Carolina Panthers Facilities

[KJHburg]

Dare I say domed for a Super Bowl and NCAA Final 4 or it is the sunshine at the beach affecting me.  The Pipe and foundry site.  a stadium for all! Soccer, NFL concerts and basketball games I can dream too. 

[CLT>]

I think NC knows that there will be a BIG ask for stadium money, so are smart to sit out the conversation, but if they're in it Eastland should be the site.

 

Domed stadiums are really overrated.

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

Dare I say domed for a Super Bowl and NCAA Final 4 or it is the sunshine at the beach affecting me.  The Pipe and foundry site.  a stadium for all! Soccer, NFL concerts and basketball games I can dream too. 

 

[KJHburg]

1 minute ago, CLT> said:

I think NC knows that there will be a BIG ask for stadium money, so are smart to sit out the conversation, but if they're in it Eastland should be the site.

 

Domed stadiums are really overrated.

 

The Georgia Dome was trash but the new Mercedes Dome is supposed to be really nice in the ATL.  NRG in Houston very nice just there in March.   But if you do build a new stadium and that is a big IF why wouldnt you put a cover on it of some kind even retractable or just plain covered?    We could have a big banner inside First in Flight and First in Astroturf! 

[CLT>]

2 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

The Georgia Dome was trash but the new Mercedes Dome is supposed to be really nice in the ATL.  NRG in Houston very nice just there in March.   But if you do build a new stadium and that is a big IF why wouldnt you put a cover on it of some kind even retractable or just plain covered?    We could have a big banner inside First in Flight and First in Astroturf! 

The Final Four would come once every 10 years, the Super Bowl every 20 (if that), and for concerts, most of the new domed stadiums have been abject failures when it comes to acoustics. I would take the fantastic sightlines for football and soccer at BofA Stadium over MB and US Bank any day.  I would go so far as to say US Bank in Minneapolis might be the worst professional stadium I have ever been to, terrible sightlines, narrow concourses, confused internal layout and lacking bathrooms (though it does look nice from the outside). A domed Stadium would just be another colossal waste of money for the State/City.

MB stadium is shiny and new, and pretty, and the concessions are great, but for watching football? The Screen placement is VERY awkward when watching a game, the acoustics are terrible; 80% of the time you can't understand the PA announcer. It is almost impossible to find a game clock or any stats anywhere in the stadium. I've been to 3 football games there and have left disappointed each time. I really wanted to like it.

 

[Nick2]

5 hours ago, KJHburg said:

As long as it stays in region I'm happy too.  I have long heard interested in Stanly county. 

That's interesting that you mention that. Badin, NC is a small town in eastern Stanley on the shores of badin lake (obviously) and has a huge site that ALCOA used to own and operate an aluminum smelting facility which employed thousands in its heyday.

I've heard rumors that there are interested buyers looking into the plant recently and of course local governments have been aggressively trying to recruit someone to return to the site.

I'd be ecstatic if they moved to badin. The area could really use the win and that huge swath of land becoming available in uptown would be fantastic. Little Badin is basically just an isolated pocket of rust belt in the beautiful yadkin river valley right here in our backyards.

And this site would be perfect for them. There is a rail spur adjacent and the footprint of the site is way larger than their uptown location so they'd have room to grow. There are 4 hydroelectric dams nearby for power that they literally built for this plant. 

Do you have anymore information about this?

[KJHburg]

2 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

That's interesting that you mention that. Badin, NC is a small town in eastern Stanley on the shores of badin lake (obviously) and has a huge site that ALCOA used to own and operate an aluminum smelting facility which employed thousands in its heyday.

I've heard rumors that there are interested buyers looking into the plant recently and of course local governments have been aggressively trying to recruit someone to return to the site.

I'd be ecstatic if they moved to badin. The area could really use the win and that huge swath of land becoming available in uptown would be fantastic. Little Badin is basically just an isolated pocket of rust belt in the beautiful yadkin river valley right here in our backyards.

And this site would be perfect for them. There is a rail spur adjacent and the footprint of the site is way larger than their uptown location so they'd have room to grow. There are 4 hydroelectric dams nearby for power that they literally built for this plant. 

Do you have anymore information about this?

I heard they had some land in Locust which is closer to Charlotte and Cabarrus County.  I do think  this plant will end up in NC somewhere and then they will sell their land and who knows what happens but such a large contiguous piece of land is very hard to find that close to uptown.   But the first step to any new stadium if it ever comes to that is a large piece  of land and one maybe coming available. 

[Nick2]

19 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

I heard they had some land in Locust which is closer to Charlotte and Cabarrus County.  I do think  this plant will end up in NC somewhere and then they will sell their land and who knows what happens but such a large contiguous piece of land is very hard to find that close to uptown.   But the first step to any new stadium if it ever comes to that is a large piece  of land and one maybe coming available. 

That certainly would make a lot more sense for them to move to locust. Badin isn't even really part of the Charlotte area because it's so far away and isolated.

