Panthers want 125 Million in taxpayer money.

[4Corners]

Just tax the morons that commute to charlotte from the upstate

fuging hillbillies

[teeray]

The revenue will likely come from hotel taxes so the citizens of Charlotte will likely pay little if any of the cost. And you will thank the city council once the renovations are finished. If they do everything they have said they are going to do the gameday experience will be really awesome.

This is a good thing and a common thing, but as always it gets ridiculed for using taxpayer dollars to upgrade a sports venue.

[chknwing]

its tax money from hotels etc, not the general public.

[Gucci Mane]

What happened to just taxing the hotels and poo more? not every taxpayer

[unicar15]

I'm not a big fan of giving money to billionaires to build something that they will then charge me to use.

This is issue #1. Since JR bought the franchise, the value has gone from 250 million to 1 billion. Chalk some of that up to inflation but that is a heck of a lot of money to be made in a "small market" as we are known around the league. The PSLs in comparison to what Minnesotta and Indy did sounds a little better because at least JR gave us something tangible instead of putting the whole cost onto tax payers without a seat liscense. But still looks bad..

The other issue as was mentioned in the OP is that JR has started to look like an owner that cares more about the bottom line than he does about winning. So, coming to the fans of Charlotte for MORE money, when they have provided unwavering support for this team despite a lack of success just looks like a money-grabbing move as opposed to a move to reward fans. I'm sure that if the Panthers just came off a 13-3 season with a playoff appearance there would be less griping but this franchise, under the watch of JR, has sucked for the most part.

[Zod]

I'm not a big fan of giving money to billionaires to build something that they will then charge me to use.

lol

well, when you put it that way....

[Zod]

Wait, is there a way to only tax Steeler and Redskin fans?

[MadHatter]

So are you for giving JR $125M?

Given the amount of tax dollars that go to every professional team by the cities, the amount previously provided to the Panthers is nowhere near the norm.

To keep the team here....yes, I do support it.

I don't necessarily like it. But I do know that it is the price that you pay for professional sports in your town.

[Zod]

Given the amount of tax dollars that go to every professional team by the cities, the amount previously provided to the Panthers is nowhere near the norm.

To keep the team here....yes, I do support it.

I don't necessarily like it. But I do know that it is the price that you pay for professional sports in your town.

Or we could give 125 local schools a million dollars each to improve their facilities and pay raises for teachers.

Nah.

[teeray]

So, coming to the fans of Charlotte for MORE money, when they have provided unwavering support for this team despite a lack of success just looks like a money-grabbing move as opposed to a move to reward fans. I'm sure that if the Panthers just came off a 13-3 season with a playoff appearance there would be less griping but this franchise, under the watch of JR, has sucked for the most part.

It isn't like he will be taking this money and putting it in his pocket. He will be using it for renovations to make a better gameday experience for the fans.

I mean as you say the fans have provided unwavering support, so really he could just not do sh!t and keep collecting money with the stadium the way it is now. By and large this money is going to the fans.

[Halifax Panther]

By having the team here, JR is pumping and bring in more money to the city and both states than $125. As a fan we don't thing about the business generated for the area because the team is here. The stadium/team is an attraction and destination spot.

[Jase]

Call them the Charlotte Panthers and it's a done deal.

125 million = 1 mile of light rail construction

[PantherBrew]

Or we could give 125 local schools a million dollars each to improve their facilities and pay raises for teachers.

Nah.

As a teacher, and as awesome as this sounds, other professions benefit from having the Panthers much more than a one time upgrade to schools and raises.

But teacher pay is a fundamental problem that almost everyone acknowledges but no one cares enough.

[teeray]

Or we could give 125 local schools a million dollars each to improve their facilities and pay raises for teachers.

Nah.

And lose the thousands of jobs and hundreds of businesses that are largely dependent on the sports franchises? The overwhelming majority of the State tax revenue already goes to education.