County councilman calls for York County, Rock Hill teamwork to get Panthers deal done
York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey addressed what he called the “elephant in the Carolinas” Monday night.
He referred to news that blew up his phone Monday afternoon when it was announced that the Carolina Panthers headquarters project in Rock Hill would be paused.
“It’s time that we get this deal done, for the City of Rock Hill to reach out to York County,” the former Rock Hill mayoral candidate said. “Let’s move forward. Let’s work together. Let’s avoid any possible disasters down the road.”
A Tepper Sports & Entertainment statement Monday afternoon noted that despite more than $170 million already invested from GT Real Estate Holdings — a company representing the Panthers — to the team headquarters development project in Rock Hill, other partners have not contributed their agreed upon funding for public infrastructure like roads and utilities.
“Given the economic realities, the difficult but prudent decision has been made to pause the project,” the statement reads. “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.”
The City of Rock Hill said in a statement Monday that it has met all its obligations required under the deal.
“The city was unaware of any planned pause in construction of the Panthers facility,” the statement reads. “The city has met all obligations required under the agreement, and is not aware of any March 2021 payment obligation. The city intends to continue honoring our agreement with the Panthers and fully supports the project.”
Rock Hill officials said Tuesday that the city has no other comment on the issue.
Brian Symmes, spokesperson for S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, said the governor has done “everything necessary” at the state level to keep the project moving forward.
“He’s confident that the locals and the Panthers will quickly resolve any outstanding issues and that construction will resume,” Symmes said.
This isn’t the first time a funding issue has arisen with the project.
A May 6, 2021 letter from Panthers COO Mark Hart asked York County to work with Rock Hill to secure needed funding for the project. Hart referenced $225 million in bonds for infrastructure from the city. At the time, Hart wrote the bonds were to be issued by October 2020 but the deadline was pushed back to February 2021, though funds still weren’t secured three months later.
York County Council didn’t have any decision related to the Panthers project on its agenda Monday night.
The county, city, school district and state are part of wide-ranging economic incentive deals to bring the team headquarters and practice site to Rock Hill. The project includes state funding for a now-under-construction interchange off I-77. It also includes several new or upgraded public roads to support the site.
The city, county and Rock Hill school district each agreed on an incentive plan that would put some tax money, which they would typically get, into infrastructure for the practice facility. Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said Monday afternoon the city has been and remains committed to the Panthers project.
Roddey made his public appeal to Gettys, Rock Hill City Council, the city manager and attorneys — none were present at the county meeting — to reach out to York County for help with the project. Roddey said there’s been discussion about city financing of its share of the project for almost a year.
Roddey then pointed to an item that had drawn numerous complaints and requests at the county meeting Monday night, as it has in recent months — the MorningStar tower. The county has been in a legal back-and-forth for years on the 21-story remnant of the Heritage USA era in Fort Mill. Construction began decades ago but still the tower sits in limbo.
Current owners, MorningStar Fellowship Church, want a senior living space there and argue that the county wastes taxpayer money by delaying the project. Roddey said he doesn’t want the same type of legal holdups with the Panthers project.
“If we don’t get this deal worked out, it’s going to be some big, big lawsuits,” Roddey said of the Panthers deal. “And our York County taxpayers, our City of Rock Hill taxpayers are going to be on the hook for something that we didn’t sign up for.”
One significant part of the Panthers project that doesn’t appear to be impacted is the new I-77 interchange.
“It’ll have no impact,” State Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said Tuesday afternoon, referring to the project pause. “We have a separate agreement with the Panthers and the city and the state on that project.”
The Panthers interchange is the fastest from concept to construction among several recent or ongoing interstate exit improvements in York County. The new interchange is on track to be ready for what the team initially projected as its start date in Rock Hill, the 2023 NFL season. Work will continue on the interchange, and Hall isn’t concerned about the possibility of building an exit to nowhere.
“We’ve got confidence that the locals will get things worked out,” Hall said. “We’ve had no missed payments from the city or the Panthers or anyone related to that project, so we’re full steam ahead.”
A drive along I-77 now already shows pillars up to support where the interchange will cross over the interstate.
“With a bridge project, any time you start to see things coming up out of the ground, that’s a good sign,” Hall said.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 12:51 PM with the headline "County councilman calls for York County, Rock Hill teamwork to get Panthers deal done."
