(The Center Square) – Taxpayer money obligated by the city of Charlotte toward a $1.3 billion renovation project at the home of the NFL Carolina Panthers has enabled funding of $3.1 million through August, the first of a series of reports by the state auditor says.

Charlotte authorized $650 million as Bank of America Stadium gets – in what would be most visible to visitors – a new social patio on the 500 level with city views; upgrades to scoreboards, videoboards, Wi-Fi, audio systems and associated technology; new seating; renovated restrooms; and exterior facade elevation and modernization. Tepper Sports Entertainment, the business name of a 100% owned company by David Tepper, is providing the other $650 million as the owner and operator of not only Bank of America Stadium but also the Carolina Panthers and Major League Soccer’s Charlotte FC.

First-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek said the series of reports would provide transparency as the project progresses rather than after the project is complete, as many audits often are prepared.

In a statement made available to The Center Square, Boliek said in part, “By engaging with business leaders and local government on economic development projects, the State Auditor’s Office is able to show North Carolinians how public investment is being utilized.”

The city of Charlotte said it will repay project debt through the revenues of the Mecklenburg County Occupancy Tax (3%) and Prepared Food and Beverage Tax (1%). While advocates tout a restaurant tax as a tax on tourism, economists believe that all taxes are similar and impact regular taxpayers since, without the tax capture for the stadium and convention center, that funding would go to the city, county or state general fund.

“Those revenue sources are unconnected to the stadium and have no business being taxed to pay for a private venture that generates revenue for one of wealthiest individuals in town,” Economist J.C. Bradbury of Kennesaw State University in Georgia told The Center Square when the funding was first discussed.

Tepper, net worth estimated Wednesday at $28.5 billion by Forbes, in June 2024 secured roughly half of renovation funding in part by creating conversation of the team relocating. The agreement included a commitment for the team to stay in Charlotte for the next 20 years.

Opening in 1996, the stadium cost of $187 million some 30 years ago was funded without taxpayer money; rather, owner Jerry Richardson and the team’s innovative use of selling permanent seat licenses coupled with private financing paid for the building. Taxpayers in 2013 contributed $87.5 million to a previous renovation.

A July 23 announcement on the 75,037-seat stadium from the team Tepper bought for a then-record $2.275 billion in 2018 includes “long-term extension” of naming rights to the stadium for Bank of America. Those exact dates were not released.

The Panthers were valued at $4.1 billion in June 2024 when the City Council voted 7-3 for the financial agreement. That was 26th of 32 NFL teams. Today, they remain 26th with a value above $8 billion in estimations by CNBC ($8.85 billion), Forbes ($8.1 billion) and Sportico ($8.07 billion).

The team, in the playoffs four of the five seasons before Tepper’s purchase, has had a losing season all eight years since, with 10 or more losses in six seasons, and seven men standing on the sideline as head coach or interim head coach. The 2025 team won the division, albeit an embarrassing NFC South, with an 8-9 record then exited the playoffs in one game with a 34-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Tepper made his fortune managing the hedge fund company Appaloosa Management he founded in 1993, eventually buying into a share of ownership with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He gave that up in order to purchase the Panthers. Hedge funds bring together private investors, usually wealthy, to pool money and use strategies with higher risk that can outperform average market returns.

The audit explains contractors submit invoices and documentation to CAA ICON, a specialized consulting firm regularly handling sports and entertainment venue work. Charlotte gets funding notices from the firm, reviews and submits payments to US Bank, and it makes payments to the contractors.

US Bank is trustee of the Construction Funds Trust.

Thus far, according to the audit, Charlotte has spent more than $2.5 million toward building structure and the exterior ($1,094,290); mechanical, electrical and plumbing ($711,726); construction management and coordination ($562,845); site, landscape and infrastructure ($326,776); professional, design, consulting and testing ($64,491); and has retainage ($231,444) for constructions costs withheld based on percentages and progress.

Another $632,656 has been spent on legal services ($298,160), financial advisory services ($255,096), credit rating services ($42,400), trustee and agent services ($24,000) and offering-document costs ($13,000).

In the project’s timeline, public input was taken June 3-24, 2024, and the City Council on June 24, 2024, gave its approval. The Local Government Commission for the state approved a city request for up to $650 million special obligation bond anticipation notes on April 1 of this year.

The phases of renovation began last year and will be complete by the end of 2030.

Charlotte leases the land upon which the stadium sits. On or before April 1, 2037, the city and Tepper have agreed to “good faith discussions regarding the potential construction of a new stadium in Charlotte,” the audit says.

In August 2039, Tepper can engage in relocation discussions or agreements; following the 2039 NFL season and Super Bowl in 2040, Tepper may terminate its lease agreement early by providing six to nine months notice if, for example, the Panthers anticipate relocating.

The nonrelocation agreements for the Panthers and Charlotte FC expire in April 2046, the audit says.

In addition to the Panthers and Charlotte FC soccer, the stadium has been host to the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship since 2010 and a college football bowl game since 2002. Early-season college football contests featuring teams from the SEC, ACC and North Carolina – often against each other – have also been staples for more than two decades.