ROCK HILL, S.C. — The remnants of the failed Carolina Panthers team headquarters and training camp in Rock Hill were demolished by blasting crews Wednesday.
A real estate firm announced in February that the 245-acre property would be torn down to make way for future office and commercial space. While most of the incomplete steel frame was removed earlier this year, blasting this week is expected to remove foundational elements of the facility, which was never fully completed.
"Rock Hill and York County is progressive, we're not going to let something that didn’t work out define us," Dean Faile, President of the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce, said.
Now, there's anticipating for the future. Faile says there are big opportunities ahead.
“You look at some projects and you want to hit a home run, and maybe we would’ve hit a home run with the prior project," Faile said. "But now we’ve got an opportunity to hit maybe several infield home runs, a couple of triples and singles along the way.”
Rock Hill partnered with Colliers International to market what it is calling the Rock Hill Overlook. At one point, leaders considered mixed-use development for the site. But Bryan Johnson, the managing director for Colliers in Charlotte, said the new focus is on manufacturing and office space.
It could also be possible for the City of Rock Hill to divvy up the site and sell to several different buyers.
Given the site's location on I-77, the new interchange to serve the site, and the region's tremendous growth, Faile says companies and developers gaining interest shouldn't be a problem.
“We got a little over $3 billion of projects coming out of the ground just in Rock Hill alone, so this is just one more opportunity,” Faile said
The York County Office of Emergency Management confirmed a demolition contractor was on the site Tuesday for blasting. Crews had two scheduled blasts at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with a third blast tentatively scheduled for the evening. If crews are unable to get the third blast done today, it would take place on July 26.
Johnson said in February that the partly-constructed facility would need to be completely torn down, telling WCNC Charlotte it was a single-purpose building that can't serve many other developments.
Demolition efforts on the site had begun earlier this year with company officials saying the project would last up to six months.
The $800 million facility was expected to become a gem for Rock Hill, drawing new businesses and thousands of visitors each year. Instead, disputes over funding the project led to a bitter battle between Panthers owner David Tepper and officials from both Rock Hill and York County. Construction was halted in 2022 and the project was eventually killed off.
Tepper-owned GT Real Estate filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2022 and a $100 million settlement was approved six months later. A York County spokesperson confirmed the $21 million the county received will go toward the widening of Mount Gallant Road, which was originally planned as part of the project. Construction is likely going to start on that project next year.
It was once envisioned the NFL football team would use the York County site for training camp. With the project now abandoned, the team returned to Wofford College for training camp this week.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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