[King of the Queen City]

I’m fine with the practice facility but I honestly do prefer an outdoor stadium.  Football is an outdoor sport. Domed teams usually don’t win championships. Only 3 domed teams in NFL history have won the Super Bowl (the ‘99 Rams, the ‘06 Colts, and the ‘09 Saints).  I don’t count the Cowboys because the old Texas Stadium had a huge hole in the roof that did not close.  Teams that tough it out through the elements are more likely to survive playoff games where they have to play in them.

I get the benefits of a roof for other events, and I’m not closed minded about it, but if New York / New Jersey could host a Super Bowl outside, there is no reason why we can’t host a Super Bowl in our current stadium. We have milder winters here.

Edited April 12, 2019 by King of the Queen City

[Urban Cowboy]

Over the past few weeks they’ve been scrubbing or doing something to the glass domes. Looks much better. Old on the left. New on the right.

[KJHburg]

For the record as a NC taxpayer I don't want to foot the bill for a new stadium for a multi billionaire however this site of Pipe and Foundry would make a great mixed use project that could include a stadium and a lot more stuff.  Think the Battery in Atlanta on steroids and taller buildings.   But I repeat I'm not interested as a taxpayer paying for the whole thing or even the majority of it

Edited April 12, 2019 by KJHburg

[CLT704]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

For the record as a NC taxpayer I don't want to foot the bill for a new stadium for a multi billionaire however this site of Pipe and Foundry would make a great mixed use project that could include a stadium and a lot more stuff.  Think the Battery in Atlanta on steroids and taller buildings.   But I repeat I'm not interested as a taxpayer paying for the whole thing or even the majority of it

This from the Charlotte reddit came to mind: 

 

 

[Urbs42]

20 hours ago, KJHburg said:

I do usually don't  post the same story twice but I will for this one as it might affect any future Panthers stadium plans

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry is looking to move either to SC or another regional county in NC   This is the mother of all great stadium and redevelopment sites! this could be YUGE! 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/04/11/nc-legislators-are-working-on-154m-incentive.html?

Is their factory/parcel on the south side of 277 really feasible for a new stadium? Not sure the size of their land, but seems like it would be a tight fit.  

[kermit]

24 minutes ago, Urbs42 said:

Is their factory/parcel on the south side of 277 really feasible for a new stadium? Not sure the size of their land, but seems like it would be a tight fit.  

#RemoveTheBelk!

[InSouthPark]

21 minutes ago, Urbs42 said:

Is their factory/parcel on the south side of 277 really feasible for a new stadium? Not sure the size of their land, but seems like it would be a tight fit.  

They own the section north of the 277 as well I believe.  Stadium on north side, parking /development on south side. 

[Urban Cowboy]

On the north side of 277, do they own all of the land shaded in blue? Or do they own out to Morehead? Can't tell because it seems like there might be some other businesses on the northside tract. Hard to tell...

 

[SouthEndCLT811]

They own the whole area up to Morehead.  

Edit:  Note the street view

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.227604,-80.8575165,3a,43.7y,252.1h,78.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sF5L0QX3T29e46dcjcX4v7w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Edited April 12, 2019 by SouthEndCLT811

[jjwilli]

Bad Paint Job but they own all the land except those three parcels not filled in.

[11 HouseBZ]

I'm in the unpopular "keep the current stadium" camp. Instead of building a new stadium let's build a entertainment area similar to the ole cowboys, but right beside the current stadium. While a new parking deck is not smiled upon, let the Panthers build one, collect like other stadiums do, and surround it with bars and whatnot. Shift some of the parking to their own facilities. But if not I'll keep doing the Mint St. Stroll/ Tailgate. 

Edited April 12, 2019 by 11 HouseBZ

[KJHburg]

16 minutes ago, 11 HouseBZ said:

I'm in the unpopular "keep the current stadium" camp. Instead of building a new stadium let's build a entertainment area similar to the ole cowboys, but right beside the current stadium. While a new parking deck is not smiled upon, let the Panthers build one, collect like other stadiums do, and surround it with bars and whatnot. Shift some of the parking to their own facilities. But if not I'll keep doing the Mint St. Stroll/ Tailgate. 

actually I am in that camp too. I would rather improve upon the current stadium.   In terms of this property of Pipe and Foundry they would probably move their training facility to the new site as well why have it in uptown Charlotte if their new plant is 25 miles away?    They made a shrewd investment when Beazer sold that land that was planned for 100s of townhomes back in 2007/2008 can't remember the exact date.  A wonderful entertainment district with mid and high rise apartments, offices retail etc could be developed there.  

There would have to be a great bit of soil remediation on the existing plant site but as they did in Atlanta with Atlantic Station built on a steel mill site this is doable as well. 

