Emails between City of Charlotte and Panthers officials "provide new details on the costs associated" with ongoing renovations to Bank of America Stadium, as well as insight into "how the city and the team decide on work to be done and how to pay for it," according to Rick Rothacker of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Under a pact reached in '13, the city "agreed to contribute" $75M to the project over five years, while the Panthers committed to pay $37.5M. The city has "already chipped in" $28M toward the renovations and "will dole out" $23.5M in both '16 and '18 for additional work. Deputy City Manager Ron Kimble said that the Panthers have "already exceeded their commitment," having spent $72M so far, with plans to shell out another $8M this year. Construction will "begin after the Panthers finish their season, which is being extended by the playoffs." The Panthers have "already disclosed plans to upgrade the upper 500-level concourse" and the stadium’s WiFi system, but other items on the February '15 list "included visitors locker room carpet ($94,500), freight elevators ($500,000), player dining kitchen ($350,000) and security systems ($600,000)." Kimble said that plans for this year’s renovations are "still being finalized, but escalating construction costs have forced some changes." He added that the breakdown for the $23.5M in city-funded projects is expected to be about $17M for the upper-level concourse work, about $3M for security improvements and "the rest for miscellaneous capital projects." Kimble said that the security improvements are "designed to keep people safe and to improve movement into and around the stadium." He added that the planned WiFi upgrade is "now being covered by the Panthers" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/16).
