Panthers owner David Tepper announced in a statement last month that he was walking away from a deal to build a new team headquarters in Rock Hill, South Carolina. On Wednesday, Tepper talked to the media for the first time in nearly 16 months, and that was one of the topics of conversation.
Tepper, though, had little to say about the disagreement between the city and Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which represents the team. Instead, he referred to a previous statement.
“We will respect the City of Rock Hill’s request not to have a back-and-forth about it,” Tepper said, via The Charlotte Observer.
So what do the Panthers do now? Tepper was asked whether Charlotte made sense for a new team facility.
“Everything makes sense if we can find the right situation,” Tepper said.
He insisted that the Panthers are not at a competitive disadvantage without a new facility, citing technology upgrades and more staffing within the scouting department.
“I think (G.M) Scott (Fitterer) yesterday went through things we’ve done in scouting and money we’ve put into that with personnel and other things,” Tepper said. “We’re constantly putting new equipment in; we’re constantly upgrading all the time, OK. We’ll constantly do that not to lose anything on that front, and we’re doing it again this year.
“We’ll do what we need to do to make sure we have competitive facilities inside this building, and that’s where we are. . . . We’re going to make sure we have very competitive equipment here, OK, that we have no doubt we can win with.”
The Panthers will continue to play their games in Charlotte, and the long-term plan is for the team to remain there. Tepper said he likes the location of the stadium.
“It is the center of two states, we are the Carolina Panthers, and the most logical place for the Carolina Panthers to be is in Charlotte,” he said.