Panthers to meet with SC officials about potential practice facility, sources say

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers will meet with South Carolina officials about incentives surrounding a new practice facility, sources told Channel 9.

There is no deal yet, but team owner David Tepper has been vocal about wanting a new practice facility.

Last month, the team told PSL owners that it would build a temporary practice bubble for the upcoming preseason. The team currently practices outdoors, on fields just outside the Bank of America Stadium.

[ALSO READ: David Tepper wants indoor practice bubble for the Panthers]

The team is obviously looking for a more permanent, long-term solution and likely before next season.

In November, rumors swirled when the Panthers radio announcer suggested a state-of-the-art practice campus could be built in Fort Mill.

Officials said when the team first started, they practiced and met fans on the fields at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.

The team was looking for a site in Fort Mill or Rock Hill, a source told Channel 9.

There was no official word from the team or Gov. Henry McMaster's office, sources said.

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The two sides will meet in Columbia on March 13 at the Governor's Mansion.

State Representative Gary Simrill of York County said he will also be in the meeting. He said Tepper and McMaster are not strangers.

"He was, of course, co-chair of our Governor Hentry McMaster's inauguration committee back in January, so the two men know each other," Simrill said.

Simrill said he would not discuss any possible sites, but he expects the Carolina Panthers to build a strong working relationship with South Carolina.

Cox Media Group