Edited April 12, 2019 by KJHburg

[tozmervo]

1 hour ago, 11 HouseBZ said:

I'm in the unpopular "keep the current stadium" camp. Instead of building a new stadium let's build a entertainment area similar to the ole cowboys, but right beside the current stadium. While a new parking deck is not smiled upon, let the Panthers build one, collect like other stadiums do, and surround it with bars and whatnot. Shift some of the parking to their own facilities. But if not I'll keep doing the Mint St. Stroll/ Tailgate. 

I think that camp is a lot more popular than you think. 

[kermit]

How about using the practice facility site for MLB? I know its not big enough as is, but just bulldoze the crappy multifamily on the other side of Cedar and use the Mint st bump-out curve technique to run Cedar around the new ballpark. The new ballpark would be next to Gateway station and close to the Silver line and will have OK pedestrian access to the core of uptown via the new MLK connector under the tracks. The city's contribution to the ballpark could be from building a massive parking deck in the gravel lot at 77 / Morehead and McNinch and allow the MLB team to collect game day revenue from it (other days it could be a park and ride for uptown connected by streetcar).

I dunno, turning the land into an entertainment district always seemed kinda weird to me.

[King of the Queen City]

5 hours ago, CLT704 said:

I think the people of Charlotte are okay with contributing to sports stadiums as long as things like affordable housing and public transit are not neglected.  If you will remember, an impatient George Shinn wanted a new arena after only a dozen years of the Charlotte Coliseum’s existence. This was somewhat understandable since the Coliseum originally had been intended to host college tournaments, etc. and when we beat the odds to land an NBA franchise, the Coliseum was lacking in luxury boxes (though it did set NBA attendance records).  The referendum for a new Uptown arena was well on its way to passage before the former mayor vetoed a living wage ordinance right before the vote, causing an uproar. The arena that we now know as Spectrum Center eventually got built anyway, but Shinn had lost favor with fans because of his sexual assault scandal and the city wanted the team sold before building it. Shinn then took the original franchise to New Orleans and Charlotte had to go through the expansion process all over again then had to wait another decade to get the Hornets name and history back.  As for the Panthers, the fans basically built the stadium. The Panthers invented the PSL which blew the mind of the NFL executives  and was soon imitated by teams across the league.  Taxpayers would later contribute to renovations, but the building was built by fans who were eager to support an NFL team coming to the city.  The stadium ushered in a new era of NFL stadiums that looked to it as an example.  Yes, a number of NFL stadiums have been built since 1996, but our stadium is still better than many of those in my opinion.  The practice facilities are much needed and Tepper seems to be interested in improving the region’s infrastructure in the process by extending light rail, etc.  I will say though that if South Carolina fumbles the football by holding it up then North Carolina should jump on it.  The Pipe and Foundry would make a great Uptown location for a Panthers-focused development (at least for an entertainment district and maybe for the practice facility as well). I don’t know exactly how much land they need but the land use could be maximized by building high rise residential. The silver line could be tweaked to include a stop there. Perhaps that site is North Carolina’s best chance at peanut punching that football away from them anyway. I get that it is a regionally-focused franchise but North Carolina’s population is twice that of South Carolina and Charlotte is the largest city in the Carolinas by far. There are exactly zero large cities in South Carolina. Columbia and Charleston would be the 8th and 11th largest cities if they were located in North Carolina. Rock Hill, basically a suburb of Charlotte is the 5th largest city in South Carolina. Sorry about writing a book. I will be signing autographs afterwards, lol.

[sonofaque86]

You can’t compare city populations to other states. SC has had the most restrictive annexation laws on the country for over 100 years.....SC metro areas are large. If you talk about only city limits then Atlanta would be the second largest and probably third largest after Raleigh passed it. You really think Charlotte is bigger than Atlanta or Miami or DC???  

Edited April 12, 2019 by sonofaque86

[InSouthPark]

33 minutes ago, sonofaque86 said:

You can’t compare city populations to other states. SC has had the most restrictive annexation laws on the country for over 100 years.....SC metro areas are large. If you talk about only city limits then Atlanta would be the second largest and probably third largest after Raleigh passed it. You really think Charlotte is bigger than Atlanta or Miami or DC???  

The largest metro area in sc (Greenville 880k) is half that of Greensboro (1640k).

SC has some nice medium size cities...they don’t have any big ones. 

[King of the Queen City]

1 hour ago, sonofaque86 said:

You can’t compare city populations to other states. SC has had the most restrictive annexation laws on the country for over 100 years.....SC metro areas are large. If you talk about only city limits then Atlanta would be the second largest and probably third largest after Raleigh passed it. You really think Charlotte is bigger than Atlanta or Miami or DC???  

The city technically is, but not the metro. Charlotte has however surpassed Tepper’s hometown of Pittsburgh’s metro recently.

Charlotte: 2,474,314 (859,035 city)

Pittsburgh: 2,362,453 (306,803 city)

Even if you don’t factor in cities at all, the state of North Carolina has twice the population of the state of South Carolina.

Nothing against South Carolina, but 2/3 of the Panthers’ fan base is in North Carolina.