City Council OKs rezoning property near uptown that could be possible stadium site
Charlotte City Council members approved a petition Monday to rezone one of the largest pieces of land available for development around uptown — land that has been eyed as the new home of an NFL football stadium.
The rezoning paves the way for retail, hotels, restaurants and possibly even a stadium at the Charlotte Pipe and Foundry site just a few blocks from where the Carolina Panthers currently play at Bank of America Stadium.
Panthers owner David Tepper has previously cited the foundry land — 55 acres in all— as a possible home for a new stadium. Charlotte Pipe and Foundry has operated a plant at South Clarkson Street and West Summit Avenue for more than 100 years but announced in May 2020 it was moving its operations to Oakboro in Stanly County. The company requested to rezone the land to “uptown mixed-use district.”
Council members voted unanimously to approve the petition. There was no discussion at Monday afternoon’s zoning meeting. Charlotte Pipe and Foundry committed to a minimum of two acres of open space, which could increase depending on the size of the development. One acre would be “publicly accessible” and could include a park, athletic fields, bike paths and amphitheater, among other things, according to city staff.
In previous meetings, some City Council members and at least one zoning committee member raised concerns of the “blank check” nature of this type of rezoning.
“For something that’s this big and this transformational and this important to center city, this is far from a plan,” said zoning committee member Sam Spencer, who voted against the petition at a Dec. 1 meeting. “To me, this is a deal with no plan.”
Spencer was the sole dissenting vote.
Planning staff recommended approval of the petition.
Since purchasing the Panthers in 2018, Tepper has also successfully bid for a Major League Soccer expansion team. Both teams would play for the foreseeable future at Bank of America Stadium, which opened in 1996 and is one of the NFL’s older stadiums. The stadium is undergoing a $50 million renovation in preparation to host the MLS team, Charlotte FC.
City Council members and Tepper Sports & Entertainment have discussed developing an entertainment district in uptown, complete with live concert venues, e-sports centers, restaurants and retail businesses all clustered around the stadium, the Observer has previously reported.
More land bought
Last week, a real estate holdings company affiliated with Tepper and the Panthers bought 4.6 acres just a few blocks from the stadium — although it’s not clear what the plans are for the land.
The site at West Morehead and McNinch streets was purchased for $15.5 million by GT Real Estate Holdings LLC, Mecklenburg County property records show.
A team spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached Monday afternoon for comment.
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 5:09 PM.
