Keeping the Carolina in Carolina Panthers (article by Eric Spanberg)

[SCP]

Interesting article for those that follow the business behind the game.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2016/01/keeping-the-carolina-in-carolina-panthers.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+charlotte_blog_queencity+%28Charlotte+Queen+City+Agenda%29&utm_term=%23cltcc+

"Those circumstances differ from 2012, when news surfaced — leaked — that then-Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson to discuss the possibility of Richardson selling the team to an investor who would move the franchise to California. Their meeting took place in Charlotte, when Villaraigosa was here for the Democratic National Convention."

 

[jbeachbum24]

7 minutes ago, King said:

Can't wait for the team to be bought by a New York Jew who attends a game once a year with his three supermodel daughters and his nose buried in an iPhone 10.

Don't care who he is, if he keeps the team in Charlotte then fine by me!

[UpstatePanther]

For those who complain about not having an indoor practice facility, you can blame the state government lol:

 

State lawmakers nixed the proposal, refusing to approve an expanded local meals tax as well as a request for $62.5 million in state money.

If the state had gone along with the idea, the Panthers would have made $250 million worth of renovations and additions, including an indoor practice center.

[!stUp]

Thanks for posting this SCP. It's hard for me to belive that JR does not stipulate in his will that the team does not stay here. I don't want to get into the" no public funds for stadiums" argument, but it's a fact that a certain amount from the public sector is a no brainer. The sticking point is how much. Having said that, I don't see the Carolinas losing a franchise. When you look at most other parts of the country, we here have a great, if not booming economy, several Fortune 500 companies, and a ever increasing population. I could never think that Charlotte/The Carolinas would lose their team before a Buffalo, Kansas City or Nashville lost theirs.

[d-dave]

I can completely understand the view point of not subsidizing billionaires, but I think it's going to come to head sooner rather than later.  We all love the Panthers, and the community and state do as well.  Are they willing to invest in them?  That's the greater question.

I like to live in a fantasy world where we can keep the Panthers in Charlotte forever.  How have teams like Pittsburg, New England, New York x2, Dallas, etc been able to keep their teams in the same place for decades?  It can't just be the popularity or even the local identity, looks like owners will bail as soon as they think they can get stadium money from else where. (Rams)

I don't want to watch our team play somewhere else.  I want to see my city in those blimp shots.  I don't want to see Toronto or Mexico City cheering my Panthers live.  Sadly, the fans will have next to nothing to say.  Sure, we buy lots of gear and support the heck out of our team, but will that be enough to keep the team here?

I hate that this is even an issue...

[FootballMaestro]

7 minutes ago, !stUp said:

Thanks for posting this SCP. It's hard for me to belive that JR does not stipulate in his will that the team does not stay here. I don't want to get into the" no public funds for stadiums" argument, but it's a fact that a certain amount from the public sector is a no brainer. The sticking point is how much. Having said that, I don't see the Carolinas losing a franchise. When you look at most other parts of the country, we here have a great, if not booming economy, several Fortune 500 companies, and a ever increasing population. I could never think that Charlotte/The Carolinas would lose their team before a Buffalo, Kansas City or Nashville lost theirs.

And on top of that. It would cost more to move the team to another city (building a stadium, etc.), along with the cost of living.

And any other place that's similar to Charlotte (in size, and/or cost of living, mind you smaller), is not worth moving to. So I agree.

[UpstatePanther]

17 minutes ago, !stUp said:

Thanks for posting this SCP. It's hard for me to belive that JR does not stipulate in his will that the team does not stay here. I don't want to get into the" no public funds for stadiums" argument, but it's a fact that a certain amount from the public sector is a no brainer. The sticking point is how much. Having said that, I don't see the Carolinas losing a franchise. When you look at most other parts of the country, we here have a great, if not booming economy, several Fortune 500 companies, and a ever increasing population. I could never think that Charlotte/The Carolinas would lose their team before a Buffalo, Kansas City or Nashville lost theirs.

Not to mention we have a blossoming fanbase that will be eager to spend their money for the next decade while our team is relevant. Anyone who buys this team will see that and won't want to move the team because of how profitable it would be. A deal would certainly get done to keep the team here.

By the way, long life and health to the Big Cat. No, not you @thebigcat ;)

[UpstatePanther]

5 minutes ago, thebigcat said:

 

How awesome would it be to have two pro teams in Charlotte owned by MJ? Lol. As long as he is smart enough to be as hands off with Gman as JR has been

[Bartin]

14 minutes ago, !stUp said:

Thanks for posting this SCP. It's hard for me to belive that JR does not stipulate in his will that the team does not stay here. I don't want to get into the" no public funds for stadiums" argument, but it's a fact that a certain amount from the public sector is a no brainer. The sticking point is how much. Having said that, I don't see the Carolinas losing a franchise. When you look at most other parts of the country, we here have a great, if not booming economy, several Fortune 500 companies, and a ever increasing population. I could never think that Charlotte/The Carolinas would lose their team before a Buffalo, Kansas City or Nashville lost theirs.

You have to look at ownership though. The Bills were recently purchased by a relatively young guy by NFL ownership standards, 64, who is committed to keeping the team in Buffalo.The Pegulas are pretty firmly entrenched in Buffalo. The Chiefs have a really long history in KC and have been in the Hunt family since inception and Clark Hunt, the current controlling owner, is only 50 years old. Those two aren't moving anytime soon especially the Chiefs.

