Carolina Panthers Submit $82M Repayment Plan for Failed HQ Project

NFL practice facilities are expensive to build — but for the Carolina Panthers, not building one is proving quite costly as well.

GT Real Estate, a company owned by Panthers owner David Tepper, submitted a plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to repay creditors and resolve all claims related to the team’s abandoned development in Rock Hill, South Carolina. 

• The plan would have GT Real Estate put $60.5 million into a trust dedicated to paying back contractors, subcontractors, and creditors.
• The company would also pay $21.1 million to York County, which provided $21 million toward the project.
• DT Sports Holdings, another Tepper-owned entity, has already paid $20 million toward debts related to the project.

The repayment scheme must be approved by the court, and GT Real Estate anticipates the hearing will occur in October.

The $800 million design included the team’s headquarters, practice fields, a 5,000-capacity stadium, and indoor practice center. GT Real Estate, which invested $170 million in the project, filed for bankruptcy in June. 

Double Trouble

Tepper Sports & Entertainment also backed out of a similar project for its MLS team, Charlotte FC. 

Last month, the organization dropped plans to be part of a public-private partnership at Charlotte’s Eastland Mall where the company would build a training facility for the club, its academy, and its MLS Next Pro team across 20 acres.