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Carolina Panthers Rock Hill Development

Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States

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The Carolina Panthers, York County and the city of Rock Hill, S.C. have joined in a community partnership to transition the team’s headquarters to Rock Hill. The new site will not only include a world-class sports complex, but also be a true destination site for the entire region, offering entertainment, dining, retail, athletics and medical care. Groundbreaking for the site commenced in June 2020, with the first phase opening planned for 2023.

The Carolina Panthers Rock Hill Development is an innovative mixed-use, pedestrian friendly community anchored by the practice facility, headquarters offices, and sports/entertainment venue with emphasis on retail/entertainment/media productions, hospitality, employment, research and development, residential dwellings, indoor and outdoor recreation, and open space uses. Constructed on a 200+ acre site adjacent to I-77, the Panthers organization is investing to develop and build the facility and development infrastructure, which will initially include: new headquarters offices; an indoor practice facility; outdoor practice fields; scalable small stadium to host high school sports, concerts, festivals, etc.; an indoor facility to host games, concerts and corporate events; and a premier orthopedic sports medicine facility.

The headquarters will also mean significant infrastructure improvements for the region, including more than 13,000 feet of new public streets.
New sidewalks and trail networks will welcome cyclists, pedestrian walkers and runners.

Inspired by the quarries of South Carolina and the city of Rock Hill, Populous introduced its design with the following fundamental principles:

To think football and beyond;
To be smart and state-of-the-art; and
To be authentically Panthers.

As guests arrive at the training facility, the entrance greets everyone with a moment of significant impact – a series of canted glass walls, articulated metal panels and LED displays are choreographed to captivate visitors upon entry, culminating at one of the building’s peaked rooflines which rises toward the southeast. The west lobby serves as the team entry and opens up to a one-of-a-kind commons area that serves as a social gathering space for café style dining, impromptu meetings, and multi-purpose events – each offering the ability to enjoy expansive views of the surrounding landscape.

We saw the vision of the site and we knew from the very beginning that it was more than just a football facility and a couple of fields.
Mark Hart / Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Tepper Sports & Entertainment

Once arriving to the athlete facilities, the team locker room and training and recovery programs organize themselves around the primary length of the building and open themselves up to natural light and the outdoor practice fields to the south. Elevated office environments, lounges, and a café provide open views to the south and a direct relationship to the pavilion to the north which houses the facility’s indoor playing field. Beyond the pavilion to the north lies an outdoor playing field, spectator seating, and bermed viewing areas, which will serve as a unique outdoor canvas for live events. For increased capacities and integration of indoor and outdoor space, the pavilion’s two 90-foot wide by 80-foot tall operable glazed doors will open to transform the complex into a spectacular event space for concerts and live events.