‘Not going to happen’?: What Gov. McMaster said on the fate of Panthers, Rock Hill deal
Gov. Henry McMaster is disappointed with recent events related to the Carolina Panthers headquarters project in Rock Hill. Yet he wasn’t certain Thursday afternoon what the future holds.
At times McMaster sounded as if the project off I-77 won’t happen. At other times, hopeful that it still might. His reaction Thursday came after a statement Tuesday from a company representing the Panthers, that the team would terminate its construction agreement with the city to build the potential multibillion-dollar site.
“I think most of us are disappointed that the Panthers won’t be a part of this great, booming economy that we have in South Carolina,” McMaster told media in Fort Mill Thursday evening, where he presented former Fort Mill police chief Jeff Helms with the Order of the Palmetto. “That’s a disappointment.”
McMaster said much of what he knows related to the project comes from what he’s read in the newspaper, and that decisions on the fate of the project will come down to the team and city.
“I’m not on the inside of that,” McMaster said. “The state has done everything that we agreed to do, and did it precisely according to the agreement. So the disagreement is not with the state.”
The team contends Rock Hill hasn’t met its end of the deal related to $225 million in public infrastructure financing related to the project. The city contends it has met all obligations laid out in the agreement, but the sides disagreed on what conditions were required for bond financing. A media group representing the team in the project announced in March it would halt construction. This week, the same group announced it would terminate the construction contract.
York County and Rock Hill in recent months offered an arrangement where the development team would pay for public infrastructure costs, with reimbursement coming through tax incentives set out for decades.
The state played a role in creating tax incentives related to professional sports, and in the creation of a new interchange off I-77 to serve the project.
“We’ve done our part,” McMaster said. “The state has done precisely what we agreed to do, and it’s up to others to determine what the future of that agreement or that project is.”
The interstate exit is under construction. Last month state transportation secretary Christy Hall told The Rock Hill Herald the project would continue to completion, after news of a construction halt at the practice site. A South Carolina Department of Transportation spokesperson on Wednesday said the department stands behind those same comments.
In statements from both the NFL team and city, there were references to continued discussion on the project. McMaster said Thursday he has encouraged all parties to continue talks that could resolve differences, though at this point there doesn’t seem to be progress.
“I know they’ve been trying to work it out,” McMaster said. “It’d be nice if it could be worked out. That’s what we were hoping for, but again I’m disappointed at this point that it appears they will not be part of this great prosperity that we are enjoying.”
McMaster said he’s spoken multiple times to Panthers owner David Tepper, but not recently. He did have a phone conversation with Tepper, McMaster said, where the team owner spoke of efforts to resolve issues.
“He said they were trying to work it out,” McMaster said.
Yet for now, McMaster isn’t optimistic.
“At this point it appears, according to what Mr. Tepper has said, that it’s not going to happen,” McMaster said.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 6:55 PM with the headline "‘Not going to happen’?: What Gov. McMaster said on the fate of Panthers, Rock Hill deal."
