South Carolina’s Football Fleece

Everyone has seen a bad deal before, but the failed Carolina Panthers project in South Carolina takes the cake. Lawmakers squandered millions of hard-earned tax dollars on a half-built facility that now lies in ruins – and despite the uproar, no one is being held accountable.

It all started in 2019 when South Carolina legislators struck a backroom deal to offer the Panthers $115 million in tax breaks, hoping to bring their corporate headquarters and training facility to Rock Hill.

When this deal was passed, establishment politicians spread the lie that “The Panthers are Coming to South Carolina!” This is despite the fact that regular season home games would still be played at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and ignored the fact that since 1995, the Panthers had been holding their training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg.

According to estimates from the Department of Commerce, this deal was set to create 5,715 jobs and bring in $3.8 Billion in revenue. However, an independent analysis done by a former Department of Commerce official estimated that the deal would only create 208 jobs.

Almost a year after the ink was dried on the deal, the project began running into issues. Initially planned to open the first phase of the new facility in August of 2022, it was delayed until May of 2023 due to COVID and “a hold up in signing the land development agreement.”

To compound the delays from COVID, the city of Rock Hill was supposed to issue $225 Million worth of bonds, repaid with a property tax increase on local residents, and forgo 100% of its tax revenue until the debt was paid off. However, the city of Rock Hill over-leveraged itself and was unable to issue the debt.

Fast forward to March of 2022 and Governor McMaster’s Commerce Secretary was supposed to meet with David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers, and his team to discuss concerns they had with the project. Tepper and his team bailed on the meeting, and the following day, it was announced that the project was on hold.

In June of 2022, GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC – the company overseeing the project – declared bankruptcy after York County had already handed over $21 million for the project.

David Tepper, owner of the Panthers and GT Real Estate Holdings, then tried to sweep the fallout under the rug by paying off York County officials – making their settlement dependent on not cooperating with investigators.

In November of 2022, it was announced that SLED (South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division) was investigating David Tepper for his proposed settlement with York County Officials.

This week, the state’s investigation ended without any criminal charges against Tepper, despite evidence that his companies attempted to obstruct justice by tying settlement payouts to silence.

Once again, this is crony capitalism at its worst. Big businesses get the perks, while taxpayers are left to pick up the pieces.

This disastrous deal should have never been approved, and it’s our mission to ensure this never happens again by fighting for transparency and limited government.