What happens to $115M in Panthers tax breaks SC planned with Rock Hill project on hold?
More than $100 million that South Carolina lawmakers promised in state tax breaks for the Carolina Panthers to move the football team’s headquarters and operations to Rock Hill won’t be given now that the project has been terminated.
Lawmakers who opposed the state handing out incentives said leaders should have expected problems would arise.
In 2019, the Legislature with the governor’s backing agreed to give $115 million in tax breaks to the Carolina Panthers for moving the team’s day-to-day operations to Rock Hill from Charlotte — what lawmakers considered a huge boon for the state in one of South Carolina’s fastest-growing areas.
Panthers owner David Tepper halted construction of the planned facility early this year after the city of Rock Hill did not spend the millions of dollars he said the team needed to pay for additional public infrastructure improvements for the site.
Tepper said the city did not meet its agreement, while city leaders said it met all of its financial obligations under the agreement to bring the team to Rock Hill.
The tax breaks were not awarded out because they are based on the number of permanent jobs the NFL team creates in the state.
The state planned to only give the incentives if the Panthers create enough jobs by Dec. 31, 2024, the governor’s office said. The team promised to move 150 employees to the state as part of the deal to get the tax breaks.
“Bottom line, until a company meets agreed upon thresholds, the company does not collect,” Alex Clark, spokeswoman for the South Carolina Department of Commerce, wrote in an email to The State.
Along with those incentives, to gain support for the deal, lawmakers also agreed to provide job training tax credits to companies that locate in some of the state’s poorest counties. Those incentives are dependent on the creation of new jobs, Clark said.
“While commerce remains committed to this significant economic development project, we also remain committed to taking steps to ensure future strategic growth within our borders,” Clark said.
Tepper Sports told the Rock Hill Herald last month that “the on-going work will continue with our partners to find an economically acceptable solution for all parties to continue this project in Rock Hill.”
South Carolina taxpayers are already spending money meant to benefit the team.
As part of the state’s side of the incentives package, the state agreed to build a $40 million interchange off of Interstate 77 to serve the planned practice facility. The cost is being split by the federal government, the state and the city of Rock Hill.
So far, $16.4 million worth of work has been awarded.
“While the Panthers project would be a beneficiary of the interchange, it will also serve that rapidly growing community for current and future development,” Clark said. “As such, this major infrastructure project is moving forward.”
SC lawmakers question $115M deal for Panthers
Who would pay for the additional $225 million in public infrastructure improvements around the facility was the point of contention that kept the project from moving forward.
Tepper paused construction on his team’s new headquarters because the city of Rock Hill did not secure $225 million to contribute toward the project.
York County has proposed having the Panthers put up the additional $225 million for public infrastructure improvements in exchange for four decades of incentives from the county.
Tepper’s move to halt his project has renewed criticism from lawmakers who voted against the package to begin with.
“We need to invest in smart economic development that benefits taxpayers and promoted economic growth, not make billionaires’ wallet’s bigger,” tweeted state Rep. JA Moore, D-Charleston.
State Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, the loudest and most prominent critic of the deal — Harpootlian made commerce spell out the incentives package as the Senate was debating whether to give tax breaks, incentives usually kept under wraps by the state agency — questioned why someone worth $16 billion needed state assistance for the project.
“He’s a multi-billionaire. To be squeezing municipalities out of tax money they need for schools and infrastructure is unconscionable,” Harpootlian said. “This is what happens when you’re willing to cut a deal no matter the cost just for the (public relations) piece of this.”
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, urged Tepper to reengage in negotiations to complete the project.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been invested in this incredible venture, not to mention painstaking efforts by thousands of individuals,” Norman said. “While Tepper Sports is certainly not obligated to negotiate in public, I do believe Rock Hill and York County governments have demonstrated their desire to discuss all obstacles to this development and help bring the Panthers’ headquarters and training facility to their new home in South Carolina.
“However, that cannot happen so long as Mr. Tepper remains unwilling to engage.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 1:49 PM.
