ROCK HILL, S.C. — The ripple effects continue five days after the Panthers ended their agreement with Rock Hill for a new practice complex in the South Carolina city.
Work was already underway when the project was paused last month, and hundreds of workers were asked to look for jobs elsewhere.
A subcontractor from the project, who didn't want to share his name, said he hired around 45 people to help with the Panthers construction project. He had to lay off most of those workers after the agreements were terminated.
"When you hire a person, you don't just hire that person. You hire their entire family," he said. "Kind of gets to you when you start thinking about it.
This subcontractor from the Panthers project said workers were hopeful a deal would be reached and the construction would resume.
He said workers first learned the project was paused when news reporters came out to the site. They were later called into an office and told they had to start packing up.
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“I mean it’s upsetting... just the whole situation," he said. "You wouldn’t think a project like that would close.”
A representative for the Southeastern Carpenters Regional Council, Tom Jenkins, told WCNC Charlotte they also had 14 carpenters on the job. Those workers lost wages waiting for the work to resume. They have since found other work on other projects, according to Jenkins.
Jenkins said his organization, which trains contractors and supplies manpower for projects, chose to build its own $6 million training facility in Charlotte partly because of the skilled labor expected for the Rock Hill Panthers project.
A spokesperson for Tepper Sports and Entertainment said the organization had no comment to share on the story.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.