After David Tepper purchased the Carolina Panthers in 2018, Rock Hill mayor John Gettys sent him a letter offering up the city as a new home for the team’s training camp.
“I knew that the reason the Panthers had always used Wofford is because of the former owner Jerry Richardson’s relationship with Wofford, having attended it and started his business in the Spartanburg area,” Gettys said. “Mr. Tepper didn’t have that relationship.”
Gettys said he had read that the Panthers’ deal with Wofford was expiring in the coming years and felt like there could be an opportunity for Rock Hill to pitch itself as a well-suited community to host the team’s training camp in the future.
Two years later, ground is getting cleared between Cherry Rd. and Dave Lyle Blvd., not only to make room for an NFL-worthy training facility, but to house the Panthers’ office headquarters as well.
Before work could begin, the York County Council had to approve a tax deal that would make moving the Panthers to Rock Hill worthwhile for billionaire businessman David Tepper. In April, the group voted 4-3 in favor of the financial plan that requires Rock Hill to waive 100% of its property taxes from the Panthers project for 30 years, the Rock Hill school district to waive 75% and York County to waive 65%.
“It begs the question, ‘Do you believe that the Panthers will still be in Rock Hill in 30 years when the payoff happens?’” York County Council Chairman Michael Johnson said.
“The Hive was built and then the Hornets moved out of The Hive and moved to New Orleans and then back to Charlotte to Spectrum [Center],” Johnson said. “The Charlotte Knights stadium that was in Fort Mill – how long was that in existence before they left and moved to downtown [Charlotte]?”
“These arenas don’t typically last for decades – plural – before the owners want something new. I don’t blame them for wanting something new, but I think that was really at the heart of the debate – whether or not this was a sustainable project for the full 30 years,” Johnson said.
Despite his concerns, Johnson also described the Panthers as probably being “the best thing to happen to Rock Hill – ever.”
“On the other side, if the Panthers live up to their obligations and do all the things they say they’re going to do, this is going to be a fantastic development,” he said. “I think the county was just very concerned about the length of the terms [and] the fact that 30 years is a long time for taxes just not to get collected.”
The city of Rock Hill approved several future street names for the site in August. One Carolina Drive, Keep Pounding Way, and Blue and Black Blvd. will all be utilized, as well as Hiram Way, to honor the family of Hiram Hutchison, who sold the property to the Panthers.
“I thought that was a very nice touch, to sort of recognize the history of the property itself,” Mayor Gettys said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers don’t expect to hold their first training camp in Rock Hill until the summer of 2023, as opposed to the original plan that suggested the facilities would be ready for the team to use by the summer of 2022. Nevertheless, Gettys said he thinks it is possible some facilities will open before then.
“The first phase of this complex will be the corporate headquarters and the training facility, along with another building for Atrium Health,” he said. “All that should be finished well in time, it’s just [that] training camp only comes in August of every year. My hope is a good bit of this will be up and running even before their first training camp.”
Gettys said that now that the Panthers have broken ground and begun to work on the facility, he hopes they can “tie down all the loose ends between the city and the Panthers in the next 30 days or so.”
“Once all that’s done, I do think you’ll start to see the Panthers become more involved in matters in the Rock Hill community that are substantive like a relationship with Winthrop and how some Winthrop students can get internships and things of that nature,” he said.
Photo by Marisa Fields-Williams
