Carolina Panthers take next step in the reshaping of practice facility in Charlotte
The Carolina Panthers continue to shape their plans for a revamped and expanded practice facility on Cedar Street in uptown.
On Tuesday, Carolina Panthers LLC filed additional documents for a rezoning request with the city of Charlotte. WSOC was first to report the filings.
The new filings propose the use of “practice/training facilities and field house facilities, indoor seating for sports and events/performances viewing on a periodic basis and up to 5,000 seats for such uses outdoors on a periodic basis.”
The filing proposes flexibility for the development to include a restaurant/bar, as well as retail and personal services, offices, mobile food and retail vendors, and lodging and overnight stays for “players, personnel, vendors, visitors and others” associated with the facility’s use.
As The Charlotte Observer previously reported, the team originally filed a rezoning request to make adjustments to their practice facility in November.
Those initial filings led to the demolition of the team’s practice bubble and further construction on the site of the team’s longstanding practice facility outside of Bank of America Stadium.
The removal of the bubble was done to expand the outdoor practice field setup, as the Panthers announced they would move their training camp location from Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., to Charlotte, just outside the team’s headquarters, in the summer of 2024. The team had previously trained at Wofford every year but one (due to COVID) since the Panthers’ inception in 1995.
Flexibility for the Panthers
The latest request by the Panthers gives the team flexibility in how it reshapes the practice facility to accommodate the new training camp setting.
The proposed use of mobile and retail food vendors would, in theory, allow the Panthers to host pop-up events within a training camp setting, similar to other teams around the NFL. And the allowance of 5,000 seats would provide the Panthers a way to accommodate spectators for training camp and various events.
When reached for comment on the new filings, a Tepper Sports & Entertainment spokesperson sent a statement to the Observer: “The rezoning filing is a necessary step as we work through the strategic vision for our facilities.
“It will enable us to pursue enhancements and modifications to the practice fields with the goal of constructing a field house for football operations and community opportunities like training camp.”
Alex Zietlow contributed to this report.
