Charlotte Knights Seek $40M From City, County for Truist Field Upgrades

The Charlotte Knights outlined a roughly $40 million capital program to repair and upgrade Truist Field, asking Charlotte for $13.34 million and Mecklenburg County for $13.33 million while committing about $13.34 million of their own. Deputy City Manager Alyson Craig told Charlotte City Council members during their annual retreat that the city’s $13.34 million request is structured “with payments of $2.67 million over five years.”

Knights executive vice president and chief operating officer Dan Rajkowski framed the split as a public-private partnership: city and county government funds, “if secured, will be used for updating and improving existing systems and structures at the ballpark while the team’s portion will pay for fan improvements.” The presentation materials list replacing aging HVAC and air-conditioning equipment, upgrading overworked concessions systems, and replacing other behind-the-scenes systems among the capital needs.

The team argued the upgrades are essential to preserve Truist Field’s role as an Uptown entertainment hub, not just a baseball park. Knights officials note the ballpark already hosts more than 200 events a year and say improvements are needed to keep the stadium booking concerts, festivals and other big events. The Knights — now owned by New York-based Diamond Baseball Holdings after a sale last year — are also tying the work to outfield-area development and expanded non-baseball programming.

City and county leaders heard the presentation in a meeting at The Ballantyne hotel where Rajkowski attended and discussed timing. Rajkowski said the team “hopes to secure funding commitments from [city and county] by the end of the summer and begin construction next fall on the first phase of a planned five-year improvement project.” Officials emphasized the presentation “was not a formal request,” and the full, 11-member Charlotte City Council will have to approve any city funding.

The arithmetic behind the request produces the commonly reported 67 percent public share: city $13.34 million plus county $13.33 million equals $26.67 million, and $26.67 million divided by roughly $40 million equals about 66.675 percent, rounded to 67. The city payment language - “payments of $2.67 million over five years” - aligns arithmetically with five installments totaling about $13.35 million when rounded.

Several implementation questions remain public. The presentation did not include a formal written request for council action, Mecklenburg County’s formal response timetable was not detailed in the presentation, and the city has not released an approved payment schedule or independent cost assessments tied to the $40 million figure. The Knights’ timeline puts commitments by the end of summer and first-phase construction next fall if public funding materializes, kicking off what the club describes as a five-year program to protect Truist Field’s year-round revenue and fan experience.