CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three weeks after Charlotte hosted the Major League Lacrosse player draft, it’s out of the league. The Charlotte Hounds are one of three teams folding before the new MLL season begins next month. Sister publication SportsBusiness Daily first reported the reduction to six teams from nine as part of a league restructuring.
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Jim McPhilliamy, Hounds managing partner, told Charlotte Business Journal on Monday that he intends to bring the lacrosse team back in 2021, once renovations are finished at Memorial Stadium.
A $35 million makeover of Memorial Stadium by Mecklenburg County is scheduled to begin this year. The Hounds have played there since their arrival in 2012. Demolition of portions of the 83-year-old stadium will start by late summer, according to the county park and recreation department.
“My heart hurts a little bit, but it’s also a little bit of a relief,” McPhilliamy said. “Playing in all those different locations would have been horrible.”
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