CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nestled in the heart of Uptown Charlotte, Bank of America Stadium is the backdrop for the Carolina Panthers franchise. It was known originally as Carolinas Stadium and opened as Ericsson Stadium in 1996. The over-74,000 seat venue has become a second home for Panthers fans.
Rows and rows of seating stack inside Bank of America Stadium. The stadium has been here since almost the beginning of the franchise. Fans told WCNC Charlotte they can't imagine it being anywhere else.
“I think this stadium has a lot of stories it would tell," Jim Szoke, announcer for WBT Radio and one of the voices of the Carolina Panthers, said.
Szoke has been with the team since 1995, when their games were played at Clemson while the Bank was still under construction. Every person, no matter the year, walks away with something they'll never forget. For Szoke, that's the entire 2015 season.
"This stadium holds a lot of memories in many different ways for a whole lot of people," Szoke said. "That entire season was ridiculous, it was so ridiculous -- it was so good, they were 17 and 1 heading into the Super Bowl. I still remember the confetti coming down, the hats are out and everyone knew they were going to the Super Bowl in two weeks, and that was the loudest day here.”
At a different seat, you'll find Sheree and Jeff Pintea. They've been committed Panthers fans from the beginning.
"Jeff got a second job and I worked overtime to afford our PSLs [Permanent Seat Licenses]," Sheree Pintea said.
A different moment stands out to her: The Carolina Panthers pulled out a win against the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Dallas Cowboys, in 1996. It was the team's first playoff win in just its second season.
“I cried, I was crying, we were so happy," Sheree Pintea said. "We were the underdogs.”
“That was electric, we were going crazy, everyone was going crazy," Jeff Pintea said.
There were games where people were skeptical.
“That Jacksonville game," Jeff Pintea said. "We started off, we started off and we were two touchdowns behind ... I said they ain’t going to put in [Jake] Delhomme ... They wont -- they put in Delhomme. And that second half, it was like a brand new team. We’ve been to over 200 games. We have a lot of memories that are in the back excel spreadsheet somewhere.”
There are also small moments that have stuck out, to where if you blinked you would've missed it.
“Steve Smith pretending he had a phone when he had a touch down," Sheree Pintea said.
These seats are something special, and have been the front row to the history on the field. Since the stadium can't talk, the fans will have to take it from there.
“The stories we do tell," Sheree Pintea said.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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