Charlotte plans to bid for CIAA football championship game

Charlotte, North Carolina, wants the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association back in town – for football.

The city will bid for the CIAA’s football championship game next month, according to a report from Charlotte Post reporter Herbert L. White.

The city looks to welcome the CIAA back after losing the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to Baltimore 2020.

Charlotte City Council member James Mitchell told White Tuesday that the city would be submitting a request on March 15 to host the CIAA title game starting in 2025, more than eight years after the league moved the title game to Salem, Virginia.

“We’re going to put our best foot forward to hopefully bring this from Salem, Virginia to Memorial Stadium,” Mitchell told the Post. “It’s a three-year obligation. And we’ve got the ‘A’ team – all hands on deck.”

Memorial Stadium is a 10,000-seat venue near downtown Charlotte that regularly hosts area high school football games, Major League Lacrosse matches and is set to be the home of Charlotte’s women’s pro soccer team.

Those hands include local alumni from all 13 CIAA member institutions who will participate in a promotional video shoot at Memorial Stadium next Thursday, as well as the Charlotte Sports Foundation, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, 100 Black Men of Charlotte, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Winston-Salem and Durham are also expected to bid for the right to host the championship game, which means more than likely, at least one signature CIAA event is returning to North Carolina.

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