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Tepper Sports and Entertainment has given Charlotte a glimpse of what Bank of America Stadium will look like once the uptown venue is fully renovated.
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The company announced a hefty financial commitment, too.
Thursday, TSE shared its plans to increase its private investment in the Bank of America Stadium renovation project — from $150 million to $650 million, all of which will go toward immediate refurbishments. That $500 million increase matches the city’s contribution to the stadium renovations, and it ultimately brings the expense of the project to approximately $1.3 billion.
Where will this additional money go? It will enable TSE to “move forward with all optional projects presented to the City of Charlotte,” according to a news release.
Or, more directly, as company CEO Kristi Coleman said:
It will ensure that “every fan is impacted by these renovations.”
TSE is the company owned by David Tepper, the billionaire hedge fund manager who purchased the Carolina Panthers in 2018. Tepper also owns the city’s Major League Soccer franchise, Charlotte FC, which played its inaugural season in 2022. Both teams compete in Bank of America Stadium.
The stadium’s renovation, under the original agreement from June 2024, included extensive work to update the 30-year-old, 75,000-capacity venue. It also detailed the outright construction of the Atrium Health Training Facility. The practice facility is still expected to be complete in 2027; the entirety of the stadium’s construction is still planned for 2030.
The original amount of work planned for the stadium encompassed a lot. Among the areas through which the renovations were originally set to touch: its mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure; the seating in the upper and lower bowls; the locker rooms and restrooms; the scoreboard and videoboards; the South Lawn Pavilion area; safety and security and more.
TSE unveiled plans on Thursday to do even more. Among the areas that the stadium renovations will impact:
- Exterior soft/hardscaping
- Concourse redesign
- Retail operations
- Food and beverage concession stands
- South Lawn Event Pavilion
- Reclaimed real estate by expanding the stadium’s “footplate”
- Back of house enhancements
- New premium spaces, suite level refreshment upgrades
- Additional social spaces
- Press box redesign
- Club level/private rental enhancements
- Exterior facade videoboards and wayfinding
And this list doesn’t include the construction of the 4,400-person music space that will be on the same “campus” of Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte council approved of those plans in October. TSE, in a release, wrote that the entertainment venue “will host 80-100 events a year and provide enhanced hospitality on NFL game days.”
“When I tell you every space is being redone, it is,” Coleman said.
Bank of America Stadium renovation highlights
While “every inch” of the stadium is being reimagined, refreshed or outright created, there are a few elements of the vision that leap from the page.
The first is the exterior of the stadium. The stadium will slightly increase its footplate — or increases the building’s circumference, so to speak. But that’s far from the only improvement to the venue’s exterior. There are also the many high windows among other upgraded materials; there are indoor/outdoor gathering spaces on the ground level; and there is “a signature illuminated crown” to add to the Charlotte skyline.
“We want the stadium to feel very inviting,” Coleman said. “We’ve got a fence around it right now. Nothing wrong with that. But we just want a more inviting feel, and we want the community to feel more like this is theirs.”
Next is the social patio on one side of the 500 level. Part of the area will have designated seats, and part will be a standing-room only section. All will have sweeping views of Charlotte’s skyline.
And finally, there are the scoreboards above each end zone. The original scoreboards were installed in 2013; the new screens will “more than double” in size.
How will Bank of America Stadium be renovated?
The stadium’s renovations will be complete by 2030 according to TSE plans. A natural question: How will the renovations take place while the stadium is in use year-round — for football in the fall and winter, and then soccer in the spring and summer (and soon even longer)?
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Coleman said that there will be a lot of messaging with fans during that time. She added that TSE has about 65 construction workers at the stadium now — beginning on the “behind the scenes” enhancements — and that the “fan-facing” work will begin in 2027.
Between 2027 and 2030, Coleman estimates that the company will have 1,500 workers at Bank of America Stadium on-site every day.
“We have to keep this on-schedule,” Coleman said. “The fans’ experience for the next few years, we will try to minimize the impact to them as much as possible. A gate may be closed, or something, during that time period. But we will have MLS and NFL games.”
This is not necessarily everyone’s practice. The Jacksonville Jaguars, for instance, announced that the team will temporarily relocate to Camping World Stadium in Orlando for the 2027 NFL season during the final phase of their stadium renovations.
Another announcement: Bank of America and Tepper Sports extend naming rights deal
Amid the revealed vision for one of Charlotte’s most iconic venues comes another announcement: Bank of America and the Carolina Panthers have extended the naming rights for Bank of America Stadium, continuing one of the NFL’s longest-standing naming rights partnerships.
Bank of America purchased the naming rights of the stadium in 2004, but the company was connected to the Panthers during the team’s founding in the 1990s, with Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl playing a key role in landing the NFL expansion franchise. The stadium originally debuted as Ericsson Stadium in 1996.
Terms of the extension weren’t disclosed, but as TSE chief revenue officer Eric Sudol put it: “You can rest assured that we’ve locked arms for a long time.”
Keith Cockrell, the Charlotte market president for Bank of America, told The Charlotte Observer that he and many others “stand on the shoulders of so many great leaders from Bank of America who have had an instrumental role in helping this city, this state, this region really grow.” He said that it is the “honor of my career” to continue fostering that legacy.
He added that partnering with TSE is extra special: “What David and Nicole and the entire organization stands for is what we believe we stand for.”
The Carolina Panthers and Bank of America last announced an extension of their naming rights agreement for Bank of America Stadium in December 2023.
“The long-term extension with Bank of America reflects the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to the Carolinas,” David Tepper wrote in a statement. And that commitment isn’t just illustrated in this naming rights deal; at the time of the original deal, in June 2024, TSE agreed to a 20-year non-relocation agreement.
“For over three decades, Bank of America Stadium has helped create lasting memories for our fans, and we’re excited for them to see what’s ahead,” Tepper continued. “Our goal is to create experiences that enhance the passion and energy of the region while transforming this corridor into a weekend destination for world-class sports, entertainment and community events.”
Final notes
- The $1.3 billion total project investment does not include potential overages and ongoing maintenance obligations under the agreement. Tepper Sports will fund these expenses as they come up, according to a TSE spokesperson.
- The Panthers welcome the potential of global events coming to Bank of America Stadium. When asked if these renovations are foreshadowing an upcoming announcement — perhaps of Charlotte hosting a Super Bowl — Coleman said no plans are currently in place. She added: “Do (the renovations) guarantee it? No. Do they help? Yes.” Super Bowl locations are already scheduled through 2030.
- Coleman said that the stadium’s capacity “will change” after the renovations are complete, but by how much has not yet been determined. TSE executives stated they will reach out to any Permanent Seat License owners who are impacted by any renovations once the seating manifest is complete.
- Said newly instituted Mayor Rob Harrington of the news, in part: “This work is an investment in Charlotte’s future — preserving an iconic venue, enhancing the fan experience and ensuring Bank of America Stadium continues to create unforgettable memories while giving visitors countless reasons to return to our city for years to come. We appreciate Tepper Sports and Entertainment’s partnership and commitment to invest in our community.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline “Here’s a sneak peek of the Panthers’ finished stadium after $1.3B in renovations.”
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