Panthers Adam Thielen offers blunt take on Bank of America Stadium before upgrades
The Carolina Panthers plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on renovations to Bank of America Stadium, and one of their most noteworthy veterans says those upgrades are due.
Wide receiver Adam Thielen — who’s going into his 12th season in the NFL and debuted with Carolina last year — said Monday afternoon that he’s optimistic about the proposed changes to Bank of America Stadium and other facilities used by the Panthers. He also offered a blunt assessment of the current state of those facilities.
“I think they’re behind a little bit as far as facilities,” Thielen said, speaking over Zoom video call Monday during a media event for the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament he’ll participate in next month. “We probably have the worst facilities in the NFL right now, and I don’t think there is anybody who would argue that. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. You gotta go play football, and you gotta go win games.
“So it’s nice to hear that, the commitment to us as players and the coaching staff, ‘Hey, you guys are putting the work in, and we’re going to commit and provide you guys with better facilities and really give you the resources to go out there and win.’ So it’s exciting.”
The Panthers’ leading receiver in 2023 offered this reaction a few hours after Tepper Sports & Entertainment — the David Tepper-run group that owns the Panthers and the city’s MLS franchise Charlotte FC — announced robust plans to renovate Bank of America Stadium. The proposal, which focuses on “modernizing the stadium” that has stood in uptown for nearly 30 years, will require $650 million in public money and $150 million from Tepper Sports and Entertainment. (That $150M is in addition to what TSE has already poured into the stadium as well as the hundreds of millions projected for capital improvements over the term of the deal.)
The expected renovations are intended to enhance the fan experience. That includes the installation of new seats, stadium safety/security upgrades and a reimagined South Lawn Pavilion area that can be used as a gathering spot on game days and non-event days.
There are also plans that should intrigue Panthers players. Upgrading the locker room was listed as a priority during Monday’s meeting, and the construction of a new fieldhouse at the team’s allocated practice facility is already underway. Construction of the fieldhouse will begin after training camp takes place this summer.
Thielen said the fact that the Panthers don’t have an indoor facility right now is “a little tough.” TSE tore down the Panthers’ old “practice bubble” in January, which was one of the first steps required to build its new practice facility that will include the indoor fieldhouse later this year. He also added that the players and coaches are “kind of making due with what we have as far as the locker room and meeting rooms and stuff like that.”
At the same time, he said the Panthers’ current outdoor practice field is “probably the best I’ve ever been on,” and he suggested a legitimate reason why the Panthers might be a bit behind on facility renovations.
“I think they had plans in Rock Hill to build that facility, and then when that kind of fell through, they had to re-gameplan and figure it out,” Thielen said. “So again, it’s exciting to hear that they’re going to invest in the players and the organization, the staff. And I think everyone’s just excited to see that follow through, and to get those resources to be at our best.”
Panthers’ grass vs. turf debate at Bank of America Stadium lives on
Thielen’s thoughts Monday appear to align with what many Carolina players have espoused for a while.
In the NFL Players Association’s 2023 report card, the Panthers players rated their own club with a C+ assessment of their locker room, a C+ of their training room and a B of their weight room. The annual report card also gave owner David Tepper a “D” grade, and a large part of that was facility-related — because of “Tepper’s decision to change their home stadium from grass to turf while 100% of the players said they prefer to play on grass,” the report card said.
The turf vs. grass debate has been widely discussed among Panthers players over the past few years, especially since artificial turf was installed in Bank of America Stadium in August 2021. Among the most notable voices on the topic has been veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson, who sustained a season-ending leg injury on the turf in Week 2 of last season.
“You guys know my thoughts on turf,” Thompson told reporters in September 2023. “I mean, I would love for everybody to go to grass. Hopefully it gets done.”
Putting in real grass was not mentioned in TSE’s presentation to the City Council’s economic development committee on Monday. Neither was a retractable roof or dome.
Still, there is excitement for what will come. Thielen hopes to be around to see the fruit of those facility renovations.
That includes what’s in motion right now, as well as the renovations that are expected to be fully completed by August 2029.
“Hopefully it gets done quickly, so I can get some use out of it,” Thielen said with a smile. “But exciting times for sure.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
