American Legion Memorial Stadium

The first version went up in the depths of the Depression, laid down with federal WPA labour and opened in September 1936 as a memorial to the city's dead of the First World War — Hornet Nest Post No. 9 of the American Legion gave it its name and its purpose.

Charlotte kept the field working long after the WPA crews left. World Football League football drew a crowd here past 25,000 in 1974, the USFL passed through in 1985, and for years it was simply the lacrosse ground, home to the Hounds. Then in 1996 Pearl Jam played it on the No Code tour.

What sets Memorial Stadium apart from Charlotte's newer venues is the gap between what it was and what it became. A reconstruction running from 2019 to 2021, built around Charlotte Independence moving over from Central Piedmont Community College, replaced the old surface with synthetic turf and added the kind of lighting and accessibility work a 1930s stadium was never going to have on its own. It brought in club-level seating without erasing the war memorial the place was raised to be. Carolina Ascent FC and Anthem Rugby Carolina now play there too.