Panthers' $800M Practice Facility Won't Be Built After Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing
June 2, 2022
Two years after breaking ground, the Carolina Panthers' practice facility project in Rock Hill, South Carolina, won't be completed.
Per Steve Reed of the Associated Press, the proposed $800 million facility is "officially dead" after Panthers owner David Tepper's real estate company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
Plans for a new practice facility have been in the works since 2018, when Tepper first purchased the Panthers franchise from Jerry Richardson.
According to a timeline of events from John Marks of The Herald, Rock Hill city officials approved plans for a new Panthers practice facility in May 2019.
The Panthers eventually bought the Waterford Golf Club in Rock Hill for the planned site of its new headquarters. A groundbreaking ceremony for the facility was held in July 2020, with a planned opening in 2023.
According to Marks, Panthers COO Mark Hart sent a request to York County asking for help because "funding for the infrastructure remains at a crossroads."
Tepper Sports & Entertainment announced in March the project was being put on hold until they could "find an economically acceptable solution for all parties to continue this project in Rock Hill."
York County eventually agreed to a proposed deal in which it would pay $225 million in public infrastructure, but the bonds for the loan were never issued.
The Panthers said in a statement on April 19 they terminated their contracts with Rock Hill for the construction of their new headquarters and practice facility, citing the city not curing "its default within the prescribed 30-day cure period."
Rock Hill officials called the team's statement "misleading and erroneous" and said they "attempted to meet with the Panthers on numerous occasions to no avail."
It's unclear at this point if Tepper will attempt to find another location to build a new practice facility.
Carolina has used Gibbs Stadium at Wofford College as its training camp home since entering the NFL in 1995.