CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte residents are divided over proposed renovations to Bank of America Stadium following Monday's public comment session with Charlotte City Council.
The council held a two-hour listening session Monday afternoon giving anyone wanting to voice their feelings on the proposal a chance to speak. The plans include installing huge screens and gathering spaces outside the stadium with many upgrades inside, including new seats, more bathrooms and better accessibility for fans.
If approved, the city would provide $650 million for construction. The money would come from the city's tourism and hospitality tax fund. Over 20 people addressed the council and their opinions varied from full support to folks entirely opposed to giving any public money to Panthers owner David Tepper. The reasons against the project ranged from the Panthers' on-field performance (or lack thereof, lately) to Tepper's estimated net worth of $20 billion.
Vinay Patel, a hotel owner in Uptown, said everyone benefits from the investment.
“We know that billions of dollars of visitor spending come to Charlotte annually," Patel said. “We went from 10-12 event dates to 42 event dates ... ask a hotel, business owner, bartender, waitress, 'What’s the impact?'”
Other people have said they are worried about the person at the helm of the project.
"How do we avoid the failed partnership of Tepper in Rock Hill and before that, the Eastland mall development," Scott Bryan said.
Reactions have been mixed since Tepper Sports & Entertainment announced the plan.
"I don't know if they can do anything about it being a hard concrete that you walk on," Al German told WCNC Charlotte. "I guess if you're on that all day it can hurt your feet. I didn't have a problem with but one of my buddies did."
Other fans favor new seats in the upper and lower bowls.
"We need some bigger seats," Rai Royal said. "I'm big, so we need some more room to sit down and enjoy ourselves."
Some said things are fine the way they are. It doesn't help that the Panthers have struggled lately.
"The city looks good," Ukee Avery said. "I think they should spend that somewhere else, especially with a team that's losing. That doesn't really make sense to me."
Charlotte City Council is expected to vote on the proposed renovations next week.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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