Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber will be in Charlotte Tuesday morning for a "special announcement."
The subject of the announcement – Charlotte landing the league's 30th team – may be the worst-kept secret in the city. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has been pushing for a Charlotte MLS team for months, and the announcement was confirmed last week.
Tuesday's announcement – set for 10 a.m. – will be at the Mint Museum's uptown location. Tepper and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles are also scheduled to speak.
Last week, the city released documents about Charlotte getting a team – including a letter from Lyles to Garber that said the city will spend $110 million in tourism tax money to renovate Bank of America Stadium for soccer use and that the team can be headquartered at the old Eastland Mall site off Central Avenue on the city's east side.
City Council gave tentative approval to the incentives in closed session but hasn't yet voted in an open session.
MLSsoccer.com will live stream the announcement.
DT Soccer LLC, meanwhile, which is an affiliate of the Panthers, filed a list of potential names for an MLS team with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Those names include Charlotte FC, Charlotte Crown FC and six others.
