One thing I love about Charlotte/Mecklenburg is the parks system. Some of the best parks around.
Park Road park is centrally located and gets very busy. They have athletic fields galore. I've even used some of these fields in a kickball league I was in a few years ago. The only thing is they are mostly dirt fields so playing kickball, you can expect to get dirty! But hey, orange dirt looks good on some people.
Additionally, there are several picnic shelters spread throughout the park. There's also a lake but it doesn't look like it is kept up that well and the scum on the top is pretty nasty.
Off to the right side of the park there is also a county recycling center as well which I am a frequent visitor to.
Just be careful when you exist this park....like most roads in Charlotte, people on Park road are normally going a bit fast.