The Carolina Panthers have unveiled details of their planned headquarters and entertainment complex in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Panthers hope the site will lure other businesses to move there from Charlotte.
The massive glass and steel headquarters off Interstate 77 is meant to look like a rock formation emerging from the ground, said the Panthers' chief operating officer, Mark Hart.
"The Rock, as we internally call it, is this: It represents a state-of-the-art training facility — the largest in the NFL," Hart said during a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday.
He said the 240-acre sports and entertainment complex will include a 5,000-seat football and soccer stadium, practice fields, trails and office space for other companies.
"The visibility on the highway gives us great opportunities, and the city of Rock Hill and York County, to do great things and attract tenants and corporate tenants, perhaps out of Charlotte and from other parts of the country, to this site," Hart said.
Something For Everyone
The site is owned by Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Panthers and the new Major League Soccer team Charlotte FC. When team President Tom Glick showed images of the new headquarters last month, he called it "iconic." He also promised that the mixed-use development around it would have "something for everyone — sports, other live events, visitor attractions, meetings and conferences, shopping, health care, a big corporate park and also people living there.
The headquarters will have four levels, with locker and training rooms, coaching rooms, and corporate offices for owner David Tepper and his staff. The top level will be an open space suitable for public events. At Tuesday's meeting, Hart said the company envisions hosting corporate meetings, high school proms, conferences and educational events.
Meanwhile, that 5,000-seat stadium on the north side of the building could be used for high school sports and other events. It could seat up to 20,000 people with additional temporary seating, Hart said.
Giant glass doors on the north side of the headquarters will slide open to a 120,000-square-foot indoor practice facility.
Altogether the new building will total 600,000 square feet, Hart said.
The Panthers broke ground in June and expect steel to begin rising this month.
The headquarters and training facility are expected to open in time for the Panthers' summer camp in 2023.
