CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Johnny Harris wrapped up his remarks on Wednesday morning — thanking all the key dignitaries in the room for helping deliver the city of Charlotte the Major League Soccer All-Star Game next year — he stopped and seemed to go off-script.

“I also want to say one more thing,” said Harris, who serves on the board of directors of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, one of his many prominent leadership roles. “Things happen and you don’t realize it. And many of you sitting in here today don’t understand the sports fund that was created by the legislature through the funds from off-site betting.

“And I want you to understand, that was a fight. There were a lot of people in this room who had a lot to do with that law becoming something that we now have the benefits from.”

Harris went on and punctuated his thoughts turning to David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC, who sat behind him.

“An event like this is a perfect example of how the state of North Carolina can partner with local people, particularly ones who are as organized and as strong as Tepper Sports, and attract special events,” he said. “We are very fortunate to have that.”

Harris said all this in a room in Bank of America Stadium, which in July 2026 will be the site of the MLS All-Star Game. The game will punctuate a week-long slate of festivities at the stadium and in the city of Charlotte, one that will bring in an estimated economic impact by the tens of millions. It will mark the first time the Queen City has hosted an MLS All-Star Game, but it’s not the first All-Star event in a major sports league to come to Charlotte; NBA All-Star Weekend took place in Charlotte as recently as 2019.

There is much to be credited for such a milestone, as Harris and many other dignitaries said. The city and county governments, for one. The Charlotte Sports Foundation, for another. One of the biggest reasons for earning the All-Star Game, too, is Charlotte’s general and rapid growth as “a soccer city” — a tagline Charlotte FC representatives have been echoing since the team’s inaugural season in 2022.

There are real numbers attached to that “soccer city” moniker. According to Tepper, by the end of the year more than 3 million soccer fans from across the world will have come through Bank of America Stadium since the team’s inaugural contest in March 2022. A bulk of that is the among-the-best-in-MLS fandom Charlotte FC has cultivated over the years but also includes international events Bank of America Stadium has hosted, like this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

“This is a soccer city,” Tepper said. “Let’s make no mistake about that.”

But even with all this, one aspect that should not go overlooked is the impact of North Carolina’s online sports betting legalization, leaders said. It’s not hard to see why.

The state of North Carolina officially legalized online sports betting in March 2024 with bipartisan support. Earlier this week, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission reported that North Carolinians placed $6.6 billion in sports betting during the latest fiscal year, generating $116.5 million in tax revenue for the state.

State laws stipulate that N.C. collects an 18% tax on the gross wagering revenue generated by the sports books. That revenue is then distributed to various state-run programs. One of those programs is called the North Carolina Major Events, Games and Attractions Fund — which is meant to attract major events to the state that will create jobs and drive investment in the state.

North Carolina’s Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley told the crowd Wednesday that $2 million from that fund was used to attract the MLS All-Star Game to Charlotte — a record amount in the fund’s young history. This marks the third use of the fund: The first involved bringing NASCAR to Bowman Gray Stadium in February; the second involved the return of NASCAR to Rockingham Speedway earlier this summer.

“At the end of the day, it’s about investing in the local community so the community can put on a great event that’s going to generate a lot of economic activity,” Lilley told reporters. “And that in-state spending is not going to include things like hotel rooms, restaurants — that’s not included in the event. (That $2 million) is all about what goes into the event.”

That $2 million is going to be “close to a third” of total spending on the event, Lilley said. The secretary added that the money is not disbursed up-front; it’ll come after the event concludes.

“This is going to be a weeklong event, so there’s going to be investments in all of the things that come with that,” Lilley said. “A lot of staff. A lot of physical renting of things that they’re going to need. There’s a lot that goes into putting on a larger event like this, much larger than having a regular game here at the facility, so all of that flows into the in-state spending.”

MLS commissioner Don Garber told reporters that he promises every expansion team in the league that they’ll one day get an All-Star Game.

“But life’s a long time,” Garber said, smiling. “It might take 20 years. In this case, Charlotte came in pretty quickly because of the nature and strength of their bid.”

And that bid was buoyed not only by the strength of Charlotte FC’s fandom — “Charlotte FC, you’ve earned this,” Garber said to the crowd — but also by a lot else.

The momentous Wednesday made it impossible for those in attendance to not have their minds wander into possibility. After all, Lilley said that while the state has made three announcements of events that were made possible via the major sports fund, “we have a pipeline of potential events that’s maybe 10 or 11 long at this point.” Not all of these events are in Charlotte, and they’re all “competitive” with other markets, he said.

Harris was one of those dreamers Wednesday. He laughed and looked directly at CEO of Tepper Sports & Entertainment Kristi Coleman and chief administrative officer at TSE, Nicole Tepper.

“Maybe a draft?” Harris said. “Maybe a Super Bowl?”

Harris smiled.

“I didn’t look back at Dave because I know what he thinks,” he continued. “He wants them all to come here.”

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