Renovations are underway at Bank of America Stadium. Here’s a first look.
The Panthers are starting a months-long renovation project at Bank of America Stadium, beginning with the addition of 14 field-level suites behind the west end zone. The renovations will affect a little less than 900 seats to make room for the suites, which will feature outdoor seating and include access to premium amenities, such as food and beverage.
“At other stadiums you’ve probably seen similar products,” said Joe LaBue, vice president of ticket sales for the Panthers. “Ours are going to be a little bit different with the fact that there’s going to be seating outdoors. There will be a neighborhood area behind the seats, and suite owners are going to have their own private space in the back of the suites.”
LaBue said the design for the area is modeled after event-level suites at Madison Square Garden and Wrigley Field.
The current renovations are also impacting around 380 personal seat license accounts. The organization is individually contacting account owners with relocation options. PSL owners will be able to either move to available lower-level seating in the current PSL location (for no additional PSL or ticket cost) or move to a more expensive PSL location (for only an additional ticket cost). Account holders can also choose not to move and will be offered a reimbursement.
The team has not provided details on pricing or availability of the suites at this time.
Gensler & Associates is serving as the architect for the renovation project, while Rodgers Builders is the contractor.
The renovations are being funded by Tepper Sports & Entertainment as part of Panthers owner David Tepper’s vision to bring more entertainment options, including sports, concerts and soccer matches, to Charlotte.
In December, Major League Soccer, Tepper and the city announced the addition of an expansion team in Charlotte. Both the Panthers and Charlotte’s MLS team will play at Bank of America stadium. With the MLS team set to kick off its first season in 2021, the venue is being outfitted with updates to make it more soccerfriendly.
The stadium is also expected to host a number of college football, non-MLS soccer matches and concerts.
“When [Tepper] took over, one of the things he asked for us to do was take a look at the stadium and how we could enhance the fan experience,” said LaBue.
In addition to the west end zone suites, there will also be renovations to locker rooms, facilities for players and a standing-only Supporters Section with the MLS team in mind. Fans are already able to put down membership deposits for various seating sections.
LaBue said the suite renovations should be completed by the start of the Panthers season, but construction will be ongoing during events in the meantime.
“Hopefully we’re done by end of July,” said LaBue. “That’s the goal right now.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 1:59 PM.
