Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith joins OrthoCarolina to open Matthews sports training center

Carolina Panthers player Steve Smith and two other NFL players, Josh McCown and Leonard Little, are joining with OrthoCarolina to open a new sports training center in Matthews this spring. The 20,000-plus square foot center, called D1 Sports Training, will have an indoor/outdoor turf field, college-style weight room and an OrthoCarolina physical therapy clinic aimed at athletes and common athletic injuries.

The facility will be located at 1205 Mann Drive, which is just off Sam Newell Road near Matthews Township Parkway. It is part of a growing chain of sports centers by D1, which has 20 locations around the country co-owned by well-known players such as Peyton Manning, Jason Witten and Tim Tebow.

The Matthews center will be the second in North Carolina. D1 Raleigh is co-owned by San Diego Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers and retired Tennessee Titans player David Thornton.  Steve Smith, who is already a co-owner of D1's Greenville, S.C. location, said in a news release: "When (D1 CEO Will Bartholomew) approached me about the possibility of getting involved in a D1 Charlotte location years ago, I jumped at the chance."