up the eastern seaboard, thus the city receives ample precipitation throughout the year but also many clear, sunny days; precipitation is generally less frequent in autumn than in spring. On average, Charlotte receives 43.60 inches (1,110 mm) of precipitation annually, evenly distributed throughout the year. Annual precipitation has historically ranged from 26.23 in (666 mm) in 2001 to 68.44 in (1,738 mm) in 1884. There is an average of 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) of snow, mainly in January and February and rarely December or March, with more frequent ice storms and sleet mixed in with rain; seasonal snowfall has historically ranged from trace amounts in 2011–12 to 22.6 in (57 cm) in 1959–60. Snow and ice storms can have a major impact on the area, as they often pull tree limbs down onto power lines and make driving hazardous. Snow has been recorded a small number of times in April, most recently, April 2, 2019.

As of 2020, the Charlotte metropolitan area as a whole is noted for having one of the worst weather radar gaps among any major U.S. East Coast city, with little to no coverage in a roughly quadrilateral area spanning Concord, Salisbury and much of Statesville. As the nearest NWS-owned NEXRAD is located in Greer, South Carolina, more than 80 mi (130 km) to the west-southwest of Charlotte, this deficit is particularly problematic during severe thunderstorm or tornado episodes. The current lowest angle of the radar, based in Greer, is quite far above the surface over Charlotte, so the velocities measurement for detecting rotations cannot be below mid-level in potential tornado-forming storms and thus cannot indicate whether said rotation extends closer to the ground (below 5,000 ft (1,500 m)).

How to get to Bank of America Stadium

• I-85 from the South – Look for signs to exit at either Billy Graham Parkway, Freedom Drive, Brookshire Freeway (I-277 East) or I-77 South.
• I-85 from the North – Look for signs to exit at either Sugar Creek Road, Graham Street, Statesville Avenue or I-77 South.
• I-77 from the South – Look for signs to exit at either John Belk Freeway (I-277) or Trade Street.
• I-77 from the North – Look for signs to exit at either Brookshire Freeway (I-277 East), Fifth Street, Trade Street, Morehead Street or John Belk Freeway (I-277).
• Wilkinson Boulevard (US 74) from the West – Follow signs for John Belk Freeway (I-277) and exit at either Carson Boulevard, College Street, South Boulevard or Brevard Street.
• Independence Boulevard (US 74) from the East – Follow signs for John Belk Freeway (I-277) and exit at either Sixth Street, Fourth Street, Stonewall Street or South Boulevard.
• Brookshire Freeway (I-277) from the West – Look for signs to exit at either I-77 South, Graham Street, Church Street or Brevard Street.
• NC 49/US 29 from the Northeast – Follow Tryon Street to Church Street.
• Airport – Follow Josh Birmingham Parkway 1.5 miles to Billy Graham Parkway South. Proceed on Billy Graham to I-77 North. Look for signs to exit at either John Belk Freeway (I-277) or Trade Street.

Rideshare Pickup/Dropoff

The City of Charlotte advises fans to pick up and drop off using their preferred rideshare app at the corner of Third and Church Sts. next to Romare Bearden Park.

Bank of America Stadium Parking

Fans with assigned parking will receive information and details that will be mailed with their season tickets. Other ticket holders will be responsible for their own parking arrangements. There are more than 30,000 parking spaces within a 10-15 minute walk of the stadium. Parking operators lease parking spaces on a game-by-game or seasonal basis near Bank of America Stadium.

In order to reserve your parking with operators before game day, click here. This will assure your spot and allow you to pre-pay.

Game Day Navigation

The Panthers have partnered with Waze and Google maps to help navigate fans on game days. WAZE and Google maps are the ONLY GPS programs with event day traffic plans and street closures, providing accurate directions, and real-time traffic alerts to pre-purchased game day lots.

1. To get started, please download Waze (iOS | Android) or Google Maps (iOS | Android) on your mobile device.
2. Click to input your parking lot address, Waze or Google Maps will do the rest.
3. After the road closures have been lifted, maps will automatically return to a normal traffic pattern in the app.

Recreational Vehicle Parking

Recreational vehicle parking for events at Bank of America Stadium, including Carolina Panthers and college football games, are operated by Premier Parking and Preferred Parking. For more information, including cost and locations, contact either Premier Parking at 704-726-0788 or Preferred Parking at 704-375-6014 or go to www.preferredparking.com.

Bank of America Stadium Tickets

Click here to purchase tickets through Charlotte FC’s official website.