Carolina Panthers officially become ‘two states, one team’

[ShepCock]

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Adrian McCrorey says the city of Rock Hill is buzzing after the Panthers officially announced they were moving to town.

“I think it’s going to make a large impact. Something Rock Hill hasn’t experience before,” he said. McCrorery owns Platinum Cuts Barber Shop near downtown Rock Hill. He’s from the area and said having an NFL franchise in ‘Football City U.S.A.’ just makes sense. “We do well in the NFL. It’s a given fact. People can look that up. We had the number pick a few years ago with Clowney.”

Wednesday morning during a pep rally and ceremonial signing of the Professional Sports Team Investment Act, Panthers owner David Tepper officially announced they are relocating their team headquarters and practice facilities to Rock Hill. He said plans are in the works to create what he called a ‘world-class facility.’

“This is going to be a showcase down here,” he said. “We’re going to bring people to the region. We’ll have a sense of excellence not just for the football team but everything we do here in Rock Hill South Carolina.”

Visit York County said this development will have a huge economic impact on the area. President and CEO, Billy Dunlap said this goes beyond football. “It’s also private development, commercial, retail, restaurants. Everything that is going to be a part of this campus changes everything. We’re expecting our economic impact numbers on visitation to double.”

Governor Henry McMaster (R-South Carolina) held the ceremonial signing of a piece of legislation that gives the NFL franchise millions of dollars in tax breaks. He said this is something that could benefit the whole state. “The reason they come here is because of three things: the people, the people, and the people of South Carolina. It’s the people of South Carolina that are going to make this the greatest team we have ever seen.”

McCrorey hopes current businesses in the area can get their cut too. “I think we all need to pull together and make sure we’re a part of this circle and not block us out.”

Tepper did not announce where exactly the development will be built and when it could be finished.

 

[ShepCock]

And then there's the idiotic point of view about this.... :angry:

 

[Superb Owl]

I posted a similar topic on another board "which I won't go into here"

{raptorcox steps up on soap box}

Panthers got a lot of flak when they first started with the Charlotte Panthers idea.  Being that SC was being teased that the team was shared between both states, almost like "hey, Carowinds is close to the border.. they must love SC as well"

Some of us know better.  I do watch several games and went to my first NFL game there during the Jake Delhomme years (Rams won that day), there isn't a South Carolina feel to this team.. none whatsoever.. can you imagine the politics involved if there was a SC NFL team, especially during the confederate flag issue?  Heck, the Harlem Globetrotters wouldn't even step foot in Columbia.

I know this isn't the universal view here, and I am glad to be a counter-point on this issue.  

 

[Cockyandproud]

I don’t pull for the Panthers because I’ve always felt our state got cheated. The state of South Carolina is why that team works. Our state can sell out Williams-Brice, and Memorial Stadium on the same Saturday.  They can’t fill a single one of their tiny stadiums. App State, or East Carolina probably does the best job. NC is a basketball state, and they don’t know a football from a shuttlecock. If they wanted to truly make it a two state team, they should have taken my advice, and built the stadium on both states, with the 50 yard line being the state line.  That would have been really cool. Screw ‘em!  I’m sticking with my Packers.