NFL Panthers Owner David Tepper "no longer is a minority shareholder" in the Steelers, but his "stake in the franchise has yet to be transitioned to another buyer," according to Joe Rutter of TRIBLIVE.com. Steelers President Art Rooney II said that Tepper's estimated 5% ownership stake, which "remains in limbo, likely will be purchased by an outside investor and will not be redistributed among the current 18 shareholders." Rooney said, "We're still in the process of finalizing all of that. Probably in the next few months we'll get everything cleaned up on that end." Tepper "had to sell his shares" when he bought the Panthers in '18 (TRIBLIVE.com, 7/27).
Tepper is focused on reshaping the Panthers and expanding the organization's local developmentcharlotte business journal
CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE: SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL's Ben Fischer profiles Tepper in this week's cover story and notes in the year since buying the Panthers for an NFL-record $2.275B, he has "brought the same swashbuckling mindset to the NFL" that he had as a venture capitalist. Tepper has been "moving quickly and spending heavily to overhaul the franchise with the goals of winning a Lombardi Trophy, becoming a top-tier NFL franchise by every possible definition and becoming a dominant voice in Charlotte-area development." Tepper has "made bold fan-facing moves, earning praise for exchanging the NFL logo at Bank of America Stadium's 50-yard line for the Panthers logo." He "shakes hands with fans before games and had the Panthers jump head-first into Amazon's 'All or Nothing' series." Tepper said that within a decade, he hopes to "build a new retractable-dome stadium" in uptown Charlotte, with "taxpayer help, that would turn the city into a contender for every major concert tour and sporting event." Tepper is also launching Tepper Sports & Entertainment, a "holding company that will sit atop all of his Charlotte sports entertainment and development endeavors that will be run by himself" and Panthers President Tom Glick (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/29 issue).
