BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM
STADIUM DUDE NFL STADIUM RANK: #28
STADIUM INFORMATION
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Opened: 1996
- Capacity: 73,778
- Weather: Comfortable (ranked the best of the 20 outdoor venues)
- Games attended: 1
- Last visited: 2016
STADIUM REVIEW
Charlotte is a charming city reflective of the new south. Home to many young professionals, it’s a fairly liberal town with a temperate year-round climate, and a good bar and restaurant scene. It’s an enjoyable place to head for a football weekend.
The Vault was built for $248 million in 1996 and funded largely through Personal Seat Licenses. It sits in a great location in uptown Charlotte just on the outskirts of the Central Business District. Now one of the league’s oldest venues, the structure itself is pretty basic by modern standards. Seating matches team colors but very few are under any sort of cover. Other than the two threatening-looking panther bronze statues out front (complete with very prominent testicles), there aren’t many notable features in non-premium seating.
Its urban location spreads the pre-game tailgate around to various lots. But walk the area on Game Day and the smells of Carolina BBQ wafting through the parking lots will hit you. It’s a glorious scent that worthy of its own Yankee Candle.
Panther’s owner Dan Tepper is angling for a new stadium, or at least a roof to the current one. As a mid-market team, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of public funding will be requested/granted. I just hope the team stays put.
