Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper proposes to pay $82M over failed Rock Hill practice facility

Associated Press
·2 min read
1
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper’s real estate company has promised to pay more than $82 million to creditors over an abandoned practice facility project in Rock Hill under a new plan proposed Thursday.

The plan would require approval from courts and creditors.

GT Real Estate Holdings, a Delaware limited liability company, announced Thursday it has filed a comprehensive plan of reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Under the terms of the plan, GTRE would resolve claims by paying $60.5 million in cash funded into a settlement trust for the benefit of contractors, subcontractors and general unsecured creditors, $21.1 million to York County and $20 million or more to the City of Rock Hill.

PANTHERS TRAINING CAMP: Here's how Rock Hill's loss could be Spartanburg, Wofford's gain.

CAROLINA PANTHERS: NFL's Carolina Panthers host defending AAAAA state champions Gaffney in joint practice

READ THIS: Spartanburg High defensive tackle Cam Jackson is No. 7 on the Dandy Dozen list

Earlier, DT Sports Holding, LLC, a Tepper entity, previously funded $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

Construction personnel work on Carolina Panthers' state-of-the-art team headquarters and practice facility Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, in Rock Hill, S.C. "The Rock" will host all of the team's offices and training/locker room facilities, along with three outdoor grass practice fields, one indoor artificial field and another outdoor artificial field that is part of a 5,000-seat multipurpose stadium that can also be used to host high school football and soccer games, concerts, car shows and much more. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The development of the Panthers’ state-of-the-art $800 million practice facility — which would have served as the team's headquarters — fell apart after highly-publicized disputes between Tepper and the City of Rock Hill and York County.

Tepper invested more than $175 million into the half-built practice facility, which is located about 25 miles south of the team’s current downtown stadium and headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina before construction shut down.

“This plan reflects GTRE’s promise to expeditiously resolve all claims and make payments to its creditors, including to York County and the City of Rock Hill," according to a statement released by GT Real Estate Holdings. "GTRE now has a clear path to emerge from bankruptcy made possible by substantial commitments from DT Sports Holding, which has made available to GTRE more than $82 million in cash in an effort to bring this process to an orderly and equitable conclusion.

"GTRE believes that the plan is in the best interests of its creditors and anticipates that a hearing to consider approval of the plan will occur in October of this year.”

The Carolina Panthers returned to Wofford College's football practice fields in Spartanburg for the 27th time on July 27.

The Panthers hosted 12 training camp practices that were free and open to the public at Gibbs Stadium.

The final Panthers Camp practice took place Wednesday, Aug. 10.

A Fan Fest will take place today, Aug. 11, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

The Spartanburg Herald-Journal contributed to this article. 

___

More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Panthers propose to pay $82M over failed South Carolina practice facility