The NFL Panthers are "exploring the possibility of hosting some high school football games at any potential new practice facility in South Carolina, whether in Rock Hill or elsewhere," according to a source cited in a front-page piece by Bret McCormick of the Rock Hill HERALD. If the team scheduled high school football games at a "hypothetical new practice facility, they'd become one of just a handful of NFL teams to do so." The Cowboys and Vikings have both recently "built sparkling new practice facilities that include centerpiece stadiums with around 10,000 seats." Both the Cowboys and Vikings "host regular season and postseason games for local high schools at their practice facility stadiums." Several NFL teams host high school games at their actual stadiums, though the atmosphere is "markedly different in a 70,000-seat venue." A potential 5,000-15,000-seat stadium in Rock Hill also could "host marquee games between high school football programs from the two Carolinas." Those games "already happen but could potentially attract bigger crowds" (Rock Hill HERALD, 4/2).
