On Tuesday morning, the David Tepper’s real estate holding company terminated its agreement with the South Carolina city 30 miles south of uptown Charlotte. That news story has been one of our most well-read articles this month. While many have speculated that this could be a negotiating tactic to get a sweeter deal, a source with direct knowledge of the Panthers’ decision told our Scott Fowler on Thursday that isn’t the case. The project is “dead,” they said, and Tuesday’s statement from the holding company “was the obituary.” South Carolina governor Henry McMaster was in Fort Mill, S.C., on Thursday and was asked about the project. He contends that the state has upheld its part of the agreement — which includes building an interchange of Interstate 77 that leads directly to the facility — but said most of what he knows about what’s happening has come from the newspaper. (Thanks for supporting local journalism!) “I think most of us are disappointed that the Panthers won’t be a part of this great, booming economy that we have in South Carolina,” McMaster said Thursday evening. “That’s a disappointment.”
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sport ... rylink=cpy
So, this facility is about 5 miles from my house. The property runs alongside the interstate and you can see right into at the moment. The issues is an investment in public infrastructure.
They are years into development and already have a structure up (incomplete, obviously). It would be bad, reputationally and financially, for Tepper to put millions and millions into an unfinished site like this. I know York County and Rock Hill have a love/hate relationship with the deal but it would be absolutely stupid for them not to make this work.City Manager David Vehaun said at a March city council meeting that the Panthers slowed Rock Hill’s ability to issue the bonds. He said before Rock Hill could issue the bonds, the city needed specific details from the Panthers, such as development and financial plans, to provide to potential investors. But the team was not submitting enough details, Vehaun said. Vehaun said Rock Hill was prepared to issue the bonds in early 2022, but the Panthers asked the city to stop.
Read more at: https://www.heraldonline.com/sports/nfl ... rylink=cpy
I hope this gets resolved. Having the Carolina Panthers payroll here in the county would be a great benefit as well as all that tourism dough. There are some public work projects in the County that could really use that investment.
