CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There's a vintage store in Charlotte's NoDa neighborhood that aims to take sports fans back in time. It's called Locker Room Charlotte, and owner Matt Alexander says he's got just about anything from the team's history, whether it’s a classic jersey or a life-size cut out of a Carolina Panther great.
“A Muhsin Muhammad cutout. When have you ever seen that,” Alexander said with a smile.
Maybe it’s a rare sweatshirt you're after.
“This is from when we played Dallas in the divisional in 1996,” shared Alexander as he held up a shirt from the rack.
Nine times out of 10, Alexander has it. When you walk inside his store, one of the first things that sticks out is the Carolina Panthers section.
“So, it was priority 1A and 1B. You can walk in, and one full side is dedicated to the Panthers and beyond the right side of our cash register is our Hornet’s stuff,” Alexander said. “We have stuff from Ericsson Stadium (now known as Bank of America Stadium).”
As Alexander glanced around his store he listed almost every item.
“This was at a car dealership in 1993 once the team got announced to push sales. You got neon signs; you got game-worn jerseys. All this type of stuff to make it feel like our own mini-museum,” he said as he pointed out things to WCNC Charlotte.
Alexander first started the business in 2019 as an online store. He said it eventually grew and earlier this year moved into the NoDa storefront.
Alexander said his earliest memory of the Panthers was the 2003 Super Bowl run.
“For the longest time and still to this day, I’m a huge Ricky Manning fan. Even with the championship t-shirts. That’s something we carry a lot of the 2003 NFC championship t-shirts and the Super Bowl tees," Alexander said. "When those came out I remember going to Walmart with my Pops and getting those and sporting those like they were designer."
The Salisbury native said it’s an amazing experience for fans to come in and reminisce while looking through the items. However, fans are not the only customers stopping by.
“At the beginning of last year, we had a bunch of players come through. Jammie Robinson, Hayden Hurst, Chandler Zavala. We had JStew (Jonathan Stewart) come in two or three months ago,” Alexander said.
As for the current roster, Alexander said he has unwavering confidence in the team.
Contact Nick Sturdivant at nsturdiva1@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.