And that went exactly as expected:
Just three weeks after plans were unveiled for renovations at Bank of America Stadium, the Charlotte City Council voted in favor on Monday on giving $650 million to help fund the project.
The stadium is nearly 30 years old, but Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC owner David Tepper wants to give it new life.
In addition to $650 million from the city, the tentative agreement also requires Tepper provide $150 million upfront, with promises to invest hundreds of millions more over the next several years.
Yes, we are at the point in human history where a sports stadium that opened 28 years ago is unironically portrayed as needing “new life.” Sports economist Rod Fort was truly prescient when he said back in 2001, “I don’t see anything wrong, from an owner’s perspective, with the idea of a new stadium every year.”
As for the spending breakdown, the immediate split is indeed $650 million from the city on a stadium it didn’t build and doesn’t own, and $150 million from the team’s multibillionaire owner; the “hundreds of millions more” that David Tepper would be on the hook for amounts to about $250 million in present value, and that’s assuming he actually spends it, given that that part appears to be just a promise and not a contractual commitment. In exchange, Tepper would commit to keeping the Panthers in town through 2039, making it at $43.3 million a year the most expensive per-year lease extension deal in sports history. And, of course, Tepper gets to start “good faith” negotiations with Charlotte for a whole new stadium in 2037, because the old one will be 41 years old then and won’t have been renovated in a whole decade, no way to put new life into that, it should have gone to the Carousel years ago.
That should be enough to put the Panthers agreement comfortably in the discussion for “worst deal ever,” but the seven of 10 Charlotte councilmembers who voted for the plan remained bullish, with councilmember Tariq Bokhari gushing, “We’re going to see and explosion of economic impact in Uptown.” Mayor Vi Lyles added that the “yes” vote shows “what Charlotte is all about.” Couldn’t agree more, but maybe not quite in the way she meant it.
“At $43.3 million a year the most expensive per-year lease extension deal in sports history.”
Oh don’t you worry, that record will be broken before long.
Next week in Salt Lake City. For a dead coyote hockey team that lost a billion dollars over 38 years.
Salt Lake can’t extend a hockey team that isn’t there yet. If you’re talking about new stadiums and arenas, the record is already well over $43.3m/year.
Before the end of summer, probably.
Unrelated to Charlotte, but I read on Awful Announcing that WWE is going to have Royal Rumble 2025, a future Wrestlemania, and a future Summer Slam in Indianapolis. The same article said Las Vegas convention bureau is paying WWE $5 million to have Wrestlemania 2025 in Las Vegas, so Indianapolis (government or a fund contributed to by businesses) is probably paying WWE more for 3 events.
Cities are not only paying for stadiums and renovations, they are also now paying for the events to be held.
Yeah, but in Indiana, Wrestlemania is considered “culture,” so it comes out of the arts budget.
Diamond also bought Charlotte’s AAA team today.
Jacksonville giving (at least) $775 million to the Jaguars’ billionaire owner belongs in the “worst deal ever” conversation, especially considering that they are letting the Jaguars continue to play at least one home game in London every year.