Charlotte Independence is on the verge of an important milestone in the club’s history.
For years, the team has played its home matches on the outskirts of the city at Matthews Sportsplex. And while the 5,000-seat home stadium is surrounded by beautiful woodlands and has plenty of parking, proximity is a challenge. Matthews Sportsplex is a 25-minute drive from downtown Charlotte, which makes it hard for local fans who are accustomed to the downtown venues that most other Charlotte pro teams boast.
That’s why the club is giddy about its new American Legion Memorial Stadium. Starting July 7, the club will have a new home in the Elizabeth neighborhood situated right in the heart of the city. The stadium is just steps away from one of the main public transit lines and has a beautiful backdrop of the downtown Charlotte skyline.
Not to mention the new stadium change comes at the right time when the club will be competing against Major League Soccer newcomer Charlotte FC for attention.
While Charlotte Independence still has plenty to sort out regarding its ownership and culture, we hope that happens sooner rather than later so the new stadium can be the beginning of a new era.
The players on that team certainly deserve it, and the Jack’s Militia and Queen City supporters are some of the best around.
Until then, we wanted to share our gameday photo journal from one of the last matches at Matthews Sportsplex.
More than 1,000 fans made the trip to Matthews Sportsplex on a hot June day to watch the team take on the league-leading Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Even a group of Tampa Bay Rowdies fans made the trek up north for an annual away day tradition. The group showed up two hours early to tailgate and made their voices heard despite the 1-0 loss.
While the new stadium will most definitely be an upgrade, we will miss the VIP deck overlooking the goal at Matthews Park.