Now Nashville is much different. Bud Adams died two years ago and the franchise is now split amongst his children and the ownership structure doesn't exactly conform to NFL rules. The controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk lives in Houston and acts like she doesn't care. There is speculation that the Titans could undergo a forced sale by the NFL if they don't fix the ownership structure or if the children have to sell out to pay estate taxes.

New Orleans is another wild card. Small market, old owner with health issues and legal disputes over control of the team after Benson passes. They could be a prime candidate to move to San Antonio after Benson passes although Jerry Jones and Bob McNair will fight like hell to keep a third team out of Texas and those two guys are extremely powerful owners. If that team goes back into the dumps after Brees retires and fan support shrinks then they might be the next team to move assuming Oakland doesn't take San Antonio first. There would be riots in the streets but I don't know that there is enough money to keep an NFL team there after Benson passes.

I think the Panthers should be okay though. There aren't really any markets that they could move to that would be an upgrade over the Carolinas.

Toronto is an obvious one, but the Bills would fight like hell to prevent a team from moving there since moving a team 45 minutes away into a much bigger market would probably kill that team.

I really don't think London will ever happen. Logistically, it just doesn't make sense. The end game there is likely 8 games per year in different stadia with 16 different teams with teams playing there every other year.

Moving a team into San Diego if the Chargers move to LA would probably not be a great idea as the LA teams would dominate the area and leftover Charger fans would make it hard to build a fanbase.

St Louis for the near future seems like they are over the NFL and that isn't a very good market anyway. Teams have moved away from there twice in the last 30 years.

[Bartin]

26 minutes ago, FootballMaestro said:

And on top of that. It would cost more to move the team to another city (building a stadium, etc.), along with the cost of living.

And any other place that's similar to Charlotte (in size, and/or cost of living, mind you smaller), is not worth moving to. So I agree.

If the Panthers were to move, any stadium would be bought and paid for by the destination city. Nobody is moving an NFL team and paying for the stadium. LA is the only place that made any sense.

[Moorgan]

4 minutes ago, Bartin said:

The controlling owner Amy Adams

I had no idea Lois Lane owned an NFL franchise.

 

[Jeremy Igo]

14 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

How awesome would it be to have two pro teams in Charlotte owned by MJ? Lol. As long as he is smart enough to be as hands off with Gman as JR has been

Ugh

 

 

No thanks

 

 

Great player, awful owner. 

[CatScratchFever]

I would think that members of the existing ownership group would step up if anything ever happened to Jerry.  So much money in this City.

Here is how the ownership breaks down:

Carolina PSLFC, LLC (53%)

JMB Football, LLC (owned by the Estate of John M. Belk, Claudia Belk, Mary Claudia Belk Pilon and the John M. Belk Trust f/b/o the Children of Mary Claudia Belk Pilon) owns 5.1945%;

The Big TomKat, LLC (owned by Katherine McKay Belk, Katherine Belk Morris, Thomas M. Belk, Jr., H.W. McKay Belk, and John Robert Belk) owns 4.5720%;

H.C. Bissell owns 4.8833%;

Erskine Bowles owns 1.8353%;

DSC Football, LLC (owned by Derick S. Close and the DSC 2007 GRAT) owns 9.7666%;

Close Football, LLC (owned by Elliott S. Close, Frances A. Close, Crandall C. Bowles, Katherine A. Close) owns 9.7666%;

Cameron M. Harris owns 2.4416%;

John W. Harris owns 1.9533%;

Donald R. Keough owns 7.8133%;

Levine Football, LLC (owned by Leon Levine, Sandra Levine and Amy Beth Levine) owns 19.5331%;

Jerry L. Wordsworth owns 16.1202%;

Steve A. Wordsworth owns 16.1202%.

 

Panthers GP, LLC (46%)

PFF, Inc.** owns 10%;

Jerome J. Richardson owns 63.6672%;

Rosalind S. Richardson, Mark S. Richardson, Jerome J. Richardson, Jr., and Ashley R. Allen each own 6.5832%

**PFF, Inc.-- Jerome J. Richardson owns 70.7412% and Rosalind S. Richardson, Mark S. Richardson, Jerome J. Richardson, Jr., and Ashley R. Allen each own 7.3147%.

 

[FootballMaestro]

1 minute ago, Bartin said:

If the Panthers were to move, any stadium would be bought and paid for by the destination city. Nobody is moving an NFL team and paying for the stadium. LA is the only place that made any sense.

That's the problem. 

A lot of municipalities are not paying for Stadiums, and certainly not completely.

This is especially true with NFL teams, as they only play 8-13 homes a year (pre season, regular seasons, playoffs) vs baseball and NBA, who play a lot of more. And NFL Stadiums are not the easiest to fill fo concerts, etc., as well. So it's not as easy at sounds.

An Francisco, shot a Giants baseball stadium, and the team had to finance a good portion of it themselves.

Even when, you try to move these teams to the Suburbs (as teams have been doing recently for lower cost), and its' hard to convince a smaller suburb to build a Sports arena or baseball stadium. So you gotta get the County, or even state involved if you can.

More than likely, the Panthers would have to pay some portion of the construction.

So yeah, you gotta find the most desperate city who's willing to foot the bill (as other fans complain the money could be spent better elsewhere), but that's not always the best choice.