CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Roughly 65,000 fans witnessed Charlotte FC make history at Bank of America Stadium Saturday night.
“That was a lot of energy,” Charlotte FC fan Josh Roten said.
A win against Inter Miami put Charlotte in the Major League Soccer playoffs for the first time in the team’s two-year history.
And while all eyes were looking down on the pitch for all 94 minutes of playtime — at halftime, they were looking up.
“I’ve seen them on Instagram or Twitter, but I have never seen them in real life,” fan Jafeth P.C. said.
There were 300 drones flying above Bank of America Stadium that told a story through morphing images and light.
“It is a tribute to the fans,” Pixis Drones VP of Sales Martin Codd said. “It’s a tribute to the team and it is a tribute to the sport. And I think you can see how much we all loved soccer. We all love Charlotte FC. We are their number one fans, and we are just so excited to put them together for them.”
Pixis, based out of Alexandria, Virginia, started preparing for the drone light show nearly 18 months ago. The display was originally set to take place last year but was canceled due to bad weather. The company spent the last six months fine-tuning its show for Charlotte FC’s final regular-season home match.
Codd says his company collaborated with the Federal Aviation Administration and Charlotte FC to put on a show that would leave an impression.
“There is a lot of fine-tuning, which goes into making sure the drones are what we called pixel perfect in the sky,” he said. “The FC part where it actually transitioned to the 3-D motion was really neat. I was looking around and everyone was enamored for sure.”
The entire show is computer-programmed, deployed by a team of eight, and made up of state-of-the-art drones that fly within inches of each other.
“So, seeing them in real life, it was nice,” Jafeth said. “It was a whole new experience that I’ve never seen.”
“Do you have plans to come back to Charlotte anytime soon?” Queen City News asked Codd.
“Yes, yes — very much so,” he replied. “My lips are kind of sealed, but we have some big stuff planned for next year.”
Pixis’ drone show has been seen on the biggest of sports stages. The company performed at the Super Bowl in 2022 and for other teams and leagues across the country.
