Tepper’s real estate company files bankruptcy, the final blow to Panthers’ Rock Hill project
GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC, the company billionaire Panthers owner David Tepper established specifically for the team’s Rock Hill headquarters project, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, the company announced Wednesday night.
That filing officially ends the Panthers’ pursuit of a headquarters in Rock Hill, S.C., and comes a little more than a month after it ended its agreement with the City of Rock Hill over the construction of the nearly 700,000 square-foot facility. The Panthers, Charlotte FC, and Tepper Sports & Entertainment will be unaffected by the filing. The company insists those organizations will operate uninterrupted.
“In recent weeks, GTRE has been confronted with various claims, some valid and some not, from vendors, contractors and other third parties, including York County, SC,” the company said in a statement. “GTRE is taking this action to ensure legitimate claims are processed as fairly and expeditiously as possible under a court-supervised process, and to achieve the project’s orderly and safe wind-down. GTRE intends to resolve its legitimate obligations.”
The Panthers intended to build a state-of-the-art headquarters on the 240-acre land in Rock Hill. The project was supposed to be an economic boost for both the city and South Carolina. It would have been the largest such facility in the NFL and was intended to be a sports and entertainment venue for events from soccer games to high school sports championships and corporate events and concerts.
The Panthers broke ground on the site in 2020.
But in March, the company stopped construction on the property after a disagreement between the city and GTRE. Tepper Sports said in a statement at the time that Rock Hill has been “unable to contribute (to) the agreed upon investment to fund the construction” of the project.
The city insisted it had.
Regardless, the two sides failed to reach an agreement to continue construction, and the company terminated the deal.
Tepper, who spoke to the media for the first time in more than a year in April, declined to speak about the project.
The Charlotte Observer first reported in April that “the Rock Hill deal is dead.”
Though the Panthers will no longer pursue a headquarters in Rock Hill, they likely will still look elsewhere. Charlotte is an option, but Tepper could run into issues locally. A city councilman told the Observer that the city has other priorities.
This story is developing and will be updated.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 12:27 AM with the headline "Tepper’s real estate company files bankruptcy, the final blow to Panthers’ Rock Hill project."
