RugbyPike#11

The official announcement for Charlotte's new Major League Rugby team is out! https://anthemrc.com/news/mlr-world-rugby-usa-rugby-forge-historic-partnership/ And I am absolutely thrilled to see that the venue will be Memorial Stadium and NOT Bank of America Stadium as it was listed on the schedule that was previously released to players.

I hope Tepper is not involved in any way. I'm completely guessing and I don't have any inside information on this, but maybe he's offering a relative discount on the stadium as an MLR venue as part of a broader deal for when the RWC comes to the US? Totally speculating again, maybe because World Rugby is involved with the team, we could host a series of international friendlies as part of a double-header with the Charlotte MLR matches? Unless there's something else going on, BOA as the venue would be baffling. The average league attendance is pretty low, I think in part because some teams have moved venues and not done a particularly good job of marketing. Even if we double that 2,500 attendance figure, have 5,000 people per game, and only open the lower bowl of BOA, the stadium is going to feel as empty as... a Panthers game this season. 5,000 people in Memorial Stadium would be a much better gameday atmosphere. We'll see what happens. I'll still try to catch all the matches!

Charlotte is going to have a Major League Rugby team. I don't use the word "franchise," because this team will be something of a developmental squad for the US National Team even though they'll play an MLR schedule. World Rugby is apparently kicking in funding to try to help make the US National Team a little more competitive by the time the US hosts the Rugby World Cup in 2031. Given the league's attendance history, Memorial Stadium would be a perfect venue for this team, but I have heard they're planning to play their first season in Bank of America Stadium. I don't know if Memorial Stadium was booked or if they have some intelligence that Charlotte will be able to make the lower bowl look full at BOA. I'm personally very excited about the team, albeit skeptical about BOA as a venue. Hopefully Charlotte can prove my pessimism wrong! https://www.americasrugbynews.com/2024/01/06/world-rugby-backed-usa-development-team-to-join-mlr/

Happened upon this posting with NRDC and I have to think that some active contributors to this thread could qualify: Southeast Mobility Choices Advocate https://careers-nrdc.icims.com/jobs/5087/southeast-mobility-choices-advocate/job?mobile=false&width=970&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=-300&jun1offset=-240

There’s still a large tract of right off the interstate that will be served by a new interchange. The land itself will still have considerable value even if Tepper scraps all the steel from the construction project. There won’t be anything on it for awhile because Tepper has to spend time and money trying to force any unpaid contractors and lenders to take a haircut. Real class act.

The state is building the interchange, which was long needed and is supposed to move forward even if the Panthers don't move forward. I believe the city was supposed to fund the local infrastructure for roads and sewage, and that’s what the bonds were supposed to pay for.

Supposedly there are both Panthers execs and RH City officials who want to sit down and get the project back on track, but the RH Mayor and Tepper are refusing to speak to each other. The SC Governor’s “leadership” amounts to an incompetent old redneck saying, “Y’all just need to sit down and figure this out!”

I asked an involved party, "Is the City of Rock Hill incompetent or is David Tepper an a**hole?" The response I received was, "Yes."

It feels like the original Bojangles should have some brick, or at least a faux brick facade. This first ever Bojangles looks like it could be any random Bojangles off I-95. Celebrate the original Bojangles!!!

"I own six different property companies in uptown alone!"

Anybody have a chance to read the infrastructure bill yet? Does this have a chance to speed up silver line construction?

I didn't realize Wichita State moved out of the Missouri Valley Conference... *checks notes* four years ago. That makes it slightly more exciting for basketball, though I'm not totally convinced they'll maintain the success they had after Gregg Marshall's scandal and departure. Agree that it's a step up from CUSA regardless. Either way, winning games is what makes for a fun program, and I don't remember Charlotte being any good since the Melvin Watkins and Bobby Lutz run.

I don't have a dog in the Charlotte university fight (I kind of do, but Winthrop doesn't factor into this discussion without a football program), but it seems like a great move for football. ECU is a good in-state rival. Hopefully they can also set up some kind of consistent non-conference matchup with App State. Maybe the Charlotte/UTSA matchup will be fun in the USAA offices. The Charlotte metro has some pretty solid high school football talent, and with the right coach, Charlotte can become competitive by feasting on the 3 stars that can't quite make it into the power 5 (or is it 4 now?). If they're not too stingy with the transfer credits, they can also pull in some talented players from the transfer portal. It's not the same as what it was in the pre-realignment Big East, but being competitive in the AAC could really help to elevate the university's national brand. It's not wildly exciting for basketball unless they can challenge Memphis for conference championships. I can't speak at all to the impact to non-revenue sports.

Never realized before now how freaky Martha Stewart fans are.

How many of you have tried to play this video more than once? The pandemic has done a real number on my brain.