Panthers propose to pay over $82M for failed practice facility
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.
Earlier, DT Sports Holding, LLC, a Tepper entity, previously funded $20 million in debtor-in-possession financing.
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.”
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