Could Promotion-Relegation work in College Football?
Any hope for a new $800 million team headquarters for the Carolina Panthers in Rock Hill, South Carolina, has officially been dashed after team owner David Tepper’s real estate company filed for bankruptcy.
Tepper’s development arm — GT Real Estate — had already invested more than $170 million into the now-defunct project that had a controversial start and disappointing finish.
York County, where Rock Hill is located, gave $21 million to GT Real Estate for the project and is expecting to have the funds returned in full with interest to protect taxpayers.
- The project was going to include fields, a 5,000-seat stadium, and indoor practice center.
- The facility was also supposed to house medical and training facilities.
GT Real Estate’s bankruptcy wasn’t the only setback keeping the Rock Hill project from becoming a reality. Construction of the facility was put on hold in March after Rock Hill missed a second payment toward $225 million of promised infrastructure costs of the development. Construction on the facility began in 2020, and it was scheduled to open in 2023.
Potential Plan B
Before Tepper’s plan to build a new facility dissolved, he purchased land near Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the Panthers’ home field since 1996. It’s also home to MLS expansion team Charlotte FC, owned by Tepper.
The purchase of 4.6 acres, which was made by GT Real Estate, was for more than $15 million. There are currently no plans to develop the site.
