CHARLOTTE — Charlotte’s top tourism executive says he is confident that city government and the NFL Carolina Panthers will reach an agreement to update or replace Bank of America Stadium — an asset that he credits as an important factor in the city’s recent boom attracting leisure travelers.
Tom Murray, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, offered his perspective on the NFL stadium while discussing the tourism sector’s post-pandemic rebound as part of an uptown Rotary meeting on Tuesday.
Tepper Sports & Entertainment owns the stadium and the NFL franchise. Tepper Sports founder David Tepper bought both properties in 2018 for $2.275 billion.
Since then, Tepper has publicly discussed his desire to either overhaul the existing stadium or replace it, floating different proposals while consistently asserting that, either way, the cost must be shared by taxpayers and the franchise alike. Neither the Panthers nor city government have offered details about ongoing talks about the stadium’s future and no formal proposals have been introduced.
Forbes estimates David Tepper’s personal net worth is $18.5 billion.
Murray said Tuesday that the anticipated extension of the existing 1% local prepared food and drink sales tax by the legislature as part of the new state budget is crucial for making additional tourism gains.
The tax is scheduled to end in 2034, and both tourism executives and city government leaders support extending it. State lawmakers are considering an extension until 2060 as part of the $30 billion state budget expected to be approved later this month.
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