Charlotte, North Carolina is home to Truist Field, a baseball stadium. The Charlotte Knights of the International League’s Triple-A division play at the stadium in the Uptown neighborhood. It’s the third sporting facility to go up in Uptown, joining Bank of America Stadium (where the Carolina Panthers of the NFL and the Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer play) and Spectrum Center (where the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA play).
The stadium has a two-story club with views of the city and a VIP club with air conditioning and a complete bar. There are a total of 22 premium suites and 975 club seats available at the ballpark. The ballpark was the most hitter-friendly in the International League and Triple-A from 2014 to 2016, as measured by the home-run factor. Among Triple-A teams, it had the greatest hit percentage and ranked fifth in the league. The restricted space on the lot necessitated foul lines that were a few feet shorter than those recommended by minor league standards, according to Knights general manager Scotty Smith.
The discussion over whether or not Charlotte should build the Knights a stadium in Uptown periodically flared into acrimony. Since the turn of the millennium, the Knights’ fans have consistently made up the International League’s smallest demographic. Their old stadium, Knights Stadium, was 30 minutes south of Uptown Charlotte in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Many spectators opted not to make the trip due to the heavy traffic on Interstate 77.
Jerry Reese, a Charlotte attorney who argued that the property transaction was improper, had frequently stood in the way of the development proposal. A Triple-A sized stadium for the Knights was seen as a negative by Reese, who wanted to bring an MLB franchise to Charlotte. After Mecklenburg County commission chairman Parks Helms announced in August 2006 that he would delay an arts project unless the Charlotte City Council looked at a proposal he sponsored to bring baseball to Uptown, the stadium became the subject of further dispute.
The expansion of A.C.C. plans to bring back the A.C.C. baseball tournament to Charlotte is another possibility. Before the NCAA banned South Carolina from hosting predetermined championships in response to NAACP lobbying for the state’s exhibition of the Confederate flag on State House grounds, the ACC tournament had been held at Knights Stadium.
The new ballpark in Uptown’s Third Ward will be built on the site of the demolished Piedmont and Northern Railway’s Interurban Depot, which had previously been used for vehicle parking and storage. This demolition occurred before 1970.[quote missing] A number of new, mid-rise hotels, as well as dining and shopping options, are planned for the area surrounding the new stadium.
In March of 2014, the ballpark hosted its maiden event, a softball game between members of the media. On April 11, 2014, the Knights played their debut game. The International League All-Stars defeated the Pacific Coast League All-Stars, 4-2, in the 2016 Triple-A All-Star Game, which was held at this venue. During the 2018 season, the Charlotte Knights will play host to six college baseball games as part of the Sunbelt Rentals Collegiate Baseball Series, as announced in January by Chief Operating Officer Dan Rajkowski. The previous record was set only last season. The 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Truist Field from May 25-30.
Spectrum Center
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