Tax extension on track to help fund $1B-plus remake of Panthers’ stadium

CHARLOTTE — A local hospitality tax considered crucial for renovating or replacing Charlotte’s NFL stadium is on track to be extended as part of the state budget, two Republican lawmakers told CBJ this week.

The tax targeted for possible NFL stadium funding is Mecklenburg’s additional 1% charged on restaurant meals and bar tabs. The 1% tax is scheduled to end in 2034. State lawmakers are considering an extension through 2060, which would provide a guaranteed funding source to repay financing for potential stadium projects and other tourism projects.

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“It makes sense,” Rep. John Bradford (R-Mecklenburg), senior chair of the House finance committee, told CBJ. “It’s non-controversial (with lawmakers). Because it’s the end of the session, we will put it in the budget.”

The legislature is winding down its current session, negotiating details on the $30 billion budget for fiscal year 2024, which started this month. The General Assembly enacts budgets in two-year cycles, meaning the current process will include a slightly larger budget that includes inflationary adjustments for the fiscal year that begins in July 2024.

Bradford said extending the tax has not stirred dissent in Raleigh.

Charlotte City Council, in closed session earlier this year, discussed a possible 50-50 split of an estimated $1.2 billion renovation of the NFL Carolina Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium — meaning $600 million in taxpayer funding — but that possibility has been described as more of hypothetical scenario than a proposal.

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