ROCK HILL, S.C. — Demolition has begun on what would have been the Carolina Panthers' headquarters and practice facility in Rock Hill after the deal to make the $800 million facility a reality collapsed.
United Infrastructure Group, a Charlotte-based construction company with operation centers across South Carolina, shared a drone-captured video of the now-rebranded Rock Hill Overlook site on Instagram. United Infrastructure estimates demolition of the 350,000-square-foot building will take between five and six months.
The group said 10,000 tons of steel and 40,000 cubic yards of concrete will need to be removed.
Discussion about a new home for the Panthers started swirling as early as 2018, with team owner David Tepper saying the Panthers would have a new indoor practice facility open before the start of the 2019 season. Municipal governments and state leaders in South Carolina started working to entice Tepper to cross the state line, and the state legislature greenlit $115 million in tax breaks for the team.
The Panthers ended up opening a practice bubble in Charlotte that season while also completing the land purchase off of I-77 in York County.
Even during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans moved forward for the facility, with final documents approved in December 2020. Construction continued in 2021 with a projected 2023 completion date, but then halted in 2022.
The deal for the facility would eventually die, as Tepper-owned company GT Real Estate filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2022. A $100 million bankruptcy settlement was approved six months later.