Panthers Owner David Tepper, Worth $20 Billion, Wants Taxpayers To Foot The Bill For Stadium Renovations

Carolina Panthers fans had high hopes when hedge fund mogul David Tepper bought the team back in 2018 from original owner Jerry Richardson. But, it’s been a terrible experience since, as the team is a mess on the field and his relationship with the fan base and Charlotte area has been terrible.

Now, he wants the taxpayers to fund hundreds of millions of dollars of renovations to Bank of America Stadium while the team is a complete mess.

David Tepper is asking the city of Charlotte to pay for a large chunk of the stadium renovations, $650 million to be exact, in exchange for keeping the team in Charlotte for 20 years. Front Office Sports reports that the total price tag would be around $800 million, meaning that the taxpayers would pay for nearly all of the renovations.

Taxpayers having to chip in for sports arenas or stadiums isn’t out of the ordinary. The majority of large projects are completed with public money on some level these days.

But, most owners aren’t as rich as David Tepper, with a net worth of $20 billion. And, most fan bases haven’t been as worn down by terrible teams as Panthers fans have been under Tepper. Since he took over, the team has not had a single winning record. After he allegedly played a hand in the team trading up to select Bryce Young over CJ Stroud with the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they were the worst team in the NFL last season. Naturally, their first-round pick, which would’ve been first-overall, was part of the trade with the Bears to get the pick. The franchise is in deep trouble on the field.

And, his interactions with fans,  the Panthers and opposing fan bases, have not always been the best. Simply put, he’s not a popular guy in the Charlotte area right now.

Even if he was popular, taxpayers would still likely be against it. It’s hard to be more beloved than the Kansas City Chiefs by local residents right now. But, despite back-to-back Super Bowl wins, voters recently went to the polls and struck down funding for renovations to Arrowhead Stadium and a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals. Taxpayers simply do not want their money spent on this.

Ultimately, it won’t be up to the voters, at least directly. City council will vote later on this month whether to approve the plan or not. But, you can be sure will be a lot of backlash against David Tepper, who could afford all of the renovations himself without issue, if it goes through.

The post Panthers Owner David Tepper, Worth $20 Billion, Wants Taxpayers To Foot The Bill For Stadium Renovations appeared first on BroBible.