Major league soccer wants to expand to North Carolina, possibly to the Charlotte or Raleigh/Durham areas. Politicians are already planning a major league boondoggle. Tom Hohman, Union County LP chair sent this letter to the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County commissioners:

"Major League Soccer recently announced it’s intent to add expansion teams and two North Carolina groups are scrambling to meet the imposed proposal deadline of January 31. As a soccer fan, I was ecstatic. After getting a glimpse of the financing, my enthusiasm died when I saw this was another boondoggle – welfare for wealthy corporations and waste for taxpayers.

"We've seen this played out by the NFL and MLB all over our country the past twenty years or more. Independently wealthy individuals with political influence get taxpayer funding to build a stadium. Taxpayers are not privy to owner's financial portfolio, obtain no authority in the running team, don’t receive income from profits of the franchise (if there are any) and if the franchise sold, they receive no share of the profit.

On the other hand, if the franchise is not profitable, taxpayers are conned into making up the difference, so the city doesn't "lose" the team.

"Thankfully, the tide is turning on these wasteful schemes. These proposals are being forced to the ballot box and are failing resoundingly.I share the Libertarian Party of North Carolina’s platform on corporate welfare: The LPNC opposes any action by state or local government to subsidize the costs of private business

The Charlotte city council is apparently balking at the project. Read more here.

John Locke Foundation senior vice president Jon Pritchett, is also calling a foul on this play. He spent 28 years in the sports industry as an executive, investment banker, and consultant. Read his analysis here.

Pritchett thinks an MLS club in North Carolina is a good idea. But, he said "There are smart ways to accomplish this goal … and then there is the way the Charlotte bid has been moving forward." Read more here.