The grounds staff at Bank of America Stadium have quite the task on their hands with the Charlotte FC and Carolina Panthers playing on the same field just 24 hours apart. Add to that quick turnaround inclement weather and it makes an already tough task nearly impossible, but this is how the Tepper Sports & Entertainment team will do it (per release):
- Based on the weather forecast, lines for the Charlotte FC and Carolina Panthers games have to be painted prior to the weekend to ensure that the markings needed to play both games will be in place before the rain. It’s a precautionary measure because of the weather forecast (heavy rain is expected).
- The MLS lines have been painted in yellow on the field. The NFL lines, hash marks and sidelines will be painted white. Following the Charlotte FC match, the yellow MLS lines will be removed.
- The team at Bank of America Stadium are considering options for painting the end zones and middle of the field for the Panthers game and will make a final determination based on weather.
- To accomplish this task, the organization has added eight supplemental groundskeepers, including the director of field operations for UNC-Chapel Hill as well as former major and minor league head groundskeepers for baseball and golf. Some of this group also assisted with Chelsea and Duke’s Mayo field transition, so they are familiar with the turnaround. Additional tarps and pop-up tents were also purchased.
- Other MLS and NFL teams that have overcome a similar scenario were consulted for their recommendations on best practices. (New England and Seattle).
Field Transition Itinerary (times are approximate depending on weather):
- Thursday, September 8: 8a – 9a: Paint soccer field with yellow lines
- Friday, September 9: 12p – 8p: Paint white football lines (border, yard line, hash, numbers; yellow soccer lines will be visible on top_
- Saturday, September 10: 1p – 3p: Charlotte FC hosts New York City FC, 3:30p
- 5:30p: Remove yellow lines
- 5:30p – Sunday, September 11, (11:30a):– paint the football field
“This is not ideal, but is unavoidable given the weather forecast,” a Tepper Sports & Entertainment spokesperson said in a released statement. “We never want our soccer field to have football lines, but we are thankful that we will be able to play both games this weekend. Charlotte FC games are scheduled on Saturday because they are more convenient for our fans and we’ve shown we can transition the field for multiple events in a short period of time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the weather will cooperate this weekend. In particular, we are grateful for our grounds crew who will literally be working around-the-clock to deliver both of these games to our fans. These are the occasional challenges that come with hosting an increased number of events at Bank of America Stadium.”