Charlotte mayor comments on where city stands on Panthers stadium talks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said Thursday that discussions about long-term stadium plans for the NFL Carolina Panthers are important but will have to wait until city government completes ongoing negotiations with the team for an adjacent entertainment district.

Panthers owner David Tepper said in 2019 that he hoped to open a new retractable-roof stadium for his NFL franchise within a decade. Since then, Tepper has paid a record $325 million for an expansion Major League Soccer club and successfully pushed for Bank of America Stadium to recruit major concerts.

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Last month, Tepper told reporters that a new stadium for the Panthers depends on investment by taxpayers and fans (in the form of seat licenses) as well as the team.

“We are in the process of now working on the entertainment district around the stadium and we’ll continue to work and follow up with the strategies, the comparables, what does it mean,” Lyles said Thursday during a press conference. “And then, after we get that district plan done, the entertainment district plan done, we’ll begin to talk about how to address the stadium. And how does it best benefit the people of Charlotte.”

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