Planned Bank Of America Stadium Suite Hopes For Younger Crowd

The NFL Panthers are selling seats to the Gridiron Club at Bank of America Stadium, a new $2.6M private-membership club designed by Charlotte-based Wagner Murray Architects scheduled to open for the '08 season, according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Seats at the Gridiron Club will cost $4,250 each per season, and fans will "lose their membership if they opt against renewing, much like the [PSL] agreements used in the rest of the stadium." A one-time membership feel of  $7,500 per seat will be refunded after 20 years. The club will be built in the suite level and will "put a hipper spin on the Panthers' previous private-club foray," Suite 87.  Members pay $4,780 annually at Suite 87, which has been sold out of all 124 seats since its inception in '01. Wagner Murray Principal David Wagner said that the Gridiron Club "retains the upscale elements of Suite 87, but emphasizes a grittier, younger feel -- rather than a country-club environment." Wagner: "It's edgier. It's more clubby, the kind of thing that will get young professionals excited." Spanberg notes the three rows of seats in the Gridiron Club will be outside in terrace style but protected by the upper-deck awning. Members must buy all food and drinks separately, but parking is included in the membership fee (CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/14 issue).