So it turns out that state bill cutting the amount of Charlotte restaurant taxes they could use for their stadium renovations was the least of the Carolina Panthers‘ worries: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared yesterday that he was rejecting the team’s demand for $62.5 million in state moneytoward the project, telling the Charlotte Observer, “We don’t have the money in the state to address that issue. I have never been actually asked for the $62 million, nor do we have it.”
This now leaves the Panthers with only access to Charlotte’s existing restaurant taxes, which would be enough to contribute about $110 million toward the stadium project — if the city decides that it wants to spend all of its restaurant tax money on renovating a privately built and owned stadium for an NFL team owned by a half-billionaire. No response yet from the team, but I assume it’s only a matter of time before Roger Goodell flies into town to allude darkly to the Panthers moving to L.A. if the right palms aren’t greased.
A victory for those of us who think a billionaire who gets over $200 million a year in TV revenue alone doesn’t need a dime of our money. But I agree that this is not the end. Not by a long shot.