Tepper Sports & Entertainment is in the "early stages of planning an entertainment district" to be developed in the Third Ward neighborhood of Charlotte, according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. The effort is "wrapped up in ongoing negotiations between the city of Charlotte and Tepper Sports on three linked projects: renovations at BofA Stadium, land and possibly infrastructure for an entertainment district, and improvements at the city-owned former Eastland Mall site in east Charlotte for an MLS team headquarters and training site." Neither the city nor Tepper Sports has "specified the targeted sites," but Panthers Owner David Tepper has "publicly mentioned his interest" in Gateway Station. Gateway is a "planned 14-acre mix of offices, restaurants and apartments surrounding an Amtrak station and transit hub." It is "likely Tepper will want to include 7 acres of city land now occupied by the Panthers’ practice fields for new restaurant and entertainment-themed projects." That land "will be vacated when the Panthers relocate their training site" to Rock Hill, S.C., in '23. Tepper Sports & Entertainment President Tom Glick said the entertainment district "will complement everything we do here at Bank of America Stadium." While the pandemic slowed talks between the two sides, Charlotte Assistant City Manager & Economic Development Dir Tracy Dodson anticipates that they will "become more of a focal point later this year" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/30).
