WJZY reports from Charlotte, North Carolina. The Carolina Panthers have announced that their team headquarters would be relocated to Rock Hill. The commissioners of York County voted four to three to bring the team's front offices to South Carolina. The county will now provide the Panthers with infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The team says it will remain in Charlotte through 2020 while its new stadium is built.
The move comes after last year's season when the Panthers finished 4-12 and lost their first game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Coach Ron Rivera was fired and replaced by former San Diego Chargers coach Mike Smith.
The vote by York County officials was not unexpected. Team owner Jerry Richardson has said he wants to move the team back to South Carolina. He bought the team for $200 million in 1995 and moved it to Charlotte a year later.
Charlotte has been the home of the NFL's Panthers since 1972. But the franchise hasn't won more than seven games since 1993. And they've never made the Super Bowl.
The last time the team had any success was in 1990 when they went 11-5 under head coach Don Strock. That same year the New Jersey Giants came first in the league's draft lottery and took quarterback Phil Simms first overall. The Pittsburgh Steelers took running back John Ratcliff second. The rest is history - the Steeler dynasty was born!
The Panthers will continue to play at Bank of America Facility in Uptown instead of building a stadium in Rock Hill....
“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to bring an NFL franchise to South Carolina and believe that we are creating something special with our new facility, our community, and our organization,” said team owner Jerry Richardson in a statement. “We look forward to bringing football games to South Carolinians for many years to come.”...
The move means that the Panthers are leaving Uptown Charlotte. This is following the NBA's decision this year to leave Washington D.C. for Arlington, Virginia and the NHL's decision last year to move its Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg Manitoba. Neither of these cities has a major league sports team anymore.
The Panthers played their first two seasons (1995-97) in Charlotte before moving to San Francisco where they spent three more season (1998-2000). After failing to earn a playoff spot in 2001, the 49ers released their final game in Charlotte on December 30th, 2001. The Panthers returned to North Carolina where they've remained ever since....
South Carolina's Rock Hill. For months, the Carolina Panthers have been clearing and prepping the ground for their new stadium. The Panthers have been physically working on their new location in Rock Hill, South Carolina, since the summer, which will contain the team's practice facility, headquarters, and much more.
The project was announced by owner Jerry Richardson in April 2013. He said that the stadium will include a state-of-the-art training facility for players. It will be built adjacent to the existing stadium site and will hold 10,000 fans. The new facility is expected to be completed by the start of the 2015 season.
When it comes to sports facilities, there are two main types: those that are owned by a single organization and those that are not. Teams that do not have their own facilities often use space that has been made available by their host organizations. This can include schools that are not used for athletic purposes or local government buildings that are not being used for other activities.
The Panthers will have complete control over the design of their new facility and can customize it to meet the needs of an NFL team. The training room will be one of the first things people see when they visit the stadium, so it must provide comfort and convenience to the many players who need to spend time there.
The Panthers plan to relocate its company headquarters and training facilities to a 200-acre location over the state border in Rock Hill in 2023. The mixed-use development includes state and local incentives totaling $400 million for road upgrades and related infrastructure. It is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs over the next decade.
When it comes to sports franchises, only the New York Yankees, New York Knicks, and New York Giants have been able to make Manhattan their home since the NFL started keeping statistics. But that could change soon with plans by team owner Woody Johnson to build a $1 billion stadium for the Jets.
Other teams have tried and failed to get a stadium built in New York, including the Bills, Expos, Mets, and Rangers. But none have been as unsuccessful as the Panthers have been when trying to secure funding for a new facility. The team has played its home games at various locations across North Carolina since it began operations in 1995. Although the current stadium was built for $100 million, the team has declined additional offers from the city to extend its lease. Instead, it plans to seek approval from voters to issue $200 million in bonds this fall to fund construction of its new home.
The stadium proposal has drawn criticism from conservative groups who argue that the project will drive up taxes and destroy neighborhoods. A group called No New Stadiums NC has formed to oppose the measure.
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