Tepper Sports & Entertainment’s proposed stadium deal would keep the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte for at least 15 more years. Or if there’s no deal, no local rules prevent the Panthers from relocating now.

A plan proposed to the Charlotte City Council Monday seeks $650 million for renovations to Bank of America Stadium to be completed by 2029. Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Panthers and Charlotte FC, plans to contribute $150 million in addition to improvements it’s already made and planned projects over the term of the deal.

City-funded projects would address safety and security, stadium restrooms, locker rooms and technology upgrades, among other things. More renovations are planned, but not all are funded by the city.

The agreement would keep the Panthers and Charlotte FC here for up to 20 years, with 15 of those years being mandatory. With a Charlotte City Council approval this year, the Tepper teams could leave as soon as 2039 and pay any remaining debt associated with the renovation projects.

At this point, the Panthers don’t appear to be interested in moving, with an uptown practice facility already moving through the approvals process after pulling out of a facility in Rock Hill and no outward statements about wanting to relocate.

“We are proud to be in Charlotte and Bank of America Stadium has been our home and a special place for our Carolina Panthers fans, and now Charlotte FC fans, for nearly 30 years,” Panthers President Kristi Coleman said in a statement Monday. “Today was a first step in what will be a series of conversations with public officials. Our goal is to build a collaborative partnership so that this community asset can continue to generate unique and memorable experiences for fans, as well as economic impact for the city and region for years to come.”

City funding for the project would come from the city’s hospitality and tourism taxes, which can only be used for certain projects. Namely, they can be used only for “tourism and tourism related activities,” and funds have typically been spent on taking care of venues and facilities.

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City and community leaders have used the limited scope of the tourism tax revenue and economic impact numbers to speak in favor of the project.

“These dollars cannot be utilized for anything other than a narrowly tailored purpose,” Malcolm Graham, chair of Charlotte City Council’s Jobs and Economic Development Committee, told City Council members Monday. “No public housing, no homelessness, no crime and public safety – strictly earmarked for travel and tourism.”

Bank of America Stadium generates $1.1 billion in economic impact annually, with $706 million of that thanks to the Panthers, Assistant City Manager and Economic Development Director Tracy Dodson said in her presentation Monday.

However, research suggests that estimates of the economic impact of stadiums and professional sports are often inflated, since they fail to account for the fact that if people don’t spend their disposable income at sporting events, they’ll often still spend it on something else in the community, like dining out.

Could the Panthers leave Charlotte now?

The previous agreement keeping the Panthers in Charlotte ended in June 2023, WBTV reported at the time. So right now, the team wouldn’t face any penalties for moving. It’s not clear that Charlotte FC, which was founded in 2019, faces any similar local restrictions on moving.

If the team relocates between now and 2027, taxpayers have the option to buy the stadium from Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which currently owns the venue while the city owns the land it sits on, according to Graham.

Still, the new agreement could be a tough sell with some City Council members and Charlotteans. The hefty ask comes as the team hasn’t had a winning season since David Tepper bought it for nearly $2.3 billion in 2018. The city is also paying $275 million to renovate the Spectrum Center, home to the Charlotte Hornets.

If the Panthers look to move, they’d be the latest in a line of recent disputes over stadium agreements that led to team relocations.

In January 2016, the NFL’s Rams, Raiders and Chargers all filed for relocation, each one citing its own stadium issues. The Rams were the first to make the transition, ending their 21-year stint in St. Louis to head back to Los Angeles, California. The Chargers moved the following year, also to Los Angeles. The Raiders took their franchise to Las Vegas in 2020.

The Charlotte City Council is expected to vote on the new proposal June 24.