House Speaker Thom Tillis made an announcement yesterday that he cannot allow state dollars to be used towards a local stadium. Yes, Bank of America stadium and the Panthers bring in lots of money and jobs to the Charlotte area – but should the people of Wilmington who rarely go to a game be required to pay for larger television screens upgrades? I think not.
For the people of Charlotte, opposing the local tax to help fun the stadiums upgrades proves the memories of the Charlotte Hornets are still fresh in their minds. In 1984 voters approved $47 million in general obligation bonds to build the Charlotte Coliseum. Then Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte got another tax bill for the uptown arena estimated around $260 million – and the Hornets didn’t even stay in Charlotte. Now the Panthers want locals to pay for yet another stadium with the chance they could move to Los Angeles. I’m glad the state isn’t going to get involved in another scheme of corporate welfare – unfortunately for Charlotte, looks like they will be paying for yet another sports team without a guarantee they will stay in the area.
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