A Brief History of the Charlotte Checkers

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Charlotte Hockey Team

The History:

The Charlotte Checkers hockey team once played in the Charlotte Coliseum over 40 years ago, and now the current iteration of the Charlotte Checkers has moved back home. The original Charlotte Checkers called the Charlotte Coliseum home for many successful years between 1956-1977 after the franchise moved down from Baltimore. The team was a huge risk at the time as there had never been professional hockey east in the entire Southeast prior to 1956. The team started with a bang drawing an over-capacity crowd of over 10,000 with an estimated 3,000 other fans turned away at the door. From that point on the a strong foundation had been laid for professional hockey in the Carolinas, and years later North Carolina would be awarded its first major professional hockey team when the NHL placed the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. 

The Resurrection:

Since the creation of the Carolina Hurricanes their minor league affiliate was based all the way in Albany, New York. The Albany based team was then owned and relocated by Charlotte businessman Michael Kahn, as what could be seen as filling a void in the region. The then “River Rats” were renamed the “Checkers” paying homage to the team of 40 years prior and the 2nd tier minor league team that had played in Charlotte during the gap. For the first 5 years the Checkers called Time Warner Cable Arena in Uptown Charlotte home, splitting the facility with the Charlotte Hornets/ Bobcats of the NBA. While these games were well attended the lease was less than favorable, and the stadium being sloped for basketball made the sightlines less than optimal as well. TWC Arena did a good job of facilitating the return of the franchise but the arena just never quite felt like home for the Checkers.

The Return:

With the problems at TWC Arena it was time for the Checkers to find a feasible alternative that they could call their own. The Checkers needed to look no further than to their roots to find a suitable arena to call home for the extended future. The team turned their eyes towards the Bojangles Coliseum once again and the city saw it as an equally excellent opportunity to begin their revitalization project of the Independence Corridor of Charlotte. After the move was set the city began a 12 million dollar (much needed) improvement project to the facility that will be finished in the fall of 2016. The Checkers played their first season back in Bojangles coliseum in 2015-2016 in front of many large crowds happy to have their own place to call home to watch Charlotte Checkers hockey.

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