Last week, new renderings of the Carolina Panthers headquarters in Rock Hill were released. This amazing state-of-the-art facility called “The Rock” is expected to cover almost 640,000 square feet and have a site totaling 240.7 acres.
When the building is completed, the development should include team facilities, office space, apartments, commercial space and a hotel. Estimates are that the development will entice more than $2 billion in total investment. The development will happen in multiple phases over the course of the next 15 years.
The site purchase was completed in March and the team paid $16.4 million for the land. The site is located off I-77 between Eden Terrace and Dave Lyle Boulevard. There is not currently an exit from I-77, but part of the incentives the team received, a new highway interchange will be constructed to service the site. The total incentive package was more than $400 million and besides the highway interchange, included infrastructure costs at the site including road construction. $80 to $90 million of the project is expected to be for the interchange. Some of the remaining money will be for 13,000 feet of new public streets.
The title for the project “The Rock” is supposed to represent what this project will do for Rock Hill. The economic impact of the project should secure the financial security of the region for years to come. The new team headquarters is expected to open in 2023 and should be a launchpad for many other businesses related to and separate from football. For instance there will be a small stadium which could house concerts, youth and adult sports, educational programs, and other events when not in use by the team.
Also included in the project are almost 4 million square feet of development. The centerpiece of that square footage will be a fully indoor practice facility which will have 80 foot tall sliding glass doors to connect it with an outdoor field area. This area could be used for events as well.
The team headquarters will be four stories, the largest of its kind in the NFL. Inside will have locker rooms, weight rooms, training rooms, a dining hall, and public tour areas.
Around the new site, community leaders envision hotels, restaurants, corporate headquarters and other development. An advanced medical facility has signed on to be part of the project with world class sports medicine.
The highway interchange is under construction now and the team broke ground on the project in July. There are two temporary bridges to access the site and they sit roughly where the permanent bridges will go on Paragon and Langston roads when that part of the project is under construction.
There will be many jobs created by the construction at the site, everything from the engineers and architects, to the plumbers and electricians. For the full project, project leaders estimate 1,200 to 1,300 workers will be needed. This project is already a boon to the local economy, and should continue to be for the future.
