David Tepper And South Carolina Tangle In Carolina Panthers Practice Facility Lawsuit

Tepper backed out because Rock Hill, South Carolina allegedly didn’t pay its share of the project’s costs.

There is a parcel of land in Rock Hill, in York County, South Carolina not far from Charlotte, North Carolina that is threatening to become a modern-day ruin. The land was supposed to house the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers practice facility. Part of the structure was built but it has been abandoned. The Panthers owner David Tepper real estate company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on June 2nd after having invested more than $175 million into the facility. Tepper decided not to go ahead with the project for various reasons including a charge of Rock Hill not putting up money for the project.  York County has decided to sue Tepper’s companies and the City of Rock Hill for at least $21 million because Tepper walked away from completing the Panthers’ practice facility and headquarters.

In August 2019, Tepper persuaded South Carolina elected officials to give him $115 million to help move his Panthers’ headquarters and practice facility from North Carolina to South Carolina. South Carolina politicians offered tax breaks and incentives over a 15-year period if Tepper took his business to York County. The facility would have included two practice facilities and an indoor practice facility that could seat 10,000 people. Tepper got a deal that would have allowed him to keep his employees’ state income tax to use to build his team’s headquarters. The land is located off Interstate 77 and there was no way of accessing the site from the highway. But that was not a concern. There was a plan to build an interchange to help Tepper’s business. The $40 million cost would be split with half of the money coming from federal taxpayers, the rest from local taxpayers. South Carolina plans to go ahead with the interchange. Tepper claims he has no intention of finishing the project.

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