Football Arrives

Building upon the rampant success of the Charlotte Hornets NBA franchise, city and business leaders pushed for higher goals.  In 1993 the NFL voted to extend the league's 30th franchise to the Carolinas.

In an October 1993 Charlotte Observer article celebrating the achievement, it meant to the city that "forevermore, ths single decision will likely change the way people across the country feel about what lies between Washington and Atlanta."

Looking back on the city's struggle for sports relevance, the article notes that it "feels good to know what 10 years ago seemed impossible has happened, that the NFL has come to the Carolinas.  Back then, we were a minor-league city with a checkered background of starts and stops in various sports.  Stock car racing thrived and minor-league baseball did well but major-league football, basketball and baseball were only distant dreams."