A Legacy Reborn
Renovations at American Legion Memorial Stadium pay homage to its past
By Liz Morrell and W. Lee Jones
Photos: Courtesy Of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation reopened the iconic American Legion Memorial Stadium (ALMS) with a small ceremony on July 7, 2021. The $40.5-million stadium—located in Charlotte, North Carolina’s center city, on a 9.80-acre site adjacent to the main campus of Central Piedmont Community College—was built during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program of the New Deal.
“For the past 85 years, this facility has been a positive symbol of pride for the community,” Department Director W. Lee Jones, AIA, NCARB, commented.
The most recent round of renovations to this historic facility have been ongoing since 2019, when a groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of the construction. The project was funded by Mecklenburg County with additional support of $3 million from the city for a synthetic-turf field.
The renovation served not only to upgrade amenities in and around the stadium, but also to preserve and honor its legacy. Highlights of this effort include maintenance of the site’s historic landmark designation through replication of its original architecture, advanced lighting and broadcasting capabilities, the introduction of public art highlighting veterans’ service, and a state-of-the art, under-field, stormwater-management system.
A Star-Studded Past
The stadium first opened in 1936 as the first venue erected in the city able to hold more than 1,000 visitors. To fund the construction, $121,617 was allocated via the WPA in combination with its legislative predecessor, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) program, and the Civil Works Administration (CWA), a temporary job-creation program that was part of the New Deal. Initially, the city appropriated approximately $5,000 to fund the construction.
Despite public concerns about the stadium’s potential for noise and the destruction of the natural environment, a local chapter of the American Legion, Hornet’s Nest #9, lobbied for the building to serve as a memorial to county soldiers who had served in World War I. In support of this request, city council agreed to name the facility American Legion Memorial Stadium at its June 13, 1934 meeting. President Roosevelt himself was the first speaker at the stadium on September 10, 1936 as part of his Green Pastures Rally series, and the first collegiate football game was played there several weeks later when the University of North Carolina played Wake Forest.
In 2004, the city council—in accordance with recommendations from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark Commission—designated the property as a historic landmark. Since then, the stadium has served as host for a variety of athletic events, presidential campaign stops, concerts, and other events. Highlights have included the annual Shrine Bowl from 1937 to 2000, a Pearl Jam concert, a visit from President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign, and the filming of the movie Leatherheads (2008) starring George Clooney.
Additions Along The Way
The facility’s first major renovation was in the 1960s when upper-level seating was added on the north and south sides of the playing fields, as well as new concession stands and bathrooms. True to the utilitarian style of that decade, the additions were purely functional, exhibiting none of the architectural sophistication of the original structure. “As an architect and park and recreation director, I had to be sure that the design was appropriate, timeless, and iconic,” noted Jones.
The most recent round of renovations encompassed both aesthetic and functional considerations, with a heavy emphasis on biophilic design strategies meant to increase stadium patrons’ connectivity to the natural environment. Toward this end, Little Sugar Creek Greenway—the longest in the county’s expanding 58.5-mile greenway system—is visually extended into the stadium through the placement of landscaped alcoves. Trees planted along the stadium’s concourse will provide a unique live canopy as they mature, providing shade and a parklike atmosphere. Finally, to integrate the built environment with the natural environment, upper-level seating was removed to both increase pedestrian-friendliness as well as promote scalar assimilation with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood.
To maintain its Historic Landmark Designation status, the original design of the stone field wall was replicated with 100-percent recycled stone from the original wall. Original ticket booths were also replicated, as well as concrete walls at the top of the seating bowl, both of which exemplify the Art Deco style popular at the time of the original stadium’s construction. While maintaining its historic integrity, the stadium’s functionality has been greatly enhanced through the introduction of state-of-the-art lighting, broadcasting technology, additional ticketing space, and the ability to accommodate food trucks, both inside and around the venue.
The field is a 225-foot by 360-foot synthetic-turf field that can accommodate professional soccer, both high school and college football, rugby, and lacrosse. High-speed drainage and an under-field stormwater-management system ensure that the field is playable, even after major storm events. In contrast to the typical rubberized infill that constitutes most synthetic fields, the stadium’s field is composed of BrockFill, an organic wood particle infill, specifically designed to improve traction and decrease heat levels produced by the turf. It is sourced regionally from Georgia pine trees and is also renewable.
A public-art piece honoring World War I veterans has been constructed along the side of the stadium and is viewable from both its interior and exterior. Artists Simon Donovan and Ben Olmstead incorporated large-scale sculptural reliefs depicting soldiers and the American flag to pay homage to soldiers and others who sacrificed during the war.
To execute the renovation project, the county’s Park and Recreation Capital Planning Division Director Bert Lynn, ASLA, and Asset and Facilities Management Senior Project Manager Jay Higginbotham, ASLA, coordinated a design and construction team that included Charlotte-based Jenkins-Peer Architects; the global architecture firm HOK; Raleigh-based design, engineering and planning firm Stewart; SKA Signage Consultants; Charlotte-based landscape-architecture firm LandDesign, Inc.; sports consultant Fit Fields; construction firm Barton Malow; Edifice General Contractors; and NJR Construction, LLC.
Current Usage
The stadium has a maximum capacity of 10,500 fans for sporting events and 15,000 for concert spectators. It also serves as the home venue for Charlotte’s minor-league professional soccer team, the Independence.
The stadium recently hosted the Carolina Panthers Big Friday High School Football series, which hosts several highly ranked teams and is a tribute to the popular Big Friday series that ran from 1996 to 2002, a golden era in Charlotte-area high school football history. Panthers’ charitable partners have provided $2,500 grants to schools with the most enthusiastic student section at each game.
The county park and recreation staff members anticipate a variety of exciting opportunities at the stadium. Facility Manager Aaron Cheeks states, “What I am most looking forward to is the challenge and excitement that comes with the continued growth and expansion of sports and non-sporting events that we will host at the stadium.”
Liz Morrell, Ph.D., is a Senior Management Analyst with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. Reach her at Elizabeth.Morrell@mecklenburgcountync.gov.
W. Lee Jones, AIA, NCARB, is the Department Director of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. Reach him at Lee.Jones@meckenburgcountync.gov.