The Carolina Panthers’ efforts to secure public funding for renovations to Bank of America Stadium could reportedly be helped by team owner David Tepper’s removal from the public eye. Charlotte ObserverScott Fowler.
“Tepper was wise to stay behind the scenes and let his executive team be the faces of this proposal,” Fowler wrote Saturday. “Tepper has hurt himself and his reputation in Charlotte so many times by getting into the fray, including in this corner, that he has been heavily advised to stay out of the fray. Let the coaching staff coach, the GM draft, and the team executives handle the stadium deal. For now, he is doing all of those things now, which should make the proposal more likely to pass.”
The Panthers announced their plans in early June, which will cost the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, $650 million in total. Tepper Sports & Entertainment has already invested $117 million in the project and has committed to spending another $571 million.
When pursuing an undertaking of this magnitude (one that would require more than $500 million in public funding), having some credibility built up can go a long way.
Unfortunately for Tepper, he has generally done the opposite. The Panthers are in disarray on the field, and the common thread for now is the ownership. An exchange he had with a local restaurant employee in April over a message written on a sign symbolized how he resents even minor criticism.
As such, it is certainly in the best interest of the Panthers and Tepper to minimize Tepper’s public presence as much as possible in moving forward with the stadium renovation.
