ROCK HILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- After weeks of silence, the Panthers have terminated project agreements with the City of Rock Hill, citing failure to issue bonds or provide funding for the team's $800 million training facility, according to a statement released by GT Real Estate.
"On February 26, 2021, the City of Rock Hill became delinquent on their obligation to fund the public infrastructure. Despite our persistent efforts throughout 2021, the City of Rock Hill failed to issue the bonds or provide the funding for the public infrastructure for the project," GTRE said in a released statement.
GTRE went on to state, "On March 18, 2022, GTRE issued a default notice and the City did not cure its default within the prescribed 30-day cure period. It is unfortunate that some recently decided to conduct a misguided, destructive public relations campaign to obscure their failures."
"We have sent notices to the City to formally terminate the previous agreements. Accordingly, we are prepared to sit down with the City and other interested parties to discuss the significant challenges ahead." GTRE said.
For weeks Tepper Sports has said the City of Rock Hill failed to live up to its end of their deal, where it was supposed to issue bonds for $225 million in taxpayer funding.
While Rock Hill city leaders essentially went into hiding, York County stepped in to offer an alternate plan to try to save the deal. Councilman Guffey said the county offered to give up tax revenue on the facility and the headquarters for 30 years if Tepper continued the construction, paying for everything up front with his own money, at a negotiated rate for the remaining properties, something Tepper said in the past he’d never do.
With the announcement of this termination, the Panthers stand to lose north of $100 million in tax credits in South Carolina if the project isn’t completed by 2024. But the city of Rock Hill, York County, and the state of South Carolina stand to lose much more than that, if they don’t find a way to get this deal done.
Statement sent to Queen City News from SC Gov. McMaster:
"Today’s announcement by the Panthers is a disappointment, as we had hoped they would be a part of South Carolina’s record-breaking, booming economy.
In 2021, we broke a decade’s worth of records for job recruitment, investment, and expansion, announcing 18,000 new jobs and $5.6 billion in capital investment. And our state government’s finances are in the strongest condition ever, with the largest budget surpluses, the largest rainy-day reserves, and the lowest debt in our history.
South Carolina is winning, and we intend to keep winning. The best is yet to come!"